As mentioned, the 2012 Preakness, which is the 137th running of the race, is on Saturday, May 19th at the Pimlico racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland. The official start time of the event is at 6:18 pm Eastern. It will be broadcast live across the country no matter which time zone you’re in, so be prepared in the mid afternoon if you’re on the west coast.

You have to be ready for that time because once the race begins, it’s over before you know it. This isn’t the type of event you can tune in late and see all the good stuff. You have to be ready right when the horses are, and that will be 6:18 pm. The posting usually takes a few minutes, and the race takes a few minutes after that, so all of the proceedings will last until about 6:25 or so.

Of course, just because the start time for the 2012 Pimlico is at 6:18 pm, it doesn’t mean that that’s when the party starts. At Pimlico, the party is half the fun, in the newly retooled Infield Fest, which is trying to walk the line of making itself classier to still appealing to the people who simply want to party, drink and hang out all afternoon long.

The Preakness will be televised on NBC, and you’ll find several hours of pre-race coverage on NBC and its affiliate networks, including NBC Sports. Of course, the other channels like ESPN will also be providing ample coverage as well. Then, after the race, the same networks will be providing post-race analysis, interviews, replays and everything else.

Another important reason to know the exact start time is that you’ll need to get your betting slips in on time. The favorite to win the race, at +250, is the surprise winner of the Kentucky Derby, I’ll Have Another. But the horse it surpassed to win the race, Bodemeister, is going off as a co-favorite with the same odds, +250.

Will I’ll Have Another make itself a historic horse to remember, or will Bodemeister avenge its defeat and throw yet another wrench in the horse racing world’s desire to see a Triple Crown winner? Of course, they aren’t the only horses in the field, and entrants like Creative Cause, Went the Day Well and Daddy Nose Best, amongst others, will have something to say about the race’s outcome.

We’ll see it all on Saturday, May 19th, with the official 2012 Preakness Stakes start time of 6:18 pm Eastern. Don’t be late because you could miss the entire race with an ill-timed bathroom or snack break!

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I’ll Have Another took home the Kentucky Derby thanks to a late charge, as it came from behind to defeat Bodemeister. Bodemeister showed that it was a top quality horse, but tradition held true, and a streak is now at 131 years for the last time a horse that wasn’t raced as a two year old won the Derby. Bodemeister was a favorite for the Derby, and is a co-favorite at the Preakness despite the loss, at even closer odds.

Right now, Bodemeister is at +250 for the 2012 Preakness. I’ll Have Another is right there at +250 as well. I’ll Have Another wasn’t the biggest underdog in the field for the Derby, but it certainly wasn’t considered a top contender. It was going off at about +1500 in the lead in to the race, placing it towards the front of the pack, but far from the betting favorites. But it showed some real grit, heart and of course closing speed and strength to take home that victory.

Just because those two horses were the top performers at the Derby, it doesn’t mean that will hold true at the Preakness, of course. Therefore it’s worthwhile to take a look at the rest of the field and some notable 2012 Preakness Stakes odds for the other entrants. After the two co-favorites, the next two horses in the mix are Creative Cause and Went the Day Well, each at +600. Creative Cause was definitely considered a strong candidate to take home the Derby, and he was at about +800 for that race. So his odds have actually come down a bit.

The betting odds really escalate from there, with no other horse being under +1500 at this time. At the +1500 level, you’ll find Daddy Nose Best and Teeth of the Dog. At +2000 is Tiger Walk, and then finally at +2500 comes the rest of the field. The horses here include Cozzetti, Optimizer and Zetterholm.

So there you have it with the current 2012 Preakness Stakes odds. Be sure to place your bets and then see how the event unfolds on Saturday the 19th. Remember, the betting odds will be fluctuating and changing in the build up to the race, so strike when they are most in your favor and see if it’s your lucky day. The entire horse racing community will be looking towards I’ll Have Another to see if it can make an elusive run to the Triple Crown, but it’s never easy, and there are plenty of reasons why it has not happened in decades.

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While the world of international soccer has been fixated one everything that is Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, and was anticipating yet another showdown between the clubs, this time in the UEFA Finals, neither of these two squads went along with those plans. Bayern defeated Real Madrid 3-1 on penalties after the two sides split both games 2-1 apiece, for a 3-3 aggregate. Meanwhile, Chelsea dispatched Barcelona, the reigning UEFA champions, 3-2 on aggregate thanks to a 1-0 opening leg win.

