Held two weeks following the Kentucky Derby at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, the Preakness Stakes is a Grade 1 event for three-year-old thoroughbreds. It has a purse of $2 million and is run at a mile and three-sixteenths on the dirt main track. This run for the black-eyed susans is well-known as the second jewel of the US Triple Crown of racing that includes the Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. It is one of the best wagering events of the year, and this is the place to find Preakness Stakes betting odds and the best racebooks for playing the race.
The Preakness Stakes dates back to 1873 and is named after the colt Preakness who won the Dinner Party Stakes on the day that Pimlico Race Course opened its doors in 1870. The race has one of the oldest and richest histories of any race in the United States.
Keep reading to find out the best Preakness Stakes betting tips.
The Preakness Stakes is run at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The traditional date for the race is two weeks after the Kentucky Derby. That means, in 2024, the Preakness will be run Saturday, May 18.
The Preakness Stakes is more important than most other horse races because it is part of the series of Triple Crown races. The $2 million purse means that it attracts top-class horses. And, the 1 3/16-mile distance is longer than most horse races, meaning it requires not only class but deep stamina in order to run well.
Betting the Preakness Stakes online is easy! First, check our list of recommended sportsbooks and choose the right site for you. All of our recommended sites have the basics: great user interfaces, market-leading Preakness Stakes odds, and trusted payouts. Each site also offers great player benefits and promos like horse racing rebates, deposit bonuses, or referral bonuses. Read our reviews to choose the best site for how you like to play, sign up, and then you’re ready to bet!
There is a full range of Preakness Stakes wagering options to satisfy all bettors. You can place a win bet on a single horse, or even bet for the horse to hit the board with a place bet or show bet. If you have opinions on horses finishing second or third, perhaps your bet bet is an intra-race exotic such as an exacta, trifecta, or superfecta. If you have strong opinions on which horses can win other races before or after the Preakness, a multi-race bet like a Daily Double, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, or Pick 6 may be the right call.
Yes, you can watch the Preakness online! Some wagering sites offer streaming, though most do not; check with the site you choose. Even if your online betting site does not offer streaming yet, it’s still easy to watch. NBC and the NBC Sports network provide full coverage of the Preakness, including through their streaming affiliate Peacock.
National Treasure gave Bob Baffert his record eighth Preakness Stakes win in 2023. He set the pace and held by a head over Blazing Sevens for trainer Chad Brown. Kentucky Derby winner Mage, the morning-line favorite as well as the post-time favorite, chased on for third.
Online Betting: Preakness Stakes
Before the starting gate opens at Pimlico, you can get excellent horse racing betting odds through top-rated online racebooks like Bovada or one of the other recommended sites listed below. All of our recommended racebooks have the basics of a great experience: real Vegas odds, trusted payouts, and a great user interface.
All of these offer bonuses for betting on Preakness Stakes horses that you will never find at the track: incentives like deposit bonuses, sign-up bonuses, referral incentives, and even horse racing rebates. Take a few minutes now to read the reviews and find out the site that is best for you, and you will be on your way toward your maximum Preakness betting profit!
Preakness Stakes Betting Odds 2024
The Preakness Stakes odds begin to take shape after the Kentucky Derby ends. That make sense: once the Kentucky Derby finishes, the picture of which horses are going to run in the Preakness Stakes become clearer. After the post position draw, which happens early in the week of the race, the markets take their best shape.
This page was updated on April 23, 2024:
How to Bet the Preakness Stakes
When deciding how to bet on Preakness Stakes horses, you can maximize your value by taking into account all of the information you can comprehend. This is a mix of information about the horses running in the Preakness Stakes that year, as well as historical information about what people and horses fit the profile of Preakness Stakes winners.
Even though the Preakness Stakes does not typically take shape until after the Kentucky Derby, it is not too early to learn the trends that help you find winners. Keep reading this Preakness Stakes betting guide and find out the trends that will help you maximize your profit!
Preakness Stakes Betting Odds
The favorite wins the Preakness about half of the time. This is a stronger strike rate than favorites have in the other two jewels of the Triple Crown. The longest-priced Preakness winner ever, Master Derby, was only a 23-1 shot.
However, with the advent of the points system in 2013, this trend may be changing. In the first ten years of the points system, only three of the ten Preakness Stakes winners were favorites. Two of the ten longest-priced Preakness winners ever, Oxbow and Cloud Computing, won during that time.
What does this mean for how to bet the Preakness Stakes? It means that now, more than ever, do not be afraid to bet a mid-priced horse or longer shot that you like.
