Creative Minister Is a Leading Preakness Challenger in His Stakes Debut
There are 10 stakes races Saturday at Pimlico including the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes in Race 13. Post time at 7:01 p.m. ET. Using TVG projections and Horse Racing Nation (HRN) as a guide, here are the horse profiles for the second leg of America’s Triple Crown.
New players, bet $5, win $100 on the Preakness and get Win Bet Insurance if your horse finishes 2nd or 3rd. Bet the Preakness!
As always, check the program for racing information, and monitor the weather and track conditions.
(I will reference Equibase's Speed Figure and BRIS and Beyer speed figures, which tells you how fast a horse has been running in each of its races -- adjusted for track, distances, and conditions.)
#2 Creative Minister
Morning Line Odds: 10/1
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Trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr., Creative Minister was installed at 10/1 odds for his stakes debut in the Preakness. He raced two weeks ago on the Kentucky Derby undercard and showed exceptional speed, winning a 1 1/16-mile Allowance race with a very impressive 108 Equibase Speed Figure and strong 100+ BRIS Late Pace/Speed Rating.
Creative Minister is a son of 2012 Preakness-placed Creative Cause and a grandsire of Tapit. Thie rapidly improved colt did not race as a two-year-old, and his trainer is high on the colt's upside.
“He’s a horse that fits the mold as potentially a top three-year-old”, said McPeek. “He’s jumped through some two-turn hoops now, and we think it’s time to find out just how good he really is.”
Horse Racing Nation's Super Screener race projections rate Creative Minister the best of the 'B' horses behind Epicenter, Early Voting and Secret Oath. HRN gives Creative Minister an excellent shot at hitting the superfecta and a chance to win this race outright.
2022 Preakness
There is plenty of intrigue with this year’s Preakness.
Will Epicenter validate the belief he ran the best Kentucky Derby performance based on being relatively close to the hot pace? Can Kentucky Oaks' winner Secret Oath take on the boys and prevail the way Swiss Skydiver did in 2020? Will 'new shooter' Early Voting pull off the upset like Rombauer did last year after also skipping the Kentucky Derby? Is there a longshot lurking in the wings to run by them all?
The last three Preakness winners have gone to post with odds of 11/1, 11/1 and 6/1. Justify in 2018 was the last Preakness favorite to win the race on his way to capturing the Triple Crown.