Some may be unhappy that they don’t get a chance to see Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of those big names, but there is plenty of star power in the Bayern vs. Chelsea match-up. Chelsea boasts two of the game’s best goal scoring threats in Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres.

Both are playing in top form of late, and they will be difficult to match-up against. Drogba and Torres each had a goal against Barcelona, and are ready to take home the Champions League Final. When you add in Salomon Kalou, Ramires and Frank Lampard, it can make things even more tricky for defenders.

Bayern isn’t short on goal scorers either. Arjen Robben has four goals in his last four contests, including the team’s only strike against Real Madrid in the second leg of their semi-finals showdown.

Thomas Muller is a great talent and is ready to break out on the big stage and when Mario Gomez is playing well, he’s basically unstoppable. He has 12 goals in 11 tournament appearances, including both of Bayern’s goals against Manchester City, all three of their goals against Napoli, and four goals against Basel. He also scored against Real Madrid in the first leg of their semis showdown.

In net, Manuel Neuer has been solid all throughout the Champions League. He has posted a staggering 7 shutouts in 11 contests, and has only given up more than one goal in two occasions in those 11 games, against Napoli and Real Madrid. For Chelsea, Petr Cech minds the net, and he has 5 shutouts in 12 contests, most impressively a 1-0 victory against Barcelona in their first showdown.

Of course, both teams will be dealing with a combination of injury problems and suspensions, and there’s not much they can do about it. Chelsea is missing John Terry and Ramires, amongst others, and Bayern will be without Luiz Gustavo, Holger Badstuber and David Alaba.

So who’s going to win? Bayern is the betting favorite, but I like Chelsea in this contest. If they can shut down Barca, they can shut down Robben, Muller and company, and they have enough momentum coming from that big win to take them all the way home to a championship.

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First, looking at the straight bets to win the game, you can take Chelsea as the underdog at +270 right now, and Bayern as a slight favorite at -117. Depending on where you place your bets though, the numbers can be different, placing Chelsea as high as a +330 underdog. The Draw is going at between +285 and +350. Therefore there are some places that consider a Draw more likely to happen than a Chelsea win! Of course, this is for the official score at the end of the game and extra time, but does not include the penalties which would determine the champion.

Therefore, there are different UEFA Champions League Final odds to just pick the outright Champions League winner, sometimes known as the “to lift trophy” bet. This disregards how the game ends, and focuses solely on who is determined champion. Here, you’ll find Bayern at -225 and Chelsea at about +175.

Both are strong teams, but some fans are surprised that after their huge win over Barcelona, that Chelsea is as big of an underdog as it is. Still, it’s not as if Bayern had a cake walk to get to the Final, they had to take out Real Madrid. In addition, both clubs are dealing with a host of suspensions and injuries which make them vulnerable, and on each squad, that weakness will be more on the defensive end of the pitch. With an over/under total goals of 2.5, and both sides being weakened defensively, you may want to jump on the over side of that and expect the strikers and scorers to be running a bit more freely in this contest.

When you’re looking at the UEFA Champions League Final odds, you’ll see a number of prop bets to make once it’s game time. For example, which club scores first, which player scores first, which players score, whether or not there are red cards handed out or whether there are in-game penalties and more.

Another intriguing prop bet focuses on Bayern player Mario Gomez. He has 12 goals in the tournament round of the Champions League, trailing Lionel Messi’s 14. He has scored three in a game and four in a game already. If you think he can score three again, then take him at about +700 odds to win the Champions League top scorer trophy.

So there you have it with a quick rundown of the UEFA Champions League Final odds. It’s Bayern vs. Chelsea, and while Bayern is the favorite, don’t be surprised to see Chelsea pull this one out on the strength of stars like Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba.

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These days, it all comes down to Tiger Woods in terms of who people are interested in with golf. Heading into the Masters, he had some momentum back finally because he got his first win on tour in several years. But then he had a poor showing there, and then he missed a cut at another tournament. So now Woods has to find a way to get his game back and be competitive with the young crop of golfers out there.

After the first round, things didn’t go so well for him, and he could be in trouble and potentially miss the cut for a second straight tournament. Looking at the Players Championship Leaderboard 2012, Woods is at +2, which is a full 9 shots back from the leader, Ian Poulter, who is at -7. It puts him all the way back at tied for 107th position with a handful of other players.

