Betting Guide
2024 Preakness Stakes Picks
2024 Preakness Stakes
By TVG Staff
Updated April 13, 2024
The 149th running of the Preakness Stakes happens at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, May 18. The race is the flagship event at the Baltimore track, and one of ten stakes races on the day. The field will run 1 3/16 miles for a $2 million purse, up from the base of $1.5 million in previous years.
Who is coming to Pimlico Race Course?
The field for the 2024 Preakness Stakes will be drawn on Monday, May 13. The field will begin to take shape in earnest once the Kentucky Derby is finished and connections decide who will run in the Preakness or reroute to other targets. Once the leading contenders begin to emerge, we will update this spot.
Betting the 2024 Preakness Stakes
Pimlico Race Course offers a host of wager types on this race, although, as is usual in the horse racing world, it is to be expected that the majority of wagers will be win bets—i.e., “betting on the nose.”
While win, place, and show bets will be as popular as always on May 18, this is a very competitive race, much like the Derby, and as such, there will be a great chance to get involved in the exotics. Those exotic wagers include exacta, trifecta, and superfecta wagers on the Preakness Stakes alone, as well as multi-race wagers that stretch across the stakes-laden Preakness day card.
Whether you’re new to horse racing betting or a seasoned handicapper, once you have your picks, the 2024 Preakness Stakes odds become important as you want to get value for money. There are plenty of variables to get your head around, but that’s why we’re here!
Picks for 2024 Preakness Stakes
Choosing among the Preakness Stakes contenders requires considering many horse racing factors such as their prep race form, their distance pedigrees, their running styles, and the record their connections have in previous editions of the race.
Since the turnaround between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness is so short, and since the trainers of even new shooters often make last-minute decisions about whether to run horses in the Preakness or another race like the Peter Pan (G1), the Preakness Stakes is not a race you can handicap as far in advance as the Kentucky Derby. However, you can get clues from the training and lead-in news, and you can build confidence in new horses who have been pointed to the Preakness Stakes all along instead of making a last-minute change to point that way.
Handicapping Basics
If you want to start picking your own horses in the Preakness Stakes, the prep races, or all year long, you should become familiar with some of the basics of handicapping.
The Preakness Stakes does not give horses a weight handicap based on their form: all colts and geldings carry 126 pounds, and all fillies carry 121 pounds, no matter what races they have won in the past. However, with a field of up to 14 top horses who have been trained to peak at the Triple Crown season, handicapping the Preakness requires assessing their current form, finding out about their form cycles, figuring out whether the Preakness is where they will hit that hoped-for peak, and telling if that peak will be good enough to win.
Consider these factors when looking at the 2024 Preakness Stakes field and making your picks:
Form and Speed Ratings
Both form and speed ratings matter. Coming into the Preakness Stakes, which covers 1 3/16 miles, you may have both form and speed information to start making a judgment about whether they will be able to handle the Preakness well. After all, some of the horses have covered 1 1/4 miles in the Kentucky Derby, or covered the exact Preakness Stakes distance in either the Louisiana Derby (G2) or the UAE Derby (G2). Even if they have not, judging form can help you glean clues about how well they are doing as speeds have stretched out.
Speed figures can be found in many products both online and in print, as can current form. Check out the horse’s current racing form; what rating does each horse have? When did they achieve it? Are they lightly raced and look like they are improving? What have the horses they have beaten achieved subsequently? For horses who raced during Kentucky Derby weekend, how well have they handled returning from short layoffs? These are all crucial questions when trying to find the Preakness winner.
Post Positions
The impact of post positions depends on the size of the field for the Preakness. Some years the Preakness draws a small field, making post positions less crucial. However, if the 2024 Preakness Stakes approaches or reaches the 14-horse limit, some posts can become bad. Those on the inner (low numbers) can get caught in traffic while those out wide give away ground. In a field of nine, as there was in 2023, post positions are less significant than they are in the Kentucky Derby, especially since none of the real speed horses drew far-inside or far-outside posts.
This is a major reason it is good to keep an open mind about your picks until the race has been drawn. A horse with strong form may draw a disastrous post, and it pays to think critically about how much you think a bad post affects their chances to win.
How to Pick Based on Breeding
Since some of the 2024 Preakness Stakes horses have not gone 1 3/16 miles yet, and even the ones who have gone that far have had limited chances to do so, pedigree can provide useful information to connect the dots. It’s all in the blood with Thoroughbreds, so look out for those whose sires and grandsires have run well in Triple Crown races in their own careers, or those that seem to want more “ground” based on their pedigrees.
It can also pay off to look at their dams (their mothers), as well as the siblings of these Derby horses. If their siblings have good form over the Preakness distance or even longer, it is a positive sign that the final furlong will not do them in.
Stick with TVG for Your 2024 Preakness Stakes Picks
You can watch and wager with TVG as we keep you informed on all things Preakness.
Take a look at the latest Preakness Stakes odds to see what sort of value you can get for your wagers, and check back regularly for more updates on this huge Maryland event.
Disclaimer:TVG provides free information, odds, facts, and commentary about the Preakness Stakes and horse racing and betting, in general. Third-party marks may be referenced in a transformative, editorial, informational, nominative, critical, analytical, or comparative context. TVG may reference marks belonging to third parties pursuant to our right to engage in fair use, fair comment, statutory fair use, or trademark fair use doctrine. As such, TVG does not contribute to any dilution of any trade or service marks.
