There's very little difference between Authentic and Art Collector in Saturday's Preakness Stakes. They'll likely run together the entire race.
The tie-breaker is a human, though. Trainer Bob Baffert goes for his eighth Preakness victory and that's good enough for me. I remember the old trainers decades ago laughing at this quarter-horse trainer trying to break into the Triple Crown, but they're laughing no more.
The shock-white haired trainer is king of thoroughbred racing. Authentic enters off a Kentucky Derby victory, Baffert's sixth roses. His last Preakness win was a whole two years ago. He has three Belmont Stakes and two Triple Crown championships.
Not bad for an outsider.
Handicapping the Preakness comes down to Art Collector drawing inside of Authentic, who has post nine. It’s a big deal in some ways. Art Collector could control the pace inside, but there’s so much depth in this race and several other speedsters that truly anything could happen. A long shot like Swiss Skydiver could win. So could Max Player or Ny Traffic. It's the best field since 1997 when Baffert’s Silver Charm won.
But let's go with the logical duo. Authentic just won the Derby at 1¼ miles so he's getting a shorter race at 1 3/16th in the Preakness. Art Collector missed the Derby with a slight setback, but he’s every bit the speedster Authentic is.
Flip a coin. This should be fun to watch for two minutes during a commercial break from your football game. It’s just when things are this even, take the more experienced trainer and jockey. Authentic has the edge with Baffert and jockey John Velazquez.
There’s no money betting this exacta so you have to try triples. Swiss Skydiver is a nice filly for third. Ny Traffic threw a shoe in a bad Derby outing, so maybe he bounces back. Max Player is steady.
The triple is 9-3-4/7/8 — that should make enough to parlay Washington (+13½) covering against Baltimore on Sunday. If sports betting is your new passion, always take the best trainers and jockeys just like you'd back coach Bill Belichick over Adam Gase.
Rick Snider has covered Washington sports since 1978. Follow him on Twitter: @Snide_Remarks
