Barbaro is THE HORSE to beat
his race to lose, and I can only "slightly detect" two verrrrrry minor chinks in his armor ......
a) late arrival to Pimlico
b) HIS speed in the KD was "possibly" a draining factor and took a tad bit too much out of him
that said ....
Matz is, on solid evidence, a trainer who knows his horse .. the moods, the exercise needs, the drive, demeanor, etc ... all his handling of Barbaro shows vast expertise, and more especially ..... how to handle this horse...
that said ....
I hate to bet a horse below 3-2,
so, I'm gonna shoot at a large payout with practically no expenditure on my part ....
here is my bet
part wheel exacta ONLY .. no w/p/s
Like Now and Bernardini on top of Like Now-Barbaro-Bernardini-Diabolical
1 and 8 over 1 and 6 and 8 and 9
should Barbaro win the Preakness, he should be a shoo in for the Belmont and the Triple Crown.... as I feel this race will be tougher for him than the longer Mile and a half Belmont, even though the competition here is MUCH weaker than it will be in the Belmont.
