With his win in the Kentucky Derby, American Pharoah improved to 5-0-0 over his last five races. The horse will look to take another step towards history this Saturday in the Preakness Stakes.
Preakness Stakes 2015: American Pharoah betting odds, race outlook
With five straight wins, American Pharoah eyes a victory in the Preakness Stakes over Derby challengers Firing Line and Dortmund.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
American Pharoah is a 5/6 favorite to win the Preakness at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Preakness field will have less than half of the hectic Kentucky Derby field, down to only eight horses currently set to run on Saturday. Bettors that are looking ahead to the Belmont Stakes can also bet on whether or not American Pharoah will win the Triple Crown with “Yes” going off at +225 and “No” paying -350.
Only two horses in the Preakness field appear to be legitimate threats to American Pharoah, and they are the two horses that finished in second and third at the Kentucky Derby.
Firing Line is going off at 17/4 with Dortmund at 15/4 on the Preakness Stakes odds. Despite fighting each other for the lead for most of the race, both of these horses showed a lot of endurance in the Derby to stay strong down the stretch, passed only by American Pharoah in the closing moments.
A similar trifecta seems likely in the Preakness, with the main question coming down to what order the top three horses will finish. American Pharoah was forced to hold off on the lead early due to his starting position in the Derby; it will be interesting to see if jockey Victor Espinoza looks to employ a similar tactic in the Preakness or if he opts to fight for an early lead with Dortmund and Firing Line.
Rounding out the rest of the Preakness Stakes betting lines are Danzig Moon and Divining Rod at 16/1, Mr. Z at 25/1, Bodhisattva at 40/1, and Tale of Verve at 50/1.
Danzig Moon finished 6.5 lengths off the lead for a fifth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby and figures to be the best of the rest in this field, though Divining Rod could challenge as the best of the fresher horses in the mix. Mr. Z also competed in the Derby but finished comfortably behind the pack in 13th place.
