Super Saver’s Odds to Win the Triple Crown

by Patricia Woo | May 3 2010

All year, Eskendereya and Lookin at Lucky have been noted as the horses with the best chance to win the Triple Crown. But with Eskendereya sidelined with a leg injury and Lookin at Lucky unsuccessful in the Kentucky Derby, all eyes are now on the winner of this year's Kentucky Derby winner, Super Saver, as he moves on to the next stage of his Triple Crown bid.

As of this writing, the Bodog Sportsbook is offering the following Super Saver odds to win the 2010 Preakness Stakes:

Will Super Saver win the 2010 Preakness Stakes?    

Yes                  +250
No                   -325

As of this writing, the Bodog Sportsbook is offering the following Super Saver odds to win the 2010 Triple Crown:

Will Super Saver Win The 2010 Triple Crown?          

Yes                  +475
No                   -700

Super Saver is a 3-year-old son of Maria's Mon, and, after pocketing the $1.4M he earned from his Kentucky Derby win, his career earnings ballooned to $1.8M. He has a versatile running style, exemplified by his stalking trip in the Kentucky Derby and front-running trip in the $150,000 Gr. 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes – also at Churchill Downs – on Nov. 28.

With the Preakness Stakes at only 1 3/16 miles - the shortest leg of the Triple Crown - that versatility will come in handy. He is trained by Todd Pletcher, who had been 0 for 24 in the Kentucky Derby prior to 2010; Pletcher has also never won the Preakness Stakes.

Super Saver will also have the expertise of jockey Calvin Borel, who won the Preakness Stakes last year aboard filly Rachel Alexandra; "I want to win the Triple Crown," Borel declared after his Kentucky Derby victory on Saturday.

But standing in Super Saver's way are other top contenders intent on claiming their own piece of Triple Crown glory. Pletcher has stated that his other Derby contenders - filly Devil May Care, Mission Impazible and Discreetly Mine - are unlikely to start in the Preakness Stakes. Rule, who was taken out of contention for the Derby, is possible, as is Aikenite. D. Wayne Lukas's Dublin, who finished seventh in the Derby, is slated to make the trip to Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., for the race on May 15. Paddy O'Prado, Make Music for Me and Jackson Bend are also possible.

Several contenders who were on the graded stakes bubble of the Kentucky Derby are pointing to the Preakness Stakes as well. A Little Warm (winner of the Spectacular Bid Stakes in January), Caracortado (winner of the Robert B. Lewis Stakes in February) and Pleasant Prince (runner-up in the Florida Derby in March) are among the new faces.

A notable absence is Ice Box, whose early traffic troubles and monstrous late charge combined for a visually impressive runner-up performance in the Kentucky Derby. Trainer Nick Zito said he would be inclined to rest his colt and show up in the Belmont Stakes on June 5 rather than running in the Preakness Stakes with only two weeks' rest.

So history is stacked against Super Saver and his bid to win the Triple Crown - the feat of winning all three races has not been accomplished since Affirmed in 1978. But with every year, a new contender emerges - and 2010 could be the year that a Triple Crown champion is crowned.

Bet on the Triple Crown series with Bodog Racebook!