Preakness 2022: Epicenter lands post 8 as 6-5 morning-line favorite
Epicenter was favored in the Kentucky Derby but finished second. He'll try to go one position better, this time as an even stronger favorite, on Saturday at Pimlico in the Preakness Stakes, for which he drew post 8 in a field of nine on Monday.
Epicenter was a lukewarm 4-1 choice in the Derby, in which he was run down late by the longshot Rich Strike. That colt is passing the Preakness to await the Belmont on June 11, but eight others joined Epicenter in the entry box Monday.
Keith Feustle, the outstanding morning-line maker at Pimlico, installed Epicenter as the 6-5 favorite. Joel Rosario again has the mount.
Early Voting, who bypassed the Derby after finishing second in the Wood Memorial, is the second choice on Feustle's line, at 7-2. He is trying to emulate the Chad Brown-trained, Seth Klarman-owned Cloud Computing, who skipped the Derby and won the Preakness in 2017. Early Voting starts in the middle of the field, in post 5.
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Secret Oath, the Kentucky Oaks winner, is the third choice, at 9-2. She starts from post 4 and will try to become both the seventh filly to win the Preakness, and the seventh winner for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who won the Preakness for the first time back in 1980 with Codex.
Because she is a filly facing males, Secret Oath gets a five-pound weight break and carries 121 pounds, compared to 126 for her eight rivals.
The Preakness, at 1 3/16 miles, is the shortest of the three Triple Crown races, 110 yards shorter than the Derby. The Belmont is 1 1/2 miles.
The purse of the Preakness is $1.65 million, enhanced by the supplemental fee of Creative Minister.
The field, from the rail out, with riders and morning-line odds, is:
1. Simplification, John Velazquez, 6-1
2. Creative Minister, Brian Hernandez Jr., 10-1
3. Fenwick, Florent Geroux, 50-1
4. Secret Oath, Luis Saez, 9-2
5. Early Voting, Jose Ortiz, 7-2
6. Happy Jack, Tyler Gaffalione, 30-1
7. Armagnac, Irad Ortiz Jr., 12-1
8. Epicenter, Joel Rosario, 6-5
9. Skippylongstocking, Junior Alvarado, 20-1.
Happy Jack is adding blinkers for this race.
Fenwick was a late addition on Monday. Un Ojo was withdrawn from consideration on Monday after a problematic foot flared anew.
If all nine start, this will be the smallest field since 2018, when eight ran, with Justify prevailing en route to the Triple Crown.