The draw for the 140th running of the middle jewel of the American Triple Crown was conducted at Pimlico’s Sports Palace on Wednesday, 13 May 2015.
Zayat Stable’s Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah drew the rail and was installed favourite in the eight horse field for the $1.5 million Gr1 Xpressbet.com Preakness Stakes to be run over 1 3/16-mile at Pimlico Race Course on 16 May 2015.
The Bob Baffert-trained American Pharoah will line up against Firing Line and stablemate Dortmund, second and third-placed in the 2 May Kentucky Derby. Firing Line drew post 8, while Dortmund drew post 2. “I can’t believe I drew the 1-2 (posts) again,” Baffert said. “I don’t love it. I never like the one-hole because sometimes they don’t break well. But it’s the luck of the draw. If (American Pharoah) is the best horse, we’ll find out.”
Simon Callaghan, who trains Firing Line, said post 8 gives his colt options. “It is perfect. We are really looking forward to the rematch with American Pharoah. (Firing Line) has never run on a wet track before, but he has run well on many different tracks.”
The weather forecast for Baltimore on Saturday predicts a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Firing Line, owned by Arnold Zetcher, never has finished worse than second in six starts. He won the Gr3 Sunland Derby with Gary Stevens in the irons in late March. Stevens also partnered him in the Kentucky Derby and takes the ride again in the Preakness. “I think (six weeks between the Sunland Derby and the Kentucky Derby) helps him,” Stevens said. “That’s one thing Simon, Mr. Zetcher, and myself talked about before. For a guy that has never been through the Triple Crown before, Simon was sorting this stuff out prior to (this). He knew just what he was getting into and how tough it was going to be on him, and he felt that the six weeks would be to our benefit. We had the freshest horse going into the Derby and you’ve got to think that (of the top three finishers in the Derby), we may have come out of the race with the freshest horse going into the Preakness.”
Stevens said he likes his colt’s post position given the draws of others in the field. He said he expects the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Mr. Z to show much more speed in the Preakness. “Wayne’s going out for the kill. That’s going to make those guys make some decisions earlier in the race that they didn’t have the benefit of having in the Kentucky Derby. Now I’ve got that benefit of being on the outside.”
Mr. Z, just purchased by Calumet Farm from Zayat Stables, was entered in the Preakness off a 13th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Mr. Z, who is the most seasoned Preakness contender with 13 career starts, drew post position 3.
Jose Corrales, who owns and trains local contender Bodhisattva, commented that he likes the fact American Pharoah had a tough race in the Derby less than two weeks ago. “He just ran two weeks ago,” Corrales said. “(Bodhisattva) has been improving every day that I have had him.”
The full field and draws are below:-
| $1,500,000 Xpressbet.com Gr1 2015 Preakness Stakes | ||||
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | American Pharoah | Victor Espinoza | Bob Baffert | 4-5 |
| 2 | Dortmund | Martin Garcia | Bob Baffert | 7-2 |
| 3 | Mr. Z | Corey Nakatani | D. Wayne Lukas | 20-1 |
| 4 | Danzig Moon | Julien Leparoux | Mark Casse | 15-1 |
| 5 | Tale of Verve | Joel Rosario | Dallas Stewart | 30-1 |
| 6 | Bodhisattva | Trevor McCarthy | Jose Corrales | 20-1 |
| 7 | Divining Rod | Javier Castellano | Arnaud Delacour | 12-1 |
| 8 | Firing Line | Gary Stevens | Simon Callaghan | 4-1 |
(source: Bloodhorse.com)
