TRIPLE CROWN RATINGS

REMARKS: In a mild surprise, the Pimlico oddsmaker has installed Ferdinand as the 9-5 favorite to win Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, ahead of the Wayne Lukas-trained entry of Badger Land and Clear Choice, which is listed at 2-1.

Ferdinand won the Kentucky Derby May 3, and the Derby winner is usually favored to win the Preakness, but there is the feeling that Badger Land and Clear Choice will still be favored at post time Saturday.

Badger Land, a close second to Snow Chief in the Derby betting, ran fifth at Churchill Downs with several excuses--he was almost upended leaving the gate and raced widely on both turns.

Clear Choice, a nonwinner in four California races at the start of his career, improved while running three times at Oaklawn Park and last week won the one-mile Withers Stakes at Aqueduct by more than two lengths.

Jeff Weissman, who made the Preakness line, defended himself Monday. “The last 13 Derby winners who have run in the Preakness have been favored at Pimlico,” Weissman said. “If there were a popularity contest here Saturday, Ferdinand would win it, hands down. And remember, most of the people who come to the Preakness are $2 bettors--they’re at the track for a good time rather than primarily being interested in shoving a lot of money through the windows.”

The popularity of Ferdinand, a 17-1 longshot in the Derby, stems from his jockey, Bill Shoemaker, and the colt’s trainer, Charlie Whittingham. Shoemaker, the artful codger, is 54 and Whittingham is 73, which makes them the oldest rider and trainer to win the Derby.

Shoemaker is easily the oldest jockey. The record had been held by Angel Cordero, a mere 42 when he won aboard Spend a Buck last year.

The last Derby winner to run in the Preakness as a nonfavorite was Dust Commander, who went off as the 3-1 second choice behind My Dad George in 1970. Neither horse won at Pimlico, Dust Commander running ninth and My Dad George repeating his second-place Derby finish.

It is getting fashionable to say that Ferdinand, a late-running colt, will not like the 1 3/16-mile Preakness distance as well as he did the 1-mile Derby.

It should not be forgotten that Ferdinand also had trouble in the Derby, being squeezed almost against the rail in the long run to the first turn.

The Preakness is shaping up as a seven-horse race. The other probable starters are Broad Brush, who is listed at 3-1; Snow Chief, 4-1; Miracle Wood, 20-1; and Groovy, 30-1.

Broad Brush, winner of the Wood Memorial, had a four-race winning streak halted when he finished third in the Derby. Broad Brush won two minor stakes earlier this year in his only Pimlico appearances and is from the same mold as Aloma’s Ruler and Deputed Testamony, Maryland-based horses who have won the Preakness in recent years.

Broad Brush is one of three Preakness horses that have had jockey changes since their last starts. Chris McCarron, a former Pimlico riding champion who has been in California since 1978, is replacing Vince (Jimbo) Bracciale on Broad Brush; Craig Perret has regained the mount on Groovy; and Jacinto Vasquez will ride Clear Choice for the first time.

Under Laffit Pincay, Groovy ran destructive early fractions in the Derby. Only one other Derby starter ran a :45 1/5 first half mile before Groovy, and the Texas-bred colt’s 1:10 1/5 clocking for six furlongs tied for the fourth-fastest in the race’s 112-year history.

Groovy, 16th and last in the Derby, will try to become only the second Derby trailer to win the Preakness. The only other horse to do it was Hindus in 1900.

Vasquez has the mount on Clear Choice because Jorge Velasquez, who rode the colt to victory in the Withers, is committed to ride Badger Land.

Snow Chief, a disappointing 11th in the Derby, has been reshod for the Preakness and worked seven furlongs at Pimlico Sunday in 1:25 3/5. Trainer Mel Stute, who didn’t want Snow Chief to go as fast as he had just before the Derby, was satisfied.

Snow Chief should do better Saturday, because the race is shorter than the Derby and because he has a slightly off-the-pace running style that has been the mark of many Preakness winners in recent years.

TRIPLE CROWN RATINGS

Career Horse S 1 2 3 Earnings 1. Ferdinand 10 3 3 3 $950,300 2. Broad Brush 9 7 1 1 615,443 3. Badger Land 13 5 2 0 502,125 4. Snow Chief 14 9 2 1 1,719,040 5. Rampage 9 4 2 0 365,086 6. Tasso 10 6 2 1 881,024 7. Ogygian 4 3 1 0 127,120 8. Clear Choice 10 2 3 2 166,370 9. Groovy 10 2 3 1 246,467 10. Miracle Woods 19 6 3 6 313,826