The Triple Crown is just around the corner this year and surely, you’re getting all fired up and exhilarated. A darling of the crowd, the Preakness Stakes is one of the most anticipated horse races every year that people gather year after year just to witness the race and join the heart-racing betting on Preakness Stakes.
Now, if you are off to bet the Preakness Stakes then don’t you want to win? If you’re serious about winning, then you should have your own set of strategies and information to go by. One of the information that you need is the concepts unique to the race that you have to take into account when handicapping the second leg of Triple Crown. Want to know more? Then, here are the several concepts that you need to keep in mind.
The Distance of Preakness Stakes
One of the so-called “middle jewel” of the Triple Crown event, the Preakness Stake is its second leg which is run over a distance of a mile and 3/16, which means that it is a little bit shorter than the Kentucky Derby which race occurs two weeks before the Preakness Stakes.
So why be concerned over the distance? Due to the difference in the distance of the three Triple Crown event, it affects the entrant’s ability to handle the race. In this fraction, the distance of Preakness indicates that there’s no much of a question about the Preakness entrants’ ability to handle the distance. However, this is a serious concern for the third leg of the Triple Crown, which is the Belmont Stake Race that is contested over a mile and a half.
It has been proven that the entrants had a difficult time in prevailing the Triple Crown’s final leg, Belmont Stakes since in the Kentucky Derby, the traffic and troubled trips are guaranteed so you’ll have to consider what kind of a trip a horse will be trying to run and if the horse is still able to run it. Meanwhile, the Preakness is far less of a concern but it does not mean that it is insignificant towards the horses’ racing distance.
Preakness Stakes Schedule
Just imagine having to run a mile or so in the three events of Triple Crown, thinking about it exhausts you, right? what more is the probability of a grueling schedule up ahead. One of the most significant reasons in winning the Triple Crown is the schedule of the race. While the ideal layoff between the race interval varies from horse to horse, many high-level equine entrants’ race fewer than 10 times per year.
In most cases, many thoroughbreds hardly race without a break of three weeks to a month. However, for a Triple Crown aspirant, it is necessary to win three exhausting and competitive races in a five-week span since there is a two-week interval between Derby and Preakness, with three weeks between the Preakness and Belmont.
Throughout the years, those who are competing to win the Triple Crown has been finding their own strategies to be able to push through the three events of Triple Crown. The most common strategy is for a horse to run in the Kentucky Derby, skip the Preakness, and then run in the Belmont, although there are also other combinations that occur. Due to this reason, it is worth considering the rested horses.
In addition to this, it is also helpful to gather information and take a look at a horse’s past performances and see what is the horse’s typical turnaround time between races and how it has fared when undertaking a heavy schedule. Just a precaution: the turnaround from Derby to Preakness is especially brutal due to its two weeks interval.
Weather and Track Condition
Weather can be crucial to the race’s outcome, and anyone who has watched the 2013 Kentucky Derby race can attest to this. Horses are species that are very sensitive to the conditions in which they run and the surface they run on. Take it from the owners and trainers where they try to avoid racing promising horses in inclement weather or on a sloppy track.
If there is a chance for bad weather condition, it is vital to consider this factor in terms of handicapping the race. If you want to measure the horse’s ability in this type of race then you need to look at its past performances, wherein you might find out if the horse has any experience on a muddy or sloppy track and has the confidence in his abilities in these circumstances.
Takeaway If you are off to bet Preakness Stakes then surely you know the risks of waging on the game, right? thus you certainly would want to know the factors that might affect the horse’s condition from winning. Which is why knowing the handicap is an advantage since it makes you picture out the possibilities for the upcoming event and help you know where you stand.
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