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2012 Preakness: Odds And How To Bet

The Preakness is coming up on Saturday, and if you're looking to bet on the race but don't know how -- don't worry, I'm here to help.

First things first, let's take a look at the update odds for the 2012 Preakness, sorted by post position:

  1. Tiger Walk, 30-1
  2. Teeth of the Dog, 15-1
  3. Pretension, 30-1
  4. Zetterholm, 20-1
  5. Went The Day Well, 6-1
  6. Creative Cause, 6-1
  7. Bodemeister, 8-5
  8. Daddy Nose Best, 12-1
  9. I'll Have Another, 5-2
  10. Optimizer, 30-1
  11. Cozzetti, 30-1
There are many different types of bets you can place. First, let's start by breaking down the basic straight bets.

WIN -- As simple as it sounds, you're betting on the horse to win.
PLACE -- You're betting on the horse to finish either first or second.
SHOW -- You're betting on the horse to finish first, second or third.

Things get a little trickier with the exotic bets, but they're still not that difficult to break down.

QUINELLA -- You select two horses, and they must finish in first and second place for you to win.
EXACTA -- You select two horses, and you must choose one to win and one to finish second. You only collect if the horses finish in the order you chose, unlike the quinella.
TRIFECTA -- You must select the first, second and third place horses in the exact order.
SUPERFECTA -- You must select the first, second, third and fourth place horses in the exact order.

For a simplified odds chart, the folks over at the Preakness' official website have you covered.

Below you'll find the payoffs on a $2 win ticket. Here's how you can figure out your payoff:

Lets look at the first odds on the chart (1-10). Multiply your bet amount ($2) by the first number in the odds (1). Then divide that number by the second number in the odds (10) and then add your bet amount to the total to get your payoff ($2X1=2, 2/10=.20, .20+$2=$2.20).

PAYOFF ON A $2 TICKET
1-10 $2.20 7-5 $4.80 4-1 $10.00 12-1 $26.00
1-5 $2.40 3-2 $5.00 9-2 $11.00 15-1 $32.00
2-5 $2.80 8-5 $5.20 5-1 $12.00 20-1 $42.00
1-2 $3.00 9-5 $5.60 6-1 $14.00 50-1 $102.00
3-5 $3.20 2-1 $6.00 7-1 $16.00 60-1 $122.00
4-5 $3.60 5-2 $7.00 8-1 $18.00 99-1 $200.00
1-1 $4.00 3-1 $8.00 9-1 $20.00
6-5 $4.40 7-2 $9.00 10-1 $22.00

So, there you have it -- the updated odds and how to place your bets. If you are going to gamble on this year's Preakness, please do so responsibly.

Photographs by jamesbrandon, jdtornow, phlezk, flygraphix, mcdlttx, tomasland, and literalbarrage used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.