Preakness Picks 2013: Orb Continues to Have Great Payout Odds

Preakness picks for 2013 had Kentucky Derby winner Orb at the top of the list.  You can wager on this year’s Preakness Stakes at BetOnline, where you can claim up to $900 in FREE BETS here.

Orb had everything going for him heading into Saturday while easy to detect flaws were found with each of his contenders.  At EVEN odds, Orb was difficult to pass up.

Orb remains unbeaten in four starts. 

“I’ve never seen a horse develop over the winter like he did,” Orb’s trainer Shug McGaughey said. “I’ve never had a horse that broke his maiden on Nov. 24 and matured and developed the way this horse did — never. He did it all on his own. He convinced us he was ready when he won the Florida Derby. He took us there.”

Rain won’t dampen Orb’s parade as he was stellar in the muddy Churchill Downs track two weeks ago.  We were seeing a decent amount of rain just south of Baltimore Saturday morning with the odds of these showers forming the two or three hours prior to post time still around 50 percent. 

Departing will have a good advantage should the track be dry. 

He has visited the winner’s circle in four of his last five races, making Departing a “must have” for a “place” bet.  Expect his speed to match up well with the rest of the Preakness Stakes field.

Despite the Illinois Derby win, Departing is yet to win a major race.  In fact, his Louisiana Derby 3^rd place finish may be his most impressive showing to date.

Mylute may have the second shortest odds, but he is yet to win a race that is a mile and one-eighth or beyond.

Governor Charlie was seeing a lot of love from the betting public heading into this year’s Preakness Stakes.  He is, after all, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Governor Charlie won the Sunland Derby. 

Baffert has won 5 Preakness Stakes races to date.  The mile and one-eighth distance for Saturday’s Preakness should present little problem for Governor Charlie.

The problem here is that Sunland has never proven a significant stepping stone for thoroughbreds and it is true that Governor Charlie has yet to face this type of stiff competition.  Inexperience will be a major disadvantage here. 

Orb stands alone at this year’s Preakness with Departing a good trifecta pick. 

- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com