Preakness Stakes storylines: All eyes on Mage’s Triple Crown quest

There is little time to reflect on who won the Kentucky Derby before the second leg of the Triple Crown comes up two weeks later. It’s a little over a week when entries are drawn on Monday for the 148th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

The obvious yet easy question to answer: Will there be a Triple Crown winner?

First of all, there is only one horse who could win the Triple Crown, Mage, winner of the Derby. Last year, there wasn’t a question to be asked as Derby winner Rich Strike didn’t even run in the Preakness. Instead, he waited for the Belmont Stakes, where he finished sixth.

Thirty-six horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, yet only 13 have gone on to win the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown. BetOnline, a service whose function is explained in its title, has posted odds of 6-1 that Mage will win the Triple Crown. It means bet $100 to make a profit of $600. The odds no one will win the Triple Crown are 1-10.

So, the odds are slightly better than the classic line in the movie Dumb and Dumber, “So, you’re telling me there is a chance?”

Everyone says the most difficult of the three races to win is the Kentucky Derby. And without that win, there is no Triple Crown discussion. The Preakness is one-sixteenth of a mile shorter and the field is much smaller. Despite legend, the turns are not tighter at Pimlico. Horses that are in top form should still have that form two weeks later.

This will be the top storyline on everyone’s mind leading up to the Preakness Stakes on Saturday. Here are some other questions that will likely be asked.