Preakness Odds Update - 3:50 pm

1) Aikenite - 35-1

2) Schoolyard Dreams - 15-1

3) Pleasant Prince - 25-1

4) Northern Giant - 25-1

5) Yawanna Twist - 15-1

6) Jackson Bend - 11-1

7) Lookin at Lucky - 2-1

8) Super Saver - 9-5

9) Caracortado - 19-1 (down from 20-1)

10) Paddy O'Prado - 7-1

11) First Dude - 25-1

12) Dublin - 11-1 (up from 10-1 - been bouncing between 10-11)

Preakness Odds Update - 3:20 pm

1) Aikenite - 35-1

2) Schoolyard Dreams - 15-1

3) Pleasant Prince - 25-1

4) Northern Giant - 25-1 (down from 30-1)

5) Yawanna Twist - 15-1

6) Jackson Bend - 11-1

7) Lookin at Lucky - 2-1

8) Super Saver - 9-5

9) Caracortado - 20-1

10) Paddy O'Prado - 7-1 (down from 8-1)

11) First Dude - 25-1

12) Dublin - 10-1 (down from 11-1)

Preakness Odds Update - 2:50 pm

1) Aikenite - 35-1

2) Schoolyard Dreams - 15-1 (down from 16-1)

3) Pleasant Prince - 25-1

4) Northern Giant - 30-1 (up from 25-1)

5) Yawanna Twist - 15-1

6) Jackson Bend - 11-1

7) Lookin at Lucky - 2-1

8) Super Saver - 9-5

9) Caracortado - 20-1

10) Paddy O'Prado - 8-1

11) First Dude - 25-1

12) Dublin - 11-1 (up from 10-1)

Preakness Day, 5 p.m.

The steamy weather continues at Pimlico and there are some darker clouds off to the West. There is no question it will rain here at Pimlico but it may well happen after the running of the Preakness.

As for the odds, they're like the weather outside, stagnant.

And there probably won't be any huge moves in the odds between now and post time for the race, which should be around 6:15 p.m.

The contenders:
Rachel Alexandra - 2-1
Mine That Bird - 6-1
Pioneerof the Nile - 6-1
Musket Man - 9-1 (Had the huge surge down from 14 to 9 over an hour ago)
Friesan Fire - 9-1
Big Drama - 10-1 (Daily Racing Form reported he scraped his knee this AM. Trainer said it was "minor as could be.")
Papa Clem - 14-1

Borderliners:
Terrain - 14-1
General Quarters - 15-1
Take The Points - 16-1

No Shot-ers:
Luv Gov - 22-1
Flying Private - 25-1
Tone It Down - 21-1

Next entry will be my picks. So, in other words, the horses you cross of your list because I picked them.

Preakness Day, 4 p.m.

With the sun still somewhat shining at Pimlico and temps in the upper 70's, there was some movement in the odds with two hours to go before the Preakness gets rolling.

As my good friend Pat Forde of ESPN.com said "someone unbuckled" on Musket Man. The third place finisher in the Kentucky Derby dropped from 14-1 to 9-1. Someone from trainer Derek Ryan's homebase in New Jersey must have dropped a lot of pesos on the colt.

Rachel Alexandra continues to slowly drift as she now stands at 2-1. At her lowest, she was 6-5 but money has started to spread out more evenly.

Here are the updates on the main contenders:
Big Drama - 10-1
Mine That Bird - 6-1
Friesan Fire - 9-1 (been either 8 or 9 all day)
Papa Clem - 15-1
Pioneerof the Nile - 6-1

Members of the overbet club:
Luv Gov - 25-1
Flying Private - 25-1
Take The Points - 16-1
Tone It Down - 21-1

Preakness Day, 3 p.m.

The sun has finally come out at "Old Hilltop" and it feels like a humid early summer day outside. The rain still so far is staying off to the West of Baltimore so the track could well remain dry for the Preakness Stakes.

The infield crowd continues to be well below normal which is disheartening.

No real big change in the odds with three hours to go.

Rachel Alexandra remains the 9-5 favorite while Derby winner Mine That Bird and Pioneerof the Nile are 6-1.

The value still remains with Musket Man (14-1), Friesan Fire (9-1) and Papa Clem (15-1).

