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Betting Guide

2023 Preakness Stakes Picks

2023 Preakness Stakes

By TVG Staff
Updated May 19, 2023

The 148th running of the Preakness Stakes happens at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, May 20. The race is the 13th of 14 on the star-studded card, and post time for the second jewel of the Triple Crown is 7:01 p.m. EDT.

Seven horses are expected to go 1 3/16 miles for a $1.65 million purse in the Preakness. The contenders include Kentucky Derby winner Mage, who surprised the horse racing world as a 15-1 winner two weeks ago. He came out of the run for the roses well and will try to continue his Triple Crown bid at Pimlico Race Course.

However, the field will not include the original second choice on the morning line, First Mission. He was scratched from the 2023 Preakness Stakes field on Friday morning due to an issue with his left hind ankle.

Six others remain to try to deny Mage this place in horse racing history, and instead build up theirs. Those foes include Bob Baffert trainee National Treasure, who has yet to win a graded stakes but has hit the board in multiple major races, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. They also include Blazing Sevens, who comes out of a third-place run in the Blue Grass for trainer Chad Brown, who won the 2022 Preakness Stakes with Early Voting.

2019 Preakness stakes, Bob Baffert, Bourbon War 2019 Preakness
2019 Preakness stakes, Bob Baffert, Bourbon War 2019 Preakness

Who is coming to Pimlico Race Course?

The field for Preakness Stakes 2023 was drawn on Monday, May 15; the horses and the morning line were updated Friday, May 19, after the key scratch of First Mission.

Mage, who won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, will be a heavy favorite after the scratch. He now faces a total of six other horses, none of whom contested the Run for the Roses.

This is the full field for the 2023 Preakness Stakes, including their post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

PostHorseTrainerJockeyML
1National TreasureBob BaffertJohn Velazquez3-1
2Chase the ChaosEd Moger, Jr.Sheldon Russell30-1
3MageGustavo DelgadoJavier Castellano3-5
4CoffeewithchrisJohn Salzman, Jr.Jaime Rodriguez20-1
5Red Route OneSteve AsmussenJoel Rosario8-1
6PerformShug McGaugheyFeargal Lynch12-1
7Blazing SevensChad BrownIrad Ortiz, Jr.5-1
8First MissionBrad CoxLuis SaezSCR

Betting the 2023 Preakness

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 20, 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 2023 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 2023 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 Preak

Preakness Stakes Best Bet

The best bet in the 2023 Preakness Stakes is First Mission.

He is improving for trainer Brad Cox at just the right time to make an impact in the Preakness. First Mission has a stalking style, and the outside draw was perfect for him. He should get a clean trip tracking just outside of speed horses like National Treasure and Coffeewithchris, and should be able to get first run on those horses.

With a solid pedigree for the stretch out to a Classic distance and the right running style for the second leg of the Triple Crown, he is the best bet.

Preakness Stakes Favorite

Kentucky Derby winner Mage may have been a 15-1 long shot in the Kentucky Derby, but he is the 3-5 morning-line favorite in the Preakness Stakes. He makes sense as the favorite, and Preakness Stakes history is good to Kentucky Derby winners. Especially after the scratch of First Mission, Mage is by far the horse to beat in the 2023 Preakness Stakes, and has a strong chance to take a Triple Crown bid to the Belmont Stakes.

He has the versatility to carve out either a stalking or closing trip, and despite his inexperience he is mature enough to stay engaged even if he starts poorly. He stayed the Derby distance beautifully as well, meaning the slightly shorter Preakness distance will be no question.

The biggest question with Mage is how he starts. With a gate toward the inside, there is a little more chance something will go wrong again at the start, meaning he might be knocked back to a closing style. He may be good enough that he’ll take a live Triple Crown bid to the Belmont Stakes but as the shortest price in the field his 2023 Preakness Stakes odds will be an underlay.

