I've always felt that the Preakness is the most challenging of the Triple Crown Races to handicap, way more difficult than the Kentucky Derby or Belmont. Pimlico has the sharp turns that neither Churchill Downs nor Belmont Park have making it hard for horses with bad trips to recover. Also, I've seen horses on the lead win the Preakness, Horses in mid pack win, and horses come from far back as well. Conversely, the Derby rarely has a front runner go all the way, and the Belmont rarely has a big time closer win, meaning there are certain horses you can eliminate right away when doing your handicapping. That's not the case in the Preakness as every horse has a legit shot once those gates open.

Personally I like a horse that sits fairly close to the lead and gets a good position so not to be distracted by the aforementioned turns. With all of that being said, I like a horse that should be close on Saturday the whole time and can pounce to the lead at the top of the stretch and never look back. That horse is Pioneerof The Nile and jockey Garrett Gomez. Pionnerof the Nile ran beautifully in Kentucky and would have won the race if not for a freak performance from winner Mine That Bird. I really like him coming back in two weeks for Preakness day.

Here's the way I'd play the Preakness this Saturday. Let's just say I have an imaginary $100 bankroll: $40 to win-Pioneerof The Nile $30 to place-Pioneerof The Nile $5 Exacta Box: Pioneerof The Nile Rachel Alexandra Big Drama Play it like that and go to the windows and collect!!!

Good luck everybody, enjoy the Preakness, and Dave and I will talk to you next week!