I have yet to hear why the true longshots going in the race are not longshots. Luv Gov was 50-1 in the morning line and is now 22-1. WHY????

Same can be said for Flying Private (50-1 ML, 25-1 now) and Tone It Down (50-1 ML, 20-1 n0w.)

I know people don't believe in Mine That Bird but if you are unsure about the Derby winner, why would you put your money into a horse that ran last in the "Run for the Roses", just won his first race in 10 tries or has never beaten any significant competition in Maryland.

Preakness...Where are We Now?

With all the crazy Preakness news over the past few days, it is easy to lose focus on the the big picture with less than five days until the race. Here's a quick recap on who is running and a note on each.

The two big stories:

Rachel Alexandra - The superstar filly and Kentucky Oaks winner appears to be "all systems go" to be become the first female to run in the Preakness in 10 years (last - Excellent Meeting). After all the back and forth two owners trying to keep her out of the Preakness, sanity and fairness prevailed. She is set to fly to Baltimore on Tuesday and her new owner, Jess Jackson, will make the final decision to enter Rachel once she is safe and sound at Pimlico. Calvin Borel will ride and she will be the post-time favorite.

Mine That Bird - After co-owner Mark Allen smartened up and gave up blocking Rachel from running in the Preakness, it was back to business for the Derby winner on Monday. The son of Birdstone (pictured left) had an semi-unplanned workout at Churchill Monday morning (1/2 mile - 49.20) under Borel. If Rachel goes, then Mike Smith will take the reigns from Borel. Mine That Bird could be the longest priced Derby winner of all time based on the field that's set to run on Saturday.

The rest of the field (no disrespect intended):

Big Drama - One of the unheralded horses in the field as he has a record of 5-1-1 in seven starts. Jockey John Velazquez will ride him for the first time and should be keeping Rachel Alexandra occupied on the front end of the race. He will be one to watch.

Flying Private - The last place finisher (19th) in the Derby will take another shot at a Triple Crown. Trainer D. Wayne blamed the sloppy track for his bad finish in the Derby and gets star rider Alan Garcia to take the mount. Not sure that will help much.

Friesan Fire - The Derby favorite, who beat only Flying Private in the "Run for the Roses," will work Tuesday morning and then a final decision will be made to run him. If recovered from his Derby injuries, he could be very tough and will be a decent price.

General Quarters - The great story of the Derby has bounced back from his 10th place Derby finish and is set to arrive in Baltimore Tuesday afternoon. Tough to know how he will run but hard not to root for again.

Hull - Trainer Dale Romans pulled the plug on running this unbeaten colt in the Preakness with the presence of Rachel Alexandra.

Luv Guv - The namesake of former NY Governor Elliot Spitzer, who has just one win to his credit, will be a longshot. Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas said this horse has a bright future and will be their Belmont horse. I think Lukas is giving you a hint...don't bet him here.

Musket Man - The third place Derby finisher, who has been training back at his home base at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, will wait until the morning of the race to ship to Pimlico. (A little bit of a concern for me. Why wait that long?) He will workout on Tuesday but his record is one of the best in the field - 5-0-2 in seven starts.

Papa Clem - The Arkansas Derby winner, who currently is only one of two Preakness runners at Pimlico, is looking to better his fourth place finish in the Derby. A dry track should help him and being just off the lead during the Preakness should be to his advantage.

Pioneerof the Nile - With trainer Bob Baffert on hand, the Derby runner-up (right) worked great at Churchill on Monday morning - 1/2 mile in :47.60. The colt will fly to Baltimore on Wednesday and will be one of the horses to beat.

Take The Points - Trainer Todd Pletcher, who is still in search of a win in the Derby and Preakness, will take his shot at the Preakness with this lightly raced colt. He skipped the Derby with this race in mind. His career highlight was second to The Pamplemousse at Santa Anita in February. Not quite sure what to think of him yet but getting Edgar Prado to ride is a huge help.

Terrain - The well bred son of Sky Mesa, who's been idle since a fourth in the Toyota Blue Grass, will head to Baltimore on Wednesday from Louisville. He hasn't won since being placed first via DQ in the Arlington Washington Futurity in September. Not a good sign that he's 0-for-2 this year.

Tone It Down - The true local horse of the field, finished third last time out in the Federico Tesio at Pimlico. He would appear to be overmatched but it always seems like a local horse always is a danger.