The Preakness positional draw for the event's nine horses took place on Wednesday. Orb, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, drew the inside post.
Starting the race from the rail won't make Orb's day at Pimlico any easier. If Orb fails to get out in front from the inside spot, he can easily get stuck in the back of the field as the other competitors merge from the outside positions, according to the Associated Press.
Despite having preferred an outside position, Orb's trainer Shug McGaughey is still optimistic. He admitted that drawing the No. 1 spot at the Preakness is better than drawing that spot in the Derby.
"It's not nearly the problem it would be in the Derby," he said. "The Derby is kind of catty-cornered. You got to shove your way out of there or you get shut off down in there. It's pretty straightforward here. There are only nine horses. There's not going to be that kind of jockeying into the first turn. We'll just hold our position and see how the race plays out."
In the last 52 runnings of the Preakness, only one horse (Tabasco Cat, 1994) has won from the inside post.
Orb is still the horse to beat. An even-odds favorite for Saturday's race, he hopes to become the second horse ever to win from the rail at the Preakness. If Orb can win the Preakness on Saturday and the Belmont in June, he will become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Triple Crown.
Mylute, the second favorite at 5-1, plans to take advantage of Orb's inside position.
"The draw was great. We're in the middle and we've got Orb and Departing inside of us, which is great because we can watch and see what happens," Mylute's co-owner Todd Quast said. "... We need to make up three or four lengths, and that (Orb's start position) may be one of the factors that helps us."
The Preakness is Saturday. The race is expected to start around 6 p.m. ET, with an official start time coming later in the week.
Below are the race positions and the morning-line odds (via the New York Times):
1. Orb: 1-1
2. Goldencents: 8-1
3. Titletown Five: 30-1
4. Departing: 6-1
5. Mylute: 5-1
6. Oxbow: 15-1
7. Will Take Charge: 12-1
8. Govenor Charlie: 12-1
9. Itsmyluckyday: 10-1