Preakness Stakes Pace
As the old adage says, the pace makes the race. In most editions of the Preakness, a deep closer doesn't win the race. Instead, the Preakness Stakes best bet is a horse who has tactical speed. That means they can set the pace (especially if no one else wants to), or they can set up close enough to the pace not to have too much to do in the final half mile of the race.
Of course, any blanket statement about the pace of a race has its exceptions. Even though tactical speed often wins the Preakness, if a particular year's edition of the Preakness is full of nothing but closers, don't be shy about deciding that a price horse with good late pace ability will be able to come pick up all of the pieces.
Preakness Stakes Trainers and Preakness Stakes Jockeys
When choosing a winner in the Preakness Stakes, looking at trainers and jockeys who have won the race before can help. Though the price can be a little lower on horses trained by known successful competitors, that can be okay if the horse is good enough, because connections who know how to win truly can increase a horse's chance.
Among active trainers, Bob Baffert leads all active conditioners with seven victories. Five of his seven winners also won the Kentucky Derby, though he can also win the race with a good horse who did not win the Derby. Other active trainers who are frequent Preakness winners, and who deserve a long look if their horses enter the race, include D. Wayne Lukas, Chad Brown, and Steve Asmussen.
From a riding perspective, looking at riders who have won multiple editions of the Preakness can point you toward someone who can get the best out of a horse at the 1 3/16-mile trip of the Preakness. Among active riders, Kent Desormeaux and Victor Espinoza lead with three Preakness wins, while Mike Smith and Javier Castellano have two.
2024 Best Bets for Preakness Stakes
As the 2024 Preakness Stakes draws closer, the field will take shape. Even though the field is heavily dependent on the Kentucky Derby, it is still not too early to consider which horses who are likely to find their way to the Preakness Stakes.
Preakness Stakes betting choices tend to fall into two categories: Kentucky Derby alumni, and horses who bypassed the Kentucky Derby to target the Preakness instead. Since these categories tend to solidify a few weeks before the Derby, you can start looking for possible Preakness contenders a bit early, and be ready when Preakness Stakes online betting opens.
2024 Kentucky Derby Horses
Typically, the horses from the Kentucky Derby who go on to the Preakness have run well in the Kentucky Derby, and end up being well bet in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. So, it makes sense to look at the likely Kentucky Derby favorites.
Two horses are the clear market leaders for the Kentucky Derby: Fierceness and Sierra Leone.
Fierceness, trained by Todd Pletcher, is brilliant on his day but does not always deliver. He was named juvenile champion after his Breeders’ Cup Juvenile romp. He disappointed in the Holy Bull to start his season, but bounced back to win the Florida Derby impressively. Pletcher doesn’t run in the Preakness unless his horse wins the Kentucky Derby, but if Fierceness comes, his speed will be an asset.
Sierra Leone, trained by Chad Brown, won the Blue Grass impressively. He is a nose from being undefeated, with his only loss coming when Dornoch got his head down first in the Remsen. His off-pace style isn’t the best for Baltimore if he comes, but he has the talent and the stamina.
Other major contenders in the Kentucky Derby include Louisiana Derby and Smarty Jones winner Catching Freedom, UAE Derby winner Forever Young, and Santa Anita Derby winner Stronghold. These horses are sure to be well bet in the Preakness if they run well at Churchill Downs and come along to the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
2024 Preakness Stakes New Faces
Horses who did not run in the Kentucky Derby can run well in the Preakness, and they tend to be the horses who can win the Preakness Stakes as a price. When deciding how to bet the Preakness Stakes, finding a new face who is a legitimate win candidate can mean better value than you would get on a horse from the Kentucky Derby who is already more familiar to more players.
The likely favorite in the Preakness is a horse who will not run in the Kentucky Derby: Muth, for trainer Bob Baffert. Between his performance in California and his impressive score in the Arkansas Derby, Muth has emerged as one of the best three-year-olds in the country. He cannot run in the Kentucky Derby since Churchill Downs has banned his trainer through at least the end of 2024. But, he can run at any racetrack not owned by Churchill Downs, and should be well prepared for the Preakness.
Other contenders come out of races that specifically award bids to the Preakness. Michael McCarthy trainee Rombauer won the El Camino Real Derby and used that as a springboard to win the Preakness; McCarthy also trains Endlessly, who won the same race this year. However, off his win in the Jeff Ruby at Turfway, Endlessly may actually route to the Kentucky Derby first.
Other winners of automatic Preakness Stakes bids include Informed Patriot, winner of the Bath House Row at Oaklawn, and Copper Tax, winner of the Federico Tesio at Laurel. Patriot Spirit has also earned $20,000 toward entering the Preakness after his victory in the Illinois Derby. However, his connections would have to nominate him late to the Triple Crown in order to send him.