It’s not necessarily that surprising either, and not just because of Woods’ poor recent performance, and overall several years of slumping and controversy. It’s also that Woods has only won once at the TPC Sawgrass in his career, and he doesn’t have a ton of high finishes either. So even if he was at his best, he wouldn’t be a favorite to win this tournament.

The next guy besides Tiger who gets a ton of attention lately is Rory McIlroy. The young sensation is right now tied for 24th after day one, putting in a -2 for the round. It’s four shots better than Tiger, but it also shows how many golfers, nearly 100, are separated by just a few strokes in that range.

After Poulter, at -7, comes Blake Adams at -6, Kevin Na at -5 and Ben Crane at -5. Poulter is a top 10 player in the world, and Crane is 17th, but still, not a ton of star power at the top of the Players Championship Leaderboard 2012 thus far. As for Phil Mickelson, he was putting in solid work through the first half of his round, getting to a -1, which would have been good for a tied-39th position if that’s where he ended the day.

Will Tiger Woods be able to dig himself out from his first day hole to come back and score a surprising win? Will McIlroy or Mickelson inject some big name power into the top of the leaderboard? We’ll have to see over the weekend how it all plays out and which man ends up hoisting the trophy, and the huge paycheck.

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Cotto comes into the fight on a winning streak since he has moved up to 154 lbs. After losing to Manny Pacquiao, he moved up in weight and won a title at junior middleweight against Yuri Foreman. He then beat Ricardo Mayorga, and most importantly, at the end of 2011 he scored his revenge against Antonio Margarito by stopping him in their rematch. So Cotto has a lot of momentum and confidence in his corner right now.

Mayweather, of course, is undefeated. He’s moving back up to 154 lbs to challenge Cotto, after having had one fight at the weight several years ago, a win against Oscar De La Hoya. Most recently, Mayweather stopped Victor Ortiz in their welterweight title clash. It was an impressive showing against a young, strong kid, and Mayweather will be looking to make a statement here with a victory against Cotto that he’s the top dog in the world right now, not Pacquiao.

Looming on the horizon isn’t just a date with Pacquiao – hopefully – but also an upcoming jail sentence for Mayweather. He needs to serve three months in jail, and he had his sentence delayed from earlier this year in order to fight on Saturday after having had that date reserved.

So taking a look at the official odds for the fight, you’ll see that Mayweather is a big favorite, at -600. He’s listed on different places at as much as -700 or -750. Cotto is coming in at between +400 and +500. The over/under for the rounds is at 9.5, with the over being -250, and the under being +190.

If you’re a fan of Cotto, you’ll love these odds. It’s a rare opportunity to get a legit star and one of the best fighters in the world at such favorable betting odds as the big underdog. If you think Mayweather is distracted or not taking this fight seriously, then you should also be jumping at the chance to pick Cotto at +400 or +500, as that’s too juicy to ignore.

Ultimately though, Mayweather is undefeated and regarded as the number 1 pound for pound guy for a reason, and actually for many reasons. In this case, his speed, defense and precision counter punching should all help him win the day against Cotto. Cotto will be game and will make a fight of it, but Mayweather will emerge as the winner, as the fight goes the distance and he takes home a decision victory.

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The official 2012 Kentucky Derby start time is at 6:24 pm Eastern. That’s the post time actually, so the start time will come a few minutes after that depending on how long it all takes to get everyone into the proper position. You can expect the horses to be off and running from the gates at about 6:30 pm, give or take a few minutes.

After that, the entire thing will wrap up about three minutes later, so this isn’t a sporting event where you can be fashionably late and still see all of the important action! You have to be right in place at that post time to make sure you can watch the race. An untimely trip to the bathroom or the bar or your friend’s house could mean you end up missing the entire thing, and that’s a nightmare scenario for everyone.

The live race itself will be televised on NBC, and it will have a two-hour time slot from 5 to 7 pm on the network. There will also be a one hour all-access preview special on NBC from 4 to 5 pm. After the race, you can continue your viewing over on NBC Sports Network from 7 to 8 pm, where a post race show will cover all the analysis of what went down and how the horses fared.

Of course, other networks, such as ESPN, will have long, multiple hour blocks of coverage before and after the race. So whatever your preference is, you won’t be shorthanded when it comes to watching it all on television and either getting psyched for the event or following it up with some analysis and breakdown.

