Trainer Chad Brown has used this formula before with success. Tuscan Gold skipped the Kentucky Derby to prepare for the Preakness and is now rested to take on a small, unspectacular field. 

Tuscan Gold is lightly raced with just three career starts and one win. He finished third in the Louisiana Derby behind Catching Freedom and Honor Marie. While that doesn’t sound all that impressive, I’m a big believer that trainers know their horses best and I always try to read between the lines. 

Brown didn’t race Tuscan Golden in the Derby because he was sitting in good shape with Sierra Leone, who finished second by a nose. The Preakness Stakes is tougher to handicap than the Derby because so many horses skip the race and we have others that didn’t run two weeks ago. However, I like playing on a high-upside horse with rest and that’s Tuscan Gold.