BALTIMORE – American Pharoah likes to move at a brisk clip, and he certainly was eager on Thursday morning here at Pimlico, tugging hard at the reins during his daily gallop in preparation for the Preakness Stakes on Saturday. But he had a formidable opponent in exercise rider Jorge Alvarez, who has been entrusted with some of the best horses on the West Coast for more than a decade and reached the pinnacle of his career two weeks ago when American Pharoah won the Kentucky Derby.

“I got a little emotional,” Alvarez recalled Thursday. “I was crying.”

BALTIMORE – The first time Bob Baffert had a starter in the Preakness, someone in the infield threw a football at his horse. That was his welcome to the Preakness. Fortunately, the ball wasn’t thrown by Johnny Unitas. The football didn’t hit Cavonnier, and the incident sure didn’t deter Baffert.

American Pharoah got a 105 Beyer Speed Figure when he won in a breeze in the Arkansas Derby and a 105 when he was all out to win the Kentucky Derby. So, does that mean the colt has maxed out? I don’t think so.

BALTIMORE – These horses go out to the wise guys in the crowd, the handicappers out there turning over even the plainest gray rocks in the field, reasoning, unlikely as it seems, that buried treasure might lie beneath.

No horseman with a talented 3-year-old comes into the year thinking, “Geez, if all goes really well, this horse might take me to the Preakness!”

The disease is called Derby Fever, not Preakness Flu.

You see?

BALTIMORE – As far as jockey Gary Stevens is concerned, the post-position draw for Saturday’s $1.5 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico couldn’t have gone any better if he was allowed to conduct the draw himself.

Stevens was not only happy to have his mount, Kentucky Derby runner-up Firing Line, draw the outside post in the eight-horse field, but he seemed downright giddy that his major competition, Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah and Derby third-place finisher Dortmund, drew posts 1 and 2.

1. Dortmund
2. American Pharoah
3. Firing Line
4. Danzig Moon

With only eight horses in the Preakness, three of whom seem overmatched, bettors shouldn’t anticipate any blowup payoffs. But that is not to say there isn’t a potential overlay. If the betting goes as expected, DORTMUND might start a tick or two higher on the board than he should.

1-American Pharoah
2-Dortmund
3-Divining Rod
4-Danzig Moon

1. American Pharoah
2. Firing Line
3. Danzig Moon
4. Dortmund

AMERICAN PHAROAH
DORTMUND
DANZIG MOON
FIRING LINE

There are reasons to side against AMERICAN PHAROAH in the Preakness, but the problem is there just aren’t any satisfactory alternatives. So almost by default, I’m going with the Kentucky Derby winner to succeed at Pimlico.

American Pharoah
Firing Line
Dortmund
Diving Rod

Given that non-Derby starters are an anemic 3-8-8 from 133 Preakness starts since 1993, it seems unlikely this is the year to buck that strong trend as the top three finishers in Louisville, Ky., appear to have a significant edge on the rest of the field.