Preakness Stakes Betting -- So Who'll Be Bringing Up the Rear? It Could Be Fenwick

  • In Charles Jay
  • Sat, May 21st, 2022 4:22:26 pm
  • By Charles Jay - Exclusive to OSGA


It may be no surprise that Fenwick is our choice to finish last in the Preakness Stakes, considering his past performances.

You know, when you are a customer at BetOnline, wagering on the Triple Crown races is not just about the thrill of victory. It is also about the agony of ignominious defeat.

They make that kind of thing possible with available bets on who will finish last in the race. This is something they've been doing for years, and it has met with much success, even in this year when Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike took some of the glamour out of the race by skipping it.

Fenwick will be coming out of the #3 gate in the 1-3/16 mile race (6:45 PM ET), and there are many who argue that he shouldn't be in the race at all.

His trainer has actually demonstrated some optimism.

"This horse just keeps getting bigger, stronger," says Kevin McKathan. "He's going to find his running style. If it goes his way, they'll be talking about him."

You couldn't ask for a whole lot more when it came to Fenwick's breeding. The sire is Curlin, who won the Preakness is 2007, then went on to win the Breeders Cup Classic, and was named Horse of the Year twice.

But the way this horse has performed, you would swear he had no breeding at all.

First of all, it took five races for Fenwick to break maiden. And they weren't just near-misses. After a second place finish at seven furlongs in his debut, he ran out of the money in three straight (sixth, fifth, sixth), finishing 19, 9-3/4 and 24 lengths off the pace. Finally, he broke maiden on March 22 at Tampa Bay Downs.

He may indeed have the "stuff" we're looking for.

Okay, ready for the odds to finish LAST at BetOnline? Here they are:

3 Fenwick +250
6 Happy Jack +350
9 Skippylongstocking +400
7 Armagnac +550
2 Creative Minister +700
1 Simplification +1000
4 Secret Oath +1600
5 Early Voting +1800
8 Epicenter +5000


When you look at McKathan, he is Fenwick's third different trainer in just a little more than three months. Stsve Asmussen, the Hall of Famer who trains the Preakness favorite, Epicenter, let him go in February, and then David Fisher had him before McKathan took over.

Off the maiden win, there was the effort to see what the horse could do in stakes company, but it was a huge jump, to say the least. In the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, a Grade 1 event, he briefly showed some life, but ran out of gas rather early, dropping to last place (11th) at the top of the stretch and continuing to lose ground. Zandon rolled home with the victory, and Fenwick was 36 lengths back at that point.

And that is the extent of his experience running against the kind of competition he'll face on Saturday.

Fenwick has, naturally, won less money than any other horse in this field ($53,840). And that is by a wide margin.

Our second "favorite" here is Happy Jack, but there is a vast difference between his accomplishments and that of Fenwick. While it is true that he finished a rather non-competitive 14th in the Kentucky Derby, he had at least done enough to gather sufficient points for the Derby. That came by way of third place finishes in the Grade 2 San Felipe and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby.

So within this context, Happy Jack doesn't even compare.


Ready for the "First and Last Contest" on the Preakness? Check it out at BetOnline and fight it out for $10,000 in prizes....There are lots of props in the sportsbook area. Then there is the racebook, which offers action from around the world, day in and day out...... Make your deposits using a credit card, or their comprehensive selection of cryptocurrencies!


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