2023 Preakness Stakes Betting Guide
It’s been five years since Justify and jockey Mike Smith crossed the finish line at Belmont Park to win the Triple Crown. As a matter of fact, since Justify’s accomplishment in 2018, no horse has come close to repeating that success.
But as we approach the 148th Preakness Stakes, the world can only wait and see if Kentucky Derby winner Mage and jockey Javier Castellano will take one more step toward immortality.
Just seven horses will be running in the Preakness after second-choice First Mission was scratched Friday. That’s a small field compared to the Kentucky Derby, which had 18 horses.
For now, Mage is the only horse running from the Derby. The rest of the field consists of new “shooters” (horses that skip the Derby and run in either the Preakness or Belmont Stakes).
‘Shooters’ worth watching in 2023 Preakness Stakes
Speaking of Justify, his trainer, Bob Baffert, will enter National Treasure. Baffert also trained fellow Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in 2015. Baffert has won a record-tying seven Preakness Stakes. Can he make this y
ear’s Preakness No. 8?
Another shooter to keep an eye on is Blazing Sevens from trainer Chad Brown. Brown has won two Preakness Stakes since 2017 with shooters — Cloud Computing in 2017 and Early Voting last year.
Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey will bring Perform to the Preakness. Perform has the same sire (Good Magic) as Blazing Sevens and Derby winner Mage and won the Federico Tesio at Laurel Park in Maryland on April 15.
When is the 2023 Preakness Stakes?
The 2023 Preakness Stakes post time is approximately 6:50 p.m. ET at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. We say approximated because the race inevitably ends of going off around 7 p.m.
Preakness odds and post positions
The post positions were set Monday, with Mage the morning-line 8-5 favorite:
Post, Horse, Trainer, Jockey, Odds
- National Treasure, Bob Baffert, John Velazquez, 4-1
- Chase the Chaos, Ed Moger Jr., Sheldon Russell, 50-1
- Mage, Gustavo Delgado, Javier Castellano, 8-5
- Coffeewithchris, John Salzman, Jaime Rodriguez, 20-1
- Red Route One, Steve Asmussen, Joel Rosario, 10-1
- Perform, Shug McGaughey, Feargal Lynch, 15-1
- Blazing Sevens, Chad Brown, Irad Ortiz Jr. 6-1
- SCRATCHED First Mission, Brad Cox, Luis Saez, 5-2
Betting on the Preakness Stakes — standard bets
Much like its sister race, betting on the Preakness Stakes is practically identical to betting on the Kentucky Derby.
Bets once again fall into two categories: standard and exotic.
Also known as one-horse bets, standard bets are the easiest of the two. This type of wager is a bet on the horse you think will win.
If you only want to bet on Kentucky Derby winner Mage to win the Preakness Stakes, a standard bet is right for you. However, if you wish to up the stakes, you can instead try a “place bet.” A place bet means you are confident the horse you pick will finish first or second.
If you faired well by betting on the Kentucky Derby, you can take things further and place a “show bet.” In this instance, the horse you select must finish first, second or third. But customers should be reminded payouts for place bets and show bets are significantly smaller than a standard one-horse bet.
Betting on the Preakness Stakes — exotic bets
Exotic bets are tricky. With an exotic bet, you are betting on the order of finish within a specific race. With every additional finishing position, the difficulty and your payday go up.
Exotic bets can also be viewed as a type of parlay bet for those looking for a comparable sports betting reference.
Types of exotic bets include:
- Exacta: picking the top two finishers in order
- Trifecta: picking the top three horses in order
- Superfecta: the top four finishers in order
- Super Hi-Five: the top five finishes in order
Becoming part of history
In 1975, Master Derby was the biggest longshot to win the Preakness at 23-1 odds. The most recent was Oxbow and jockey Gary Stevens, who, in 2013, had the second-highest odds in the field at 15-1.
The Preakness is the second race in the famed Triple Crown, consisting of the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. Dating back to 1919, just 13 horses have won the Triple Crown, with Justify (2018) and American Pharoah (2015) being the most recent.
Notable horses include Secretariat (1973), War Admiral (1937) and Sir Barton (1919).
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