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If you don't win your first single-horse win bet. Bet the Preakness!By TVG Staff
Updated April 13, 2024
The 149th running of the Preakness Stakes happens at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, May 18. The race is the flagship event at the Baltimore track, and one of ten stakes races on the day. The field will run 1 3/16 miles for a $2 million purse, up from the base of $1.5 million in previous years.
Who is coming to Pimlico Race Course?
The field for the 2024 Preakness Stakes will be drawn on Monday, May 13. The field will begin to take shape in earnest once the Kentucky Derby is finished and connections decide who will run in the Preakness or reroute to other targets. Once the leading contenders begin to emerge, we will update this spot.
Betting the 2024 Preakness Stakes
Pimlico Race Course offers a host of wager types on this race, although, as is usual in the horse racing world, it is to be expected that the majority of wagers will be win bets—i.e., “betting on the nose.”
While win, place, and show bets will be as popular as always on May 18, this is a very competitive race, much like the Derby, and as such, there will be a great chance to get involved in the exotics. Those exotic wagers include exacta, trifecta, and superfecta wagers on the Preakness Stakes alone, as well as multi-race wagers that stretch across the stakes-laden Preakness day card.
Whether you’re new to horse racing betting or a seasoned handicapper, once you have your picks, the 2024 Preakness Stakes odds become important as you want to get value for money. There are plenty of variables to get your head around, but that’s why we’re here!
Picks for 2024 Preakness Stakes
Choosing among the Preakness Stakes contenders requires considering many horse racing factors such as their prep race form, their distance pedigrees, their running styles, and the record their connections have in previous editions of the race.
Since the turnaround between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness is so short, and since the trainers of even new shooters often make last-minute decisions about whether to run horses in the Preakness or another race like the Peter Pan (G1), the Preakness Stakes is not a race you can handicap as far in advance as the Kentucky Derby. However, you can get clues from the training and lead-in news, and you can build confidence in new horses who have been pointed to the Preakness Stakes all along instead of making a last-minute change to point that way.
Handicapping Basics
If you want to start picking your own horses in the Preakness Stakes, the prep races, or all year long, you should become familiar with some of the basics of handicapping.
The Preakness Stakes does not give horses a weight handicap based on their form: all colts and geldings carry 126 pounds, and all fillies carry 121 pounds, no matter what races they have won in the past. However, with a field of up to 14 top horses who have been trained to peak at the Triple Crown season, handicapping the Preakness requires assessing their current form, finding out about their form cycles, figuring out whether the Preakness is where they will hit that hoped-for peak, and telling if that peak will be good enough to win.
Consider these factors when looking at the 2024 Preakness Stakes field and making your picks:
Form and Speed Ratings
Both form and speed ratings matter. Coming into the Preakness Stakes, which covers 1 3/16 miles, you may have both form and speed information to start making a judgment about whether they will be able to handle the Preakness well. After all, some of the horses have covered 1 1/4 miles in the Kentucky Derby, or covered the exact Preakness Stakes distance in either the Louisiana Derby (G2) or the UAE Derby (G2). Even if they have not, judging form can help you glean clues about how well they are doing as speeds have stretched out.
Speed figures can be found in many products both online and in print, as can current form. Check out the horse’s current racing form; what rating does each horse have? When did they achieve it? Are they lightly raced and look like they are improving? What have the horses they have beaten achieved subsequently? For horses who raced during Kentucky Derby weekend, how well have they handled returning from short layoffs? These are all crucial questions when trying to find the Preakness winner.
Post Positions
The impact of post positions depends on the size of the field for the Preakness. Some years the Preakness draws a small field, making post positions less crucial. However, if the 2024 Preakness Stakes approaches or reaches the 14-horse limit, some posts can become bad. Those on the inner (low numbers) can get caught in traffic while those out wide give away ground. In a field of nine, as there was in 2023, post positions are less significant than they are in the Kentucky Derby, especially since none of the real speed horses drew far-inside or far-outside posts.
This is a major reason it is good to keep an open mind about your picks until the race has been drawn. A horse with strong form may draw a disastrous post, and it pays to think critically about how much you think a bad post affects their chances to win.
How to Pick Based on Breeding
Since some of the 2024 Preakness Stakes horses have not gone 1 3/16 miles yet, and even the ones who have gone that far have had limited chances to do so, pedigree can provide useful information to connect the dots. It’s all in the blood with Thoroughbreds, so look out for those whose sires and grandsires have run well in Triple Crown races in their own careers, or those that seem to want more “ground” based on their pedigrees.
It can also pay off to look at their dams (their mothers), as well as the siblings of these Derby horses. If their siblings have good form over the Preakness distance or even longer, it is a positive sign that the final furlong will not do them in.
Stick with TVG for Your 2024 Preakness Stakes Picks
You can watch and wager with TVG as we keep you informed on all things Preakness.
Take a look at the latest Preakness Stakes odds to see what sort of value you can get for your wagers, and check back regularly for more updates on this huge Maryland event.
Disclaimer:TVG provides free information, odds, facts, and commentary about the Preakness Stakes and horse racing and betting, in general. Third-party marks may be referenced in a transformative, editorial, informational, nominative, critical, analytical, or comparative context. TVG may reference marks belonging to third parties pursuant to our right to engage in fair use, fair comment, statutory fair use, or trademark fair use doctrine. As such, TVG does not contribute to any dilution of any trade or service marks.