`Alex' draws Post 12

Little faith shown in Giacomo at 6-1

Preakness Stakes

6:05 p.m., Saturday, Pimlico Race Course * TV: Chs. 11, 4

1 Malibu Moonshine 20-1

2 High Fly 9-2

3 Novle Causeway 10-1

4 Greeley's Galaxy 15-1

5 Scrappy T 20-1

6 Hal's Image 50-1

7 Closing Argument 5-1

8 Galloping Crocer 30-1

9 Wilko 10-1

10 Sun King 15-1

11 High Limit 12-1

12 Afleet Alex 5-2

13 Giacomo 6-1

14 Going Wild 30-1

The draw for the 130th Preakness yesterday sent likely favorite Afleet Alex into the 12th post, local star Malibu Moonshine to the rail and Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo into a position of surprisingly long overnight odds.

Pimlico Race Course oddsmaker Frank Carulli rated Giacomo as a 6-1 choice in the early line - behind Afleet Alex, High Fly and Closing Argument, who finished third, 10th and second, respectively, at Churchill Downs.

"What difference does it make if you're the fourth choice?" Giacomo's trainer, John Shirreffs, asked rhetorically. "There are a lot of nice horses in this race."

"The horse doesn't know what the odds are. We're OK," said owner Jerry Moss.

The odds on Giacomo, the Rodney Dangerfield of this crop of 3-year-olds, are likely to fall by post time, but in recent years, many a Kentucky Derby champion has not gone off as the top choice in the Preakness.

The last time it happened was in 2001, when Point Given, the eventual victor, was a slight pick over Derby winner Monarchos by virtue of total money wagered. In 1999, Charismatic, who had run for a claiming tag earlier in his career, was so lightly regarded he was the fifth choice in the field, but won at 8-1.

From 1986 until Monarchos, nine Derby champions, including the likes of Sunday Silence, Silver Charm and Real Quiet - Preakness victors all - were not the post-time pick of the bettors.

Under a new draw system that assigned random numbers to the participants and created some confusion among trainers, Giacomo landed in Post 13 because only the two outside slots remained when his number was revealed.

"The idea behind taking 13 was he'd be second last to load and that would give him a chance to settle a little bit," Shirreffs said.

Afleet Alex, the first entry to arrive at Pimlico, will be just inside of Giacomo, but not inside far enough to suit trainer Tim Ritchey's preference.

"Five, six, seven, eight would have been a much better position," he said. "But what you have is what you have. Horses have won from the outside here. Most of the speed is inside of us. They can go ahead and go, and, hopefully, we can sit back and save a little ground on the first turn."

Closing Argument's trainer, Kiaran McLaughlin, had the first selection and chose to be right in the middle of the pack at No. 7.

He seemed a little surprised when he was called first and thought of taking a post even closer to the rail and said he will hope jockey Cornelio Velasquez "can work out a good trip."

Wily King Leatherbury could have been away from the fence, but hopes to conserve ground from No. 1.

"If I had Secretariat or Spectacular Bid, I would have gone farther outside. But we cannot give up any ground and still win. The trouble with the inside is you can get trapped down there," he said. "I've got a good rider [Steve Hamilton], and it's up to him to manipulate through the race."

Nick Zito said all three of his entries "did well" in the draw. "I'm pretty sure of that."

High Fly is the second choice in the field at 9-2 and will have Jerry Bailey aboard from the two slot.

"No question it's a compliment," Zito said. "He's run some beautiful races. Even in his Derby, he tried right to the very end."

"Being in there is a little bit of an advantage for High Fly," Shirreffs said.