Draw Has Lukas on Outside : Preakness: The trainer is not pleased with Dance Floor’s post position for Saturday’s race.

Trainer Wayne Lukas, who will try to win his third Preakness here Saturday when he saddles the entry of Dance Floor and Big Sur, says that the chances of several of the contenders were compromised by the luck of Thursday’s post-position draw.

None of the 14 starters had worse luck than Dance Floor, however, who drew the outside post in the crowded field.

Lukas, sitting in Pimlico’s Sports Palace when Wes Unseld, the coach of the Washington Bullets, drew the field, threw down his hands after No. 14 came up for Dance Floor.

Hammer, the rap star who owns Dance Floor in a family partnership, did more than that. When a wire-service reporter tried to commiserate with him in an elevator as they were leaving the draw, Hammer said that it wasn’t funny.

Hammer, whose real name is Stanley Burrell, and his brother, Chris, who manages the racing stable, also reportedly complained to Pimlico officials about Dance Floor’s post. The Burrells are frustrated because Dance Floor keeps drawing unfavorable post positions.

In the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, he drew No. 16 in an 18-horse field, then ran third behind Lil E. Tee and Casual Lies. In the Florida Derby, run on March 14, Dance Floor finished second behind Technology after drawing next to the outside in a 12-horse field.

Whereas the Burrells were angry, Lukas was merely downcast.

“I don’t like it,” he said. “Let’s do it over. I saw very few smiling faces after they drew. I don’t think anybody’s too happy about where they are. The speed’s mainly on the outside, and the horses that come from off the pace are on the inside.”

The last four horses in the gate--Fortune’s Gone, Alydeed, Speakerphone and Dance Floor--all have early speed. The problem for their jockeys, in order to gain early position, is that they will have to gun their horses leaving the gate, which can sometimes drain a horse of his finishing kick. Early position is usually more important in the Preakness than it is in the Derby and the Belmont Stakes, the other Triple Crown races.

“I don’t know what we’ll be able to do with that 14 post,” said Lukas, who won with Codex in 1980 and Tank’s Prospect in 1985. “We may just have to go into the race with no plan and see what develops.”

Since 1909, there have been 49 Preakness fields of nine or more horses, and only six have been won from post position No. 9 or farther out. The last Preakness winner from the outside post was Aloma’s Ruler in 1982, but only seven horses ran that year. The year before, Pleasant Colony won the Preakness after breaking from the No. 12 hole in a 13-horse field.

Lil E. Tee, the Derby winner at 16-1, drew No. 9 for the 1 3/16-mile race and was installed as a mild 7-2 favorite by Eric Johnston, the Pimlico line maker. Alydeed, despite having run only four times, with none of his three wins around two turns, is the second choice at 9-2, followed by Pine Bluff, Casual Lies and Dance Floor, all 6-1.

There has been speculation that Lil E. Tee might not even go off the favorite when Saturday’s last bet has been tallied.

Alydeed has never run as far as the Preakness distance, but he is a grandson of Alydar and his sizzling, five-furlong exercise in 58 2/5 two days ago has been the best workout of any Preakness contender.

“He’s a flashy colt,” said Tom Bohannan, who trains Pine Bluff. “The question about him is whether he can beat top horses.”

Derby winners occasionally don’t go off as favorites in the Preakness. In 1989, bettors here ignored Sunday Silence’s victory over favored Easy Goer in the Derby and made Easy Goer the 3-5 favorite. Sunday Silence, at 2-1, beat him again.

In 1986, Ferdinand was the 3-1 second choice despite having won the Derby. The Lukas-trained entry of Badger Land and Clear Choice went off favored in the Preakness, with Snow Chief redeeming himself as the 5-2 second choice. Ferdinand, the third choice, ran second.

Lynn Whiting, who trains Lil E. Tee, had guessed that he might be a little less, 3-1, on the morning line.

“These odds are just one horseplayer’s opinion,” Whiting said.

Whiting had no complaints about his No. 9 post.

“I’d rather not be down on the inside,” Whiting said. “I hope to be a bit closer than we were in the Derby, maybe seven or eight lengths off the lead.”

Technology, 8-1 on the morning line, drew No. 2 for Saturday, the same post he had while running 10th in the Derby. By rights, the colt should be ridden by a blacksmith instead of a jockey. He threw a shoe the race before the Derby, was reshod at Churchill Downs and had padded shoes put on here when he suffered a small bruise after a workout on Tuesday.

Then on Thursday, the Derby’s second choice hurt himself again. Galloping for the first time with the bonded shoes, he kicked himself and injured his right foreleg. By midday, trainer Sonny Hine had Technology’s front feet submerged in a tub of ice.

Preakness Notes

Although there’s a chance of thunderstorms today, the track probably will be fast, with temperatures expected to be in the mid-70s. . . . The total purse is $744,800, with $484,120 going to the winner. Both are Preakness records. . . . Art Madrid Jr. took the mount on Agincourt when Kent Desormeaux elected to ride at Hollywood Park on Saturday. . . . All of the horses carry 126 pounds, same weight as in the Derby.

In another race at Pimlico on Saturday, Sunny Sunrise heads a nine-horse field in the $150,000 Maryland Budweiser Breeders’ Cup Stakes. Shuttleman, with 122 pounds, four more than Sunny Sunrise, is the high weight in the six-furlong race. . . . Alex Harthill, the Louisville veterinarian who has worked on many Triple Crown standouts, among them Sunday Silence, is on hand to look after Lil E. Tee.

Preakness Field

PP Horse Jockey Odds 1. Agincourt A. Madrid 15-1 2. Technology J. Bailey 8-1 3. Conte Di Savoya S. Sellers 12-1 4. Pine Bluff C. McCarron 6-1 5. Big Sur M. Smith 20-1 6. Careful Gesture R. Lester 30-1 7. My Luck Runs North E. Prado 30-1 8. Casual Lies G. Stevens 6-1 9. Lil E. Tee P. Day 7-2 10. Dash For Dotty T. Turner 30-1 11. Fortune’s Gone R. Douglas 50-1 12. Alydeed C. Perret 9-2 13. Speakerphone C. Ladner 12-1 14. Dance Floor C. Antley 6-1

Total purse with 14 starters--$744,800. Value to winner--$484,120; second--$148,960; third--$74,480; fourth--$37,240. Distance--1-3/16 miles.