Gayego Preakness Odds: Could Change Quickly With Behindthebar Out

Gayego was listed with 10 to 1 Preakness odds heading into Saturday's race but all that could change now that his nearest competitor, Behindthebar, has been removed from the race.

Behindthebar was listed with the next shortest odds after heavily favored Big Brown. He was taken out of the race due to a bruise in his left front foot, trainer Todd Pletcher said.

Gayego's odds to win the 2008 Preakness were likely to be shortened further over the course of Friday afternoon, therefore Gambling911.com was urging its readers to bet on Gayego immediately (see odds here) in order to lock him in at the 10 to 1 odds. It was conceivable that as soon as this article headed to press, Gayego's Preakness odds could be shortened.

Gayego is the only Derby horse besides heavily favored Big Brown racing in the 2008 Preakness Stakes. He was among the more talked about horses before finishing 17th out of 20th in the Kentucky Derby.

He won the Arkansas Derby and had never finished lower than second in five trips.

This horse never had a chance to run until late," Gayego's trainer, Paulo Lobo, said of Gayego's Derby run. "The first half-mile for him was a bad, bad race. It took him out of it early."

Lobo said the final decision was a team effort between him and the colt's owners, Cubanacan Stables. They met Saturday morning and Lobo told the owners he'd like to see how Gayego galloped Sunday and Monday before committing to the second leg of the Triple Crown. On Tuesday morning, Lobo made it official - Gayego would join Big Brown as the only two runners from the Derby's full field of 20 to run in the Preakness.

"He's eating everything since he came back from Churchill," Lobo said. "He's pulling my rider in the morning. He's strong, happy. We decided to give him a chance."