Preakness Stakes - Trifecta Preakness Bet

Trifecta wagering is almost always the way to go when there is a full field of horses. Although the Preakness limits the number of horses entered to 14, and Saturday’s race will have 13 starters, that’s still enough horses for trifecta bettors to make money.

That is, if the morning line chalk, Rachel Alexandra, doesn’t finish in the top spot.

I will use Rachel Alexandra but will be hoping that she doesn’t finish first. I’ve created three separate tickets at $24 each for a $2 bet. The total investment is going to be $72.

Before I explain the ticket, let’s take a look at the horses I am using.

Horses Used in Trifecta Ticket

2 – Mine That Bird – 6/1

3 – Musket Man – 8/1

5 – Friesan Fire – 6/1

9 – Pioneerof The Nile – 5/1

12 – Rachel Alexandra – 8/5

2 – Mine That Bird - - The Kentucky Derby winner may have gotten the perfect set up but you don’t look as good as he did in the Derby unless you really have come into your own as a racehorse. That was not a Giacomo type move. It was a Street Sense type move. He’s a good horse and could easily compete for the Preakness Stakes trophy in this.

3 – Musket Man - - The race sort of sets up for this ultra impressive presser. Also, he’s never finished out of the top three slots in 7 lifetime races with 5 victories and 2 thirds. That makes him a must use in the trifecta.

5 – Friesan Fire - - He’s got an excellent shot to win the race after suffering one of the worst trips in Kentucky Derby history. He’ll be much better this Saturday in the Preakness after getting that awful “prep” in at Churchill Downs. He was the favorite in the Derby for a reason. He’s a good horse.

9 – Pioneerof The Nile - - The Bob Baffert trainee ran about as well as could be expected in the Kentucky Derby. After chasing a torrid pace, I thought it was fast but Baffert didn’t seem to think so, Pioneerof The Nile dug in for second place honors as Mine That Bird stormed up the rail. He’s got a huge shot on Saturday.

13 – Rachel Alexandra - - If she’s as good as everybody says she is, then she wins the Preakness by open lengths, right? I’d rather not use her at the odds, but I can’t leave her out because she could very well be an incarnation of Ruffian. I have to use. But let the record show that I am using her grudgingly.

Ticket Construction

There are a lot of ways to construct a trifecta ticket. I am going to use the “key” horse method whereby I pick a single horse and key that horse in all three spots on the trifecta ticket.

Which horse is my key horse? I debated for a while between Friesan Fire, who I believe bounces back big time in this race, and Pioneerof The Nile. In the end, I decided to go with Friesan Fire because he technically was allowed to settle in the back of the pack after jockey Gabriel Saez figured he had no shot while Pioneerof The Nile ran in yet another very tough race. Pioneerof The Nile has run in four difficult races this year. He had to really gut out that second place finish two weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby. Friesan Fire is fit and fresh and should be ready to show his class on Saturday.