With Prayer for Relief becoming a late scratch due to a fever, we are now down to 12 would-be 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic Predictions. As expected, things have remained rather quite in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic Betting Odds, as the usual suspects remain atop the list of 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic Predictions favorites.

The current Breeders’ Cup 2011 Favorites have pretty much remain unscathed since the day the Breeders’ Cup Betting Odds were announced. Leading that category and remaining strong, is 4-year-old sensation, Uncle Mo [7/2], closely followed by the filly, Havre de Grace [9/2]. Other Breeders’ Cup predictions 2011 Favorites include: So You Think at 5/1, Flat Out at 13/2, To Honor And Serve at 11/1 and Game On Dude at 12/1.

It is now Friday morning, just hours away from the Breeders’ Cup 2011. Post Positions have been announced and we are all set to crown the next American Horse of the Year. Despite Uncle Mo being the clear favorite from day one, many believe that the Breeders’ Cup 2011 and Horse of the Year award winner will be filly, Havre de Grace.

The countdown to the 2011 Breeders’ Cup is officially underway! We are now just hours away from the premier race of the year in the United States. Thirteen of the best thoroughbred horses will be competing in the dirt, left-handed 1¼-mile track at the historic Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. But only one will earn the title of 2011 Breeders’ Cup champion and take home the $5 million purse that comes with this superlative class.

Here are a few 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic picks from the experts as readers prepare to place bets either at Churchill Downs or at an online sportsbooks. Uncle Mo is at 4/1 odds and he has never looked better, or has never trained better, owner Mike Repole said. "This is the Uncle Mo we thought we'd see the whole 3-year-old season. For him to make this comeback in just four months from being diagnosed is amazing." Uncle Mo lost 200 pounds while suffering an intestinal illness that sidelined him during the Triple Crown this past summer.

After being announced that he would have post No.12, Uncle Mo continues to be the frontrunner in the Breeders’ Cup Picks 2011 list for Saturday’s race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Uncle Mo, who won this race as a three-year-old Juvenile, has been the betting favorite to win the 1¼-mile race all along.

With Uncle Mo getting all the attention in most people’s in Breeders’ Cup Predictions 2011, there are a couple of frontrunners ready to shock the world. One of those “dark horses” (no pun-intended) is Game On Dude, who many observers believe to be the most qualified horse to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic this upcoming Saturday, Nov. 12 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

The 2011 Preakness Stakes results produced some very generous payouts and below, you’ll find a complete list of the finishing order in yesterday’s race. For at least another year, the Triple Crown remained out of reach, extending the streak to 33 years without a winner of American horse racing's biggest prize. Animal Kingdom gave it an admirable run at Pimlico in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, but ran out of room as Shackleford broke the wire first, just about a half a length ahead of the Kentucky Derby winner.

Mucho Macho Man will try to write a story-book ending for trainer Kathy Ritvo and after a third-place Kentucky Derby finish, this horse will try to top the 2011 Preakness results on Saturday. Jockey Rajiv Maragh will start from the number nine post and with a field that is a bit less competitive than the Derby’s, I like Mucho Macho Man to land in the money at the Preakness. He was not in the same class as Animal Kingdom in the Kentucky Derby, but he was definitely gaining on runner-up Nehro at the finish line.

Sheldon Russell will attempt to ride Concealed Identity to a 2011 Preakness Stakes odds victory and he’ll have to do it from the outside, as this horse/jockey combo have drawn the 13th post. Concealed Identity won the May 7th Federico Tesio, running impressively again and seeing his Beyer Speed Figure move north. It doesn’t hurt in the least bit that his sire, Smarty Jones, won the Preakness in dazzling fashion in 2004. He also benefits from home cooking, as those two recent big wins came on this track, so he’s the one horse from the field that is proven at this track.

Astrology will attempt to win the Preakness Stakes from the first post position and if anyone can turn that dreaded starting post into winning horse racing picks, it is jockey Mike E. Smith. Mike Smith ran in the Kentucky Derby aboard Twinspired and after a disappointing 17th place finish, he will be making sure that he doesn’t get pinched between the rail and the field. A lot of horse racing betting sharps like this horse to run a confident race and finish his trip ahead of the pack.

Now that the 136th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course is only hours away, the current Preakness Stakes odds are heating up for Triple Crown favorite Animal Kingdom and for the rest of the horse racing field.

After coughing up the lead late in the Derby, Shackelford will try to cash in on his Preakness Stakes odds and hold on to that lead as they cross the wire. He led a pack of 19 horses from the start until inside the eighth pole in the Kentucky Derby – more than 90 percent of the race – before tiring late to be fourth. That followed another fine front-running effort, albeit another losing one, when he set taxing fractions in the Florida Derby before being caught on the wire by Dialed In, the eventual Kentucky Derby favorite.

