It’s a different Preakness this year

In a normal year, the Preakness has a natural promotional angle: Will the Kentucky Derby winner also win the Preakness and thus have a shot at a Triple Crown? This is not a normal year, however. For the first time since 1996, the Derby winner will not be running in the Preakness. Neither will the second-, third- and fourth-place finishers.

There are additional reasons why this is not a normal year for racing. The news has been dominated by the spike in fatalities at Santa Anita over the winter and the controversial ending to the Derby, where for the first time in history the first horse across the finish line was disqualified. A third bit of bad news is that a large chunk (nearly 7,000 seats) of the ancient Pimlico grandstand has been deemed unsafe and will not be available this weekend.

The good news is that the Preakness has drawn a field of 13 and still has the potential to be an interesting race. As expected, the morning-line favorite is Improbable at 5-2. The City Zip colt suffered narrow defeats in the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby, and, after a decent fourth in Kentucky, is probably overdue for a win.

War of Will is next at 4-1. The son of War Front was in contention in the Derby until being forced to check hard when Maximum Security veered into his path. Working against War of Will’s chances is the fact that, as happened at Churchill Downs, he has drawn the no. 1 post.

Alwaysmining, a winner of his last six starts, including five minor stakes at Laurel Park, is pegged at 8-1. The Stay Thirsty gelding will attempt to become the first Maryland-bred to win the Preakness since Deputed Testamony’s 14-1 upset in 1983.

Third choice Anothertwistafate (6-1) exits runner-up finishes in the Sunland Derby and Lexington Stakes. Bourbon War and Win Win Win may offer value if they go off at anything near their morningline odds of 12-1 and 15-1, respectively. Pimlico Special During the Pimlico Special’s most recent heyday (1990-2006), its list of winners was arguably as formidable as that of any other Grade 1 handicap-division race. Those winners included five Horses of the Year (Criminal Type, Cigar, Skip Away, Mineshaft and Invasor), two Kentucky Derby winners (Strike the Gold and Real Quiet) and other division heavyweights Farma Way, Devil His Due and Gentlemen..

In the years since, the Pimlico Special has been run intermittently; had its purse reduced to $300k from a high of $1 million in the early 90s; and been demoted to Grade 3. It’s a sad state of affairs for a race that was won by all-time greats War Admiral and Seabiscuit in its initial two runnings, and which until last decade was still an important stop on the olderhorse circuit.

This year’s Pimlico Special does include an interesting twist: for the first time ever, it will be run at a distance other than 1-3/16 miles. Instead of being cut back in distance, though, the Special has been lengthened to a mile and a quarter. Increasing a race’s distance often results in smaller fields, but this year’s edition, to be contested on Friday, has attracted a full field of 14.

Rally Cry (9-2), whose biggest win came in the ungraded Alydar Stakes at Saratoga, is the lukewarm favorite in what shapes up as a terrific betting race. You’re to Blame is next at 5-1. Tenfold, Flameaway and $2.7 million-earner War Story are all listed at 6-1.