BALTIMORE – The Orioles are well below .500, the Ravens were 8-9 last year, the Bullets long ago moved to Washington and were magically transformed into Wizards. And now the Kentucky Derby winner isn’t coming to the Preakness. What, oh what, is a Baltimore sports fan to do? Head to the track, that’s what. For all the caterwauling about Rich Strike missing the Preakness – and to be certain it is always more interesting when the Derby winner is here – the fact remains the 147th Preakness Stakes on Saturday here at Pimlico has both the most accomplished colt of this crop, and the current leader among the fillies. Sure, neither Epicenter, the Derby runner-up, nor Secret Oath, winner of the Kentucky Oaks, were improbable 80-1 winners of the Derby. But they offer a compelling match in a race that, in recent years, has become more important than the Derby when determining Eclipse Award winners. :: Get Preakness Betting Strategies by for exclusive wagering insight, contender analysis, and more Beginning in 1997, 18 of the last 25 winners of the Preakness have gone on to win Eclipse Awards at year’s end, 16 males and two – Rachel Alexandra and Swiss Skydiver – fillies. Of the last 25 winners of the Derby, 13 have won titles. A good number of horses won championships after capturing both the Derby and Preakness – like California Chrome, who preceded Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify – but in years when a different horse won the Derby and the Preakness, more often the Preakness winner was adjudged the best of the crop by year’s end. That list includes Afleet Alex, Bernardini, Curlin, Lookin At Lucky, and Point Given. Point is, the Preakness is important. It’s an American classic, part of the Triple Crown, at a historic racetrack in a city long-time visitors recognize as one of the most underrated in the country. Little Italy, the Inner Harbor, Camden Yards, crab cakes, and a horse race that has a good chance, based on the past quarter-century, of producing an Eclipse Award winner. There’s plenty to like, hon. Nine entered the Preakness, with six – including Epicenter and Secret Oath – coming back in approximately two weeks, a turnaround that seemingly caused 17 of the 20 horses who ran in the Derby, including Rich Strike, to take a pass. The other three, most notably Wood Memorial runner-up Early Voting, have been off for six weeks. The Preakness, the shortest of the Triple Crown races at 1 3/16 miles, is race 13 on a 14-race card that begins at 10:30 a.m. Eastern and concludes more than nine hours later with a Grade 1 Arabian race that follows the Preakness. Preceding the Preakness are eight other Thoroughbred stakes, four graded. The heat is going to be as intense as the pace of the Derby. The Weather Channel is predicting a high temperature of 97 degrees on Saturday, following a Friday high of 91. There is no rain in the forecast following a storm Wednesday night into Thursday morning. So it should be a fast track when Epicenter, Secret Oath, and their seven rivals are sent away from the gate shortly after 7 p.m. :: Bet The Preakness with confidence! Join DRF Bets and get a $250 deposit match bonus, $10 free bet, and access to FREE DRF Formulator! Epicenter, trained by two-time Preakness winner Steve Asmussen, is the deserving favorite in every conceivable aspect. He has proven adaptable to different pace scenarios: He is no longer a committed front-runner, but one who can let others do the dirty work, yet is perfectly capable of taking up the running. He comes off a splendid effort in the Derby, in which he staved off a stretch-long bid from the high-class Zandon, only to get nailed by the onrushing Rich Strike, losing by three-quarters of a length while producing a Beyer Speed Figure of 100, just shy of his career best of 102 when winning the Louisiana Derby. By starting from post 8 of 9, regular rider Joel Rosario should have every option available for Epicenter in the opening quarter-mile. Secret Oath comes off a career-best 94 Beyer in the Kentucky Oaks, her first start with jockey Luis Saez. Secret Oath tried boys once previously and finished third in the Arkansas Derby after a horrendous trip, so she had a legitimate excuse, but no one in that field was of the quality of Epicenter. She will try to give her trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, a record-tying seventh victory in the Preakness. Early Voting is trying to follow in the footsteps of Cloud Computing, who won the Preakness in his fourth lifetime start for trainer Chad Brown and owner Seth Klarman after purposely being kept out of the Derby. Skipping the Derby proved wise for Early Voting, who likely would have been fried by the hot pace that unfolded. He is drawn inside of Epicenter, in post 5, so he figures to be shadowed from the start. Skippylongstocking was a distant third in the Wood Memorial, finishing 3 1/2 lengths behind Early Voting. Simplification was fourth in the Derby, hampered a bit by a wide trip. By starting from post 1, he should be able to save ground, and the expected slower pace of this race, at least compared to the Derby, should have him more prominent. Creative Minister was supplemented for $150,000, that fee due to his not being nominated to the Triple Crown in January or March. He has come a long way in a short amount of time, and though this is his stakes debut there’s no telling what his ceiling is, as he’s moved forward with his Beyers every time. He and Early Voting are the least experienced horses in the race. Armagnac could be part of the pace, as both his wins have come when making the lead, though both were against inferior fields, and he was well beaten in both his previous stakes tries. Happy Jack joins Epicenter and Simplification as the only horses to try the first two legs of the Triple Crown, but unlike the other two, he was never a factor in the Derby, racing well back throughout, finishing 14th. He finished a neck in front of Armagnac when both were well beaten in the Santa Anita Derby. Fenwick got his lone win from six starts when leading from start to finish against maidens at Tampa, earning an 88 Beyer under optimum conditions. He’s finished last in three of his six starts, including most recently in the Blue Grass.