From a betting perspective, this means Mage makes sense as a key in exotics, though is less than exciting in the win pool.

Preakness Stakes Long Shot

The most interesting long shot in the Preakness Stakes is Perform. He gets a class rise in the Preakness, but his connections have ponied up $150,000 to supplement him in the race. In this case, money talks. His connections have been to all the biggest races: trainer Shug McGaughey and owners including Phipps Stable and Lane’s End. This means, they’re not just taking a shot in the Preakness because it’s their only shot.

They’ve been here before. This time, they have a horse who may lack graded stakes experience, but can make up for it with stamina, pace versatility, and class. He may be an overlooked horse, meaning the price will be right in the win pool for anyone who prefers making win bets to exotics.

Preakness Stakes Exotics Horses

Other horses to consider for exotics include National Treasure and Red Route One. National Treasure adds blinkers for Bob Baffert. He has to deal with a rail draw, but should be the better speed horse compared to Coffeewithchris. Red Route One ran on belatedly for underneath shares in several Kentucky Derby points preps and is good enough to do the same thing in the Preakness as well.

Preakness Stakes Bet-Against

Blazing Sevens will not be an overlooked horse at the betting windows since his trainer Chad Brown won the Preakness last year with Early Voting. At a surface level there is some similarity between Blazing Sevens and both Early Voting and Brown’s other winner, Cloud Computing. After all, all three of these horses had enough points to make the Derby and Brown rerouted them to Baltimore instead.

However, Blazing Sevens does not have as strong a record leading into the Preakness as either of Brown’s other winners. Blazing Sevens ran a no-threat third in both of his preps at age three, leading to legitimate questions about whether he has trained on. Therefore, Blazing Sevens’ 2023 Preakness Stakes odds will likely be an underlay.

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 2023 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 2023 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 is 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 2023 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.

maximum security

Stick with TVG for Your 2023 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.

AWARE - Always Wager Responsibly - National Gambling Helpline: 1-800-522-4700. 

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.

Get up to $200 Back

If you don't win your first single-horse win bet. Bet the Preakness!

By TVG Staff
Updated May 19, 2023

The 148th running of the Preakness Stakes happens at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, May 20. The race is the 13th of 14 on the star-studded card, and post time for the second jewel of the Triple Crown is 7:01 p.m. EDT.

Seven horses are expected to go 1 3/16 miles for a $1.65 million purse in the Preakness. The contenders include Kentucky Derby winner Mage, who surprised the horse racing world as a 15-1 winner two weeks ago. He came out of the run for the roses well and will try to continue his Triple Crown bid at Pimlico Race Course.

However, the field will not include the original second choice on the morning line, First Mission. He was scratched from the 2023 Preakness Stakes field on Friday morning due to an issue with his left hind ankle.

Six others remain to try to deny Mage this place in horse racing history, and instead build up theirs. Those foes include Bob Baffert trainee National Treasure, who has yet to win a graded stakes but has hit the board in multiple major races, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. They also include Blazing Sevens, who comes out of a third-place run in the Blue Grass for trainer Chad Brown, who won the 2022 Preakness Stakes with Early Voting.

2019 Preakness stakes, Bob Baffert, Bourbon War 2019 Preakness
2019 Preakness stakes, Bob Baffert, Bourbon War 2019 Preakness

Who is coming to Pimlico Race Course?

The field for Preakness Stakes 2023 was drawn on Monday, May 15; the horses and the morning line were updated Friday, May 19, after the key scratch of First Mission.

Mage, who won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, will be a heavy favorite after the scratch. He now faces a total of six other horses, none of whom contested the Run for the Roses.

