Preakness Not as Easy as 1, 2, 3

The top three finishers in the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) are coming back to run in the May 16 Xpressbet.com Preakness Stakes (gr. I). One would think that is a fairly common occurrence, but it's not.



Derby winner American Pharoah (4-5), runner-up Firing Line (4-1), and third-place finisher Dortmund (7-2) are also the top three picks on the morning line. That is a fairly common occurrence. However, the likelihood of them running in the top three at Pimlico is not an easy prop as it has only happened twice since 1978 when Affirmed, Alydar, and Believe It filled the frame in the exact same order in both the Derby and Preakness.

In 2007, Derby winner and Preakness favorite Street Sense   ran second to Derby-third Curlin  , with Derby runner-up Hard Spun   filling out the trifecta in Maryland. In 1997, Silver Charm annexed the second leg of the Triple Crown while Derby third Free House ran second and the Derby runner-up Captain Bodgit was third in Baltimore.



Only seven runnings of the Preakness in the last 20 years have featured the top three from the Run for the Roses.



Of those seven years when the first three Derby finishers ran in the Preakness, only one horse won as the favorite: Smarty Jones   in 2004.



Here's how they ran:



2009



Derby winner Mine That Bird finished second to the filly Rachel Alexandra. Derby runner-up Pioneerof the Nile   finished 11th and Musket Man   ran third in both races.



2007



Curlin, third in the Derby, won the Preakness narrowly over Derby winner and favorite Street Sense. Hard Spun, runner-up in the Derby, was third in Baltimore.



2005



Afleet Alex   won the Preakness at 3-1 (after nearly going down when running into Scrappy T) after a third-place finish at Churchill Downs. Longshot Derby winner Giacomo   ran third in the Preakness; second-place finisher Closing Argument   finished ninth.



2004



Smarty Jones, the Derby winner, was an odds-on winner at Pimlico. Derby runner-up Lion Heart ran fourth while Derby third Imperialism was fifth.



1999



The Derby exacta of Charismatic and Menifee ($727.80 in Louisville) ran 1-2 in the Preakness ($47.60). Cat Thief, third in the Derby, finished seventh in the Preakness.



1997



Derby winner Silver Charm repeated in the Preakness for Bob and Beverly Lewis and trainer Bob Baffert. Free House, third in the Derby, finished second, while Captain Bodgit, second in the Derby, was third in the Preakness as the 2-1 favorite. Two heads separated the top three at the wire at Pimlico. The $2 trifecta paid $38.20.

1995



Timber Country won the Preakness as the favorite after running third in the Kentucky Derby. Derby winner Thunder Gulch was third behind Marylander Oliver's Twist. Tejano Run, the Derby runner-up, finished ninth. Thunder Gulch would come back in three weeks to take the Belmont Stakes (gr.  I).