Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Always Dreaming landed in Baltimore as the heavy favorite for the Preakness Stakes (G1) and he will face four foes he already beat in Louisville and five newcomers to the Triple Crown scene.
Derby winners have fared quite well in the second jewel of the Triple Crown, winning 10 of the last 20 editions.
Can one of the new shooters pull off a big upset this year? Here are the candidates:
Conquest Mo Money (16-1): This colt had sufficient points to get into the Derby but his connections elected to wait for the Preakness. He was not originally Triple Crown nominated, and it would have cost $200,000 to run in Louisville and they save $50,000 by nominating him in the second jewel at $150,000.
He ran a good second to Hence in the Sunland Derby (G3) who was disappointing in the Kentucky Derby, then ran a good second in the Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park at 17-1 behind Classic Empire, who was a troubled fourth in the Run for the Roses.
His trainer and jockey are not well known, and that could help his price a few points.
Cloud Computing (22-1): Of the newcomers, this colt probably has the most upside with just three starts under his belt, and he is in a sharp barn with Chad Brown, last year’s Eclipse Award winning trainer.
The colt ran well in the Gotham (G3) in a runner up finish to J Boys Echo in his stakes debut, then was third in the Wood Memorial (G2).
Anything over 20-1 and he may be worth tossing in the exotics but he will need to step it up to beat the Derby winner.
Multiplier (25-1): Trained by Brendan Walsh, this colt made his first start against winners in the Illinois Derby (G3) at Hawthorne and he won by a head at 9-2 odds.
He is an improving son of The Factor but will have to really step up his game to knock off the Derby winner.
Senior Investment (33-1): This colt is coming into the Preakness off his best career effort where he won the Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland in his last outing by a head.
He tried to pick up Derby points in the Louisiana Derby (G2) in his previous start but came up short in a sixth-place finish where he was beaten 5 ¾ lengths.
The Ken McPeek trainee steps into a much tougher spot and is going to be a huge longshot on Saturday.
Term of Art (33-1): The Doug O’Neill trained colt went down the Derby trail in Southern California but was not quite good enough. He was fifth in the Sham (G3), fourth in the Robert B. Lewis (G3), third in the San Felipe (G2) and seventh in the Santa Anita Derby (G1).
While his trainer deserves plenty of respect, this colt has just not run fast enough to be competitive against the likes of the runners exiting the Run for the Roses.