This is the full field for the 2023 Preakness Stakes, including their post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

PostHorseTrainerJockeyML
1National TreasureBob BaffertJohn Velazquez3-1
2Chase the ChaosEd Moger, Jr.Sheldon Russell30-1
3MageGustavo DelgadoJavier Castellano3-5
4CoffeewithchrisJohn Salzman, Jr.Jaime Rodriguez20-1
5Red Route OneSteve AsmussenJoel Rosario8-1
6PerformShug McGaugheyFeargal Lynch12-1
7Blazing SevensChad BrownIrad Ortiz, Jr.5-1
8First MissionBrad CoxLuis SaezSCR

Betting the 2023 Preakness

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 20, 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 2023 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 2023 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 Preak

Preakness Stakes Best Bet

The best bet in the 2023 Preakness Stakes is First Mission.

He is improving for trainer Brad Cox at just the right time to make an impact in the Preakness. First Mission has a stalking style, and the outside draw was perfect for him. He should get a clean trip tracking just outside of speed horses like National Treasure and Coffeewithchris, and should be able to get first run on those horses.

With a solid pedigree for the stretch out to a Classic distance and the right running style for the second leg of the Triple Crown, he is the best bet.

Preakness Stakes Favorite

Kentucky Derby winner Mage may have been a 15-1 long shot in the Kentucky Derby, but he is the 3-5 morning-line favorite in the Preakness Stakes. He makes sense as the favorite, and Preakness Stakes history is good to Kentucky Derby winners. Especially after the scratch of First Mission, Mage is by far the horse to beat in the 2023 Preakness Stakes, and has a strong chance to take a Triple Crown bid to the Belmont Stakes.

He has the versatility to carve out either a stalking or closing trip, and despite his inexperience he is mature enough to stay engaged even if he starts poorly. He stayed the Derby distance beautifully as well, meaning the slightly shorter Preakness distance will be no question.

The biggest question with Mage is how he starts. With a gate toward the inside, there is a little more chance something will go wrong again at the start, meaning he might be knocked back to a closing style. He may be good enough that he’ll take a live Triple Crown bid to the Belmont Stakes but as the shortest price in the field his 2023 Preakness Stakes odds will be an underlay.

From a betting perspective, this means Mage makes sense as a key in exotics, though is less than exciting in the win pool.

Preakness Stakes Long Shot

The most interesting long shot in the Preakness Stakes is Perform. He gets a class rise in the Preakness, but his connections have ponied up $150,000 to supplement him in the race. In this case, money talks. His connections have been to all the biggest races: trainer Shug McGaughey and owners including Phipps Stable and Lane’s End. This means, they’re not just taking a shot in the Preakness because it’s their only shot.

They’ve been here before. This time, they have a horse who may lack graded stakes experience, but can make up for it with stamina, pace versatility, and class. He may be an overlooked horse, meaning the price will be right in the win pool for anyone who prefers making win bets to exotics.

Preakness Stakes Exotics Horses

Other horses to consider for exotics include National Treasure and Red Route One. National Treasure adds blinkers for Bob Baffert. He has to deal with a rail draw, but should be the better speed horse compared to Coffeewithchris. Red Route One ran on belatedly for underneath shares in several Kentucky Derby points preps and is good enough to do the same thing in the Preakness as well.

Preakness Stakes Bet-Against

Blazing Sevens will not be an overlooked horse at the betting windows since his trainer Chad Brown won the Preakness last year with Early Voting. At a surface level there is some similarity between Blazing Sevens and both Early Voting and Brown’s other winner, Cloud Computing. After all, all three of these horses had enough points to make the Derby and Brown rerouted them to Baltimore instead.

However, Blazing Sevens does not have as strong a record leading into the Preakness as either of Brown’s other winners. Blazing Sevens ran a no-threat third in both of his preps at age three, leading to legitimate questions about whether he has trained on. Therefore, Blazing Sevens’ 2023 Preakness Stakes odds will likely be an underlay.

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 2023 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 2023 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 is 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 2023 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.

maximum security

Stick with TVG for Your 2023 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.

AWARE - Always Wager Responsibly - National Gambling Helpline: 1-800-522-4700. 

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.