Preakness Stakes Longshot Picks – Odds for France Go De Ina, Keepmeinmind & More Horses Who Can Make You Big Money
By Dave Friedman in Horse Racing News
Published:
- Saturday’s Preakness Stakes is the second leg of the Triple Crown
- Upsets have occurred frequently in recent runnings of The Preakness
- What longshots are worth a wager in Baltimore?
If you bet Medina Spirit to win at the Kentucky Derby surely you were happy with a $26.20 winning ticket. While the Run for the Roses was controversial, had Medina Spirit been disqualified on race day, second place Mandaloun would have paid $53.80, and he still cashed place tickets to the tune of $23. Now we arrive at the Preakness Stakes, where aside from Justify in 2018, the other three most recent winners each paid at least $14, and two cashed for $25 or more.
Who are the longshots for you to seriously consider this year? Let’s look carefully at the field and discuss some price options.
2021 Preakness Stakes Odds
| Horse | Odds at TVG |
|---|---|
| Medina Spirit | +180 |
| Concert Tour | +250 |
| Midnight Bourbon | +500 |
| Crowded Trade | +1000 |
| Rombauer | +1200 |
| Risk Taking | +1500 |
| Keepmeinmind | +1500 |
| Unbridled Honor | +1500 |
| France Go De Ina | +2000 |
| Ram | +3000 |
Odds as of May 14
Seven of 10 entrants in the Preakness are square prices. Horse racing sites make it really easy to wager on the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Which longshot is best equipped to run the mile-and-three-sixteenths well? NBC will have the answer about two minutes after the 6:47pm EST post time.
Rombauer
Does he want to run on dirt? Rombauer has a win in two tries on turf and triumphed in his only race on a synthetic course. His three dirt races have resulted in a second and third place performance.
After that victory to begin 2021, Rombauer finished third in April’s Blue Grass Stakes behind Kentucky Derby favorite Essential Quality, and Highly Motivated. He may get a nice pace to run into, and if he likes the dirt at Pimlico, Rombauer is very viable.
Keepmeinmind
Breaking from gate number four as an enormous longshot at the Kentucky Derby, Keepmeinmind got out very poorly, and was last for the first half of the race. He rallied nicely going extremely wide to finish a decent seventh.
Keepmeinmind was a huge price because his two prior races in 2021 weren’t very good. That said, between strong performances last year, and passing horses at Churchill Downs, if he gets out better, and has a sharp pace to rally into, there is a real opportunity present.
Unbridled Honor
Top trainer Todd Pletcher has often shied away from the Preakness, but gives Unbridled Honor a shot after he rallied for second in the Lexington Stakes on April 10.
While he was clearly second to King Fury at Keeneland, that was a pretty solid effort. Did he like the wet surface, or is he coming into his own? His first four races are nowhere close to good enough to win the Preakness.
Risk Taking
In 2017 trainer Chad Brown won this race with Cloud Computing. He scratched Risk Taking from last week’s Peter Pan Stakes to take a shot here. He was the favorite but got out of the gate poorly in April’s Wood Memorial. His victory in the Withers Stakes was strong.
Risk Taking cost top owner Klaravich Stables just under a quarter million dollars, and he may sit a decent trip just off the leaders with an opportunity to pounce first.
France Go de Ina
France Go de Ina is the wildcard in this year’s Preakness. Well bred in Kentucky, he is owned and trained by natives of Japan. He won two of three races to start his career in Asia, and then was a non-factor in March’s UAE Derby in Dubai.
Finishing sixth out of 14 in a $750,000 race is not a crime. Getting top jockey Joel Rosario is good. The grandson of Curlin is a dart, but in a field that isn’t incredibly strong, why not?
Ram
About seven hours before Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby, Ram won the first race of the day at Churchill Downs on May 1. A $375,000 purchase, he beat eight rivals in a fairly low level allowance race. That was an improvement on breaking his maiden in try number eight on April 16. Trainer D. Wayne Lucas has won the Preakness six times, and is a Hall of Famer, but the 85 years old does not have many if any Triple Crown quality horses left in his barn. That doesn’t mean he can’t score at a big price to finish second or third.
Longshot Selection
Upon review of the Kentucky Derby Keepmeinmind ran really well despite encountering major issues. He also was solid in the Breeders Cup Juvenile last year finishing third. If he gets a clean trip he may just run by them all in the stretch on Saturday.
Pick: Keepmeinmind (+1500)
Sports Writer
Dave Friedman has covered professional and college sports for two decades. From ESPN to the Associated Press, Regional Sports Networks, Metro Networks, and many local outlets, he has written about and broadcast major and minor events throughout the country.
