Midland: Here are 3 great plays for Preakness Future Wager

The first-ever Preakness Future Wager offers very interesting opportunities, especially as the public isn't sure how to bet this wager. With more than $250,000 in the pool Saturday morning, that only adds to the attractiveness of the wager. Even with the scratch of Forte, there are at least three very good betting opportunities.

How to look at the Preakness Future Wager

The money in the pool to this point suggests the public isn't looking at this wager correctly. The betting almost looks like the horses are ranked in terms of talent from top to bottom. But that's not the way to look at this wager. The Derby horses have to run twice, and possibly win twice, to connect on the wager. Any horse going directly to the Preakness has no other uncertainty associated with it. So we'll focus on horses going directly to the the race.

Three good betting opportunities

First Mission is the best bet in the wager. Trained by Brad Cox, First Mission ran very well in the Lexington Stakes (G3) and could very well be the second betting choice in the Preakness. That would put him in the 3-1 range on Preakness day, and he is currently 9-1 in the Preakness Future Wager.

Another great bet is "all others." The odds were 19-1 as of Saturday morning and the bet includes Bob Baffert's National Treasure, who could go off in the 10-1 range in the race. Looking at the probables listed on Horse Racing Nation, which are posted below, "all others" also could include Tesio winner Perform, Chase the Chaos, Henry Q and Il Miracolo. But more importantly, you also get any late entrant into the race.

One other bet to consider is Instant Coffee. He is also trained by Brad Cox.  At one point Instant Coffee was mentioned as going to the Preakness. Less has been said about him going recently as Brad Cox might want to separate him from First Mission. But as we have seen Derby week, a lot can change in a couple of weeks. This is worth a play at 41-1 because if Instant Coffee were to make the Preakness gate, he likely would be under 10-1.

Below are the current probables and possibles for the Preakness.