Before the 2012 Kentucky Derby start time, you’ll also be able to take in the Kentucky Oaks. This race has a post time of 5:45 pm Eastern, so about 45 minutes before the Derby is scheduled. Each of these two races are in their 138th renditions, although of course beyond the horse racing community, only the Derby really captures everyone’s attention and imagination.

So there you have it. The official 2012 Kentucky Derby start time is at 6:24 pm Eastern, and it will be shown live across the country no matter where you live. Expect to see the horses running a few minutes after that, but don’t risk showing up late, you’ll want to make sure you’re ready to watch. After all, the event itself only takes two or three minutes, so you have to see the entire spectacle.

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Of course, with all of the odds and figures to come, keep in mind that these numbers can change all the way up to right before the race. Depending on how people are betting and how things like post position assignment affects the field, the numbers will certainly be swaying up and down. So these are the pre-race numbers as of today, and be sure to double check to see what they currently are as you’re putting down your wagers.

At the top of the list for the 2012 Kentucky Derby Odds are two horses which are co-favorites right now. The first is Bodemeister, and the second is Union Rags. Both are at +450, or 4.5 to 1. Bodemeister is a very unique case because the horse wasn’t race when it was 2 years old, and a horse like that hasn’t won the Derby in 130 years.

That’s a huge disadvantage against the horse, and tells you how much people like it anyway, to have it as a co-favorite despite that fact. Union Rags therefore seems less risky to many people at the same odds, and this is a horse with a lot of physical skill and capabilities, as well as emotional and mental character.

The next two horses to keep in mind with the 2012 Kentucky Derby Odds are Gemologist and Dullahan. For many people, Gemologist is actually the frontrunner. You can get the horse at +700 right now, but don’t be surprised to see those odds get reduced before the race as people jump on the bandwagon. Dullahan is at +800.

After that, two more horses are seen as being about even with their chances to win. Alpha and Creative Cause are both at +1100. Next is Hansen, at +1400, after having dropped down with some bad performances. Hansen was at one point seen perhaps as the favorite, and people are now mixed on how the horse will perform and whether it will live up to the early hype, or fall in line with its recent showings instead.

The next group of horses includes Ill Have Another and Daddy Nose Best, each at +1500, and Take Charge Indy and El Padrino at +1600. Went the Day Well is +1800 and Optimizer is +2000.

Then you start moving into the real longshots with the 2012 Kentucky Derby odds. The two longest shots in the field are Done Talking and Prospective, each of which is at +5000.

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The list of contenders this year begins with Union Rags. Union Rags is the betting favorite thus far, and right now he’s going off at about +450. He’s trained by Michael Matz, and his jockey is Julien Leparoux. This is a horse with some good experience, and a horse which has shown everything from speed and stamina to heart and determination. For all of these reasons, Union Rags is at the top of the field and is the pre-race favorite to take it all home.

Next in line amongst the 2012 Kentucky Derby contenders is Bodemeister. Bodemeister is in an unusual position, as the horse didn’t race as a two year old, and no horse in such a place has won the Kentucky Derby in 130 years. Still, this is a fast and talented animal. His advantages also include respected and well known trainer Bob Baffert, and jockey Mike Smith. So there are good caretakers in place, but at +450, it might be a stretch considering that 130 year barrier.

Another strong choice amongst the contenders is Gemologist. Many people believe that if Gemologist can get out in front, the horse will be able to stay there and ride off to victory. Todd Pletcher is the trainer, giving the horse a good deal of credibility, and Javier Castellano is the jockey. The odds right now for Gemologist are at +700.

From there, you’ll still have many more horses to consider in what is a deep and diverse field. Dullahan is going off at +800 right now. Hansen used to be one of the frontrunners, but has fallen off and is now +1400. Alpha and Creative Cause are both at +1100. Those are the top 7 horses in the field according to most observers and to the current betting odds. But I’ll Have Another, Daddy Nose Best, El Padrino and Take Charge Indy are just a few of the other horses in the mix as well for the 2012 Kentucky Derby.

As you can see, there are many different horses who have a legitimate chance to win this race. As is usually the case in such a scenario, small factors will make for big differences come race time, including the post position of the horses, and general luck in navigating the track. Which of the 2012 Kentucky Derby contenders will win it all? It’s anybody’s guess, so choose wisely and get in on the action with a smart bet or two.

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