Trainer Nick Zito would love nothing more than to start getting over a disappointing Kentucky Derby performance by cashing in on Dialed In’s Preakness Stakes odds and get him to the winners circle. Dialed In has been very consistent, with three wins and a close second in his first four races. He was last early behind a slow pace in the Kentucky Derby, and gained 9 1/2 lengths while finishing eighth of 19.

Now that the post positions have been drawn and the start time set for 6:18pm ET, we can examine some free betting picks for the 2011 Preakness Stakes. There are certain posts that can affect the horse racing odds negatively in a race.

Animal Kingdom will receive some heavy 2011 Triple Crown picks if he can cruise past the top contenders in the Preakness Stakes today. After winning the Kentucky Derby as a 20-1 longshot, jockey John Velazquez is comfortable about his Preakness Stakes odds, as is the racebook at SBGGlobal.com, where Animal Kingdom is an overwhelming 2-1 favorite over the field.

Todd Pletcher will look to make some music with Dance City at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday and the bloodline of this horse will make him a part of a lot of 2011 Preakness Stakes picks. Dance City’s pedigree boasts a dose of speed over a strong helping of class and stamina. Nine furlongs shouldn’t be out of the question for the lightly-raced Dance City, but that extra sixteenth of a mile may be a small issue to overcome.

There will be some contenders that are flying under the 2011 Preakness Stakes predictions radar and Mr. Commons is one of the main horses that fit the bill for this upcoming race. Mr. Commons developed rapidly this winter in California and continued his improving pattern by finishing third in the Santa Anita Derby. Mr. Commons has only raced four times in his life, so more steady improvements are likely.

Norman Asbjornson is not your ordinary household name, but he will try to sneak onto some 2011 Preakness Stakes predictions this Saturday. From a Beyer Speed Figure standpoint, each race since his maiden victory last December has been faster than the one before, and he has managed this while taking some significant class jumps. Even if he was soundly beaten by Stay Thirsty, he was a very competitive second in the Gotham Stakes two starts back. He faltered with a fourth-place finish at the Wood Memorial and will now go up against some stiffer competition in the Preakness.

Sway Away will try to dodge the field at Pimlico Race Course, but his 2011 Preakness odds are not much reason to pick him as the outright winner. Sway Away comes from an impressive blood line, as both Seattle Slew and Affirmed are in his pedigree. The sire and broodmare sire combined for five American classic victories, and the top of the pedigree may help see Sway Away through nine furlongs. There is a good amount of speed on the female side of this family, however. The final half-furlong of the Preakness could prove testing.

Bob Baffert has a proven track record at Pimlico Race Course and Preakness Stakes betting odds for Midnight Interlude are stronger than listed on the morning line. Baffert has saddled five Preakness winners and for hunch bettors, his wins have followed a pattern of back-to-back success. In 1997, Baffert scored with Silver Charm, and followed up with Real Quiet the next year. In 2001 he trained Point Given to victory in the Preakness, and followed with War Emblem the following year.

The right way to get your 2011 Preakness Stakes betting picks in order is to examine the entire field, including long-shots like Isn’t He Perfect. For one, his Beyer Speed Figures have moved in the right direction in recent months and his fifth-place finishes in the Grade 1 Wood and the Grade 2 Jerome show that he is not completely out of his element in these tougher races. Isn’t He Perfect was in the thick of things in mid-stretch in the Wood, running in second before weakening and falling off the pace.

As we run down the list of long-shots in the 136th Preakness Stakes, there are a few horses including Flashpoint that will not be part of many people’s horse racing picks on Saturday. Flashpoint did not run in the Kentucky Derby a few weeks ago, although I can’t help but wonder how well he could’ve fared. Flashpoint has exceptional early speed and could have gone a long way on the front end if he had been at Churchill Downs last weekend. By virtue of his Hutcheson (gr. II) win and his fourth-place finish in the Florida Derby (gr.

It is no surprise that Animal Kingdom is currently favored to win the Preakness Stakes after having won the Kentucky Derby, but what is up for debate are his odds of winning this season’s Triple Crown. It is just so surprising how a 20-1 long-shot heading into Churchill Downs is dominating the odds of winning the 2011 Preakness Stakes. Animal Kingdom ran a superb race against a solid but not legendary group of contenders, and the field at Pimlico Park could produce yet another surprise at the finish line.

There are many tips that were valid in the Kentucky Derby that can be used when labeling the best bets in the 2011 Preakness Stakes. There are nine unfamiliar horses that deserve a look because just like the Derby, the winner of this race may be as unexpected as Animal Kingdom’s magical Run for the Roses. Sway Away, the son of 2005 Preakness winner Afleet Alex and grandson of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, has seen incremental increases in distance lately.