Following a week of persistent rain, a dense fog descended upon Pimlico Saturday afternoon. Rail birds who 12 hours earlier staked out a spot on the finish line in hopes of having the best view of the track couldn't see the horses as they entered the clubhouse turn by mid-afternoon.
If the field was on the far turn, nobody could know for certain. By post time of the final race of the day (one race following the Preakness Stakes), the fog was so thick that the official timer was unable to sense the start. No fractional times were recorded, no final race time was recorded and no fractional positions were noted. The race call is an instant classic.
Here is a nice photograph of Derby winner and the soon-to-be Preakness winner Justify moments before the start of the second jewel in the Triple Crown:
For handicappers and horse players it proved to be a highly unsatisfactory day of wagering. Veteran handicappers like to cash winning tickets on horses with longer odds so as to collect larger payouts. Big fields help to disperse the money wagered on a race and, in theory, could offer higher odds on a horse the betting public might overlook.
Remember that for handicappers the objective is not cashing handfuls of tickets. The objective is to make a lot of money. It only takes 1 or 2 winning tickets to pay a visit to the IRS office at the race track. [Yes, that's a real thing]
On the Preakness undercard, three turf races were moved from the grass to the dirt (slop). In two of the three races, only 4 horses went to the post. In the third, 5 horses went to the post.
Most dispiriting of all, favorites were winning.
All. Day. Long.
Of the 14 races, betting favorites won ten times. Twice the betting favorites finished second behind horses that went off at odds of 2-1 or lower. Two more times the betting favorite finished 4th but the eventual winners in those two races went off at odds of less than 2-1.
Brutal.
For context, favorites win approximately 33% of the time.
On Saturday at Pimlico, every winning horse was either the betting favorite or went off at odds of 2-1 or less.
For all that wagering misery, race patrons suffered through a deluge of rain, mud and long lines at the betting windows.
Are we having fun, yet?
For all the time spent handicapping, for all the bankroll shoved through the betting windows with both hands, here is a sampling of what the horse players received in return on Preakness Day;
Race 1:
$3.60 to win
$16.50 exacta
$30.70 trifecta
Race 2:
$4.20 to win
$3.40 on the Place horse
$3.90 Daily Double
$5.70 exacta
$14.70 trifecta
Race 3:
$3.20 on the Place horse
$6.75 Pick Three
$8.10 exacta
Race 4:
$11.95 Pick Three
$11.70 exacta
$29.50 trifecta
Race 5:
$17.40 Pick Three
$9.40 exacta
$28.60 trifecta
Race 6:
$3.00 to win
$3.00 on the Place horse
$9.50 Pick Three
$3.50 exacta
$8.20 trifecta
Race 7:
$4.60 to win
$2.60 on the Place horse
$4.85 Pick Three
$6.10 exacta
$9.40 trifecta
Race 8:
$2.80 to win
$3.05 Pick Three
$7.30 exacta
Race 9:
$8.50 Pick Three
$12.90 exacta
Race 10:
$12.20 Pick Three
$11.20 exacta
$31.50 trifecta
Race 11:
$4.00 to win
$15.25 Pick Three
$9.20 exacta
Race 12:
$3.20 to win
$8.55 Pick Three
$5.80 exacta
$28.50 trifecta
$62.80 superfecta
Preakness Stakes:
$2.80 to win
$3.75 Pick Three
$21.90 Pick Four
$41.04 Pick Six "Jackpot"
$13.70 exacta
Preakness Stakes 2018; No risk, no reward!
Roll the credits!
