2023 Preakness Stakes Betting Favorites, Dark Horses & Longshots

By Hank Blaine • May 19, 2023

The 2023 Preakness field is set. Unlike the Kentucky Derby, where nineteen horses broke from the gate, only eight will run around the Pimlico track on Saturday. Among the eight, Mage, the Derby winner, projects as the chalk. Grade 3 Lexington Stakes winner First Mission will attract some play and so will Bob Baffert trained National Treasure. Keep reading for the favorites, the dark horses, and the longshots for the 2023 Preakness Stakes.

2023 Preakness Stakes Race Info

Some run, some fly. #FirstMission showing off his levetation skills. #Preakness148 pic.twitter.com/aMBNGvX4Ah
— Preakness Stakes (@PreaknessStakes) May 17, 2023

When: Saturday, May 20, 2023. 6:50 pm EST
Where: Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, MD
TV/Streaming: Peacock
Distance & Surface: 1-3/16 miles (9½ furlongs) on dirt

2023 Preakness Stakes Entry List

National Treasure +400
Chase the Chaos +5000
Coffeewithchris +2000
Red Route One +1000
Perform +1500
Blazing Sevens +600
First Mission +250

Favorite

Mage

If the chalk is feeling good, the Preakness should be his for the taking. Mage showed his talent when finishing second to Derby morning line favorite Forte in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.

At the Kentucky Derby, jockey Javier Castellano had to navigate through the field to get Mage to the winner’s circle. Javier won’t have to do much on Saturday except keep Mage close to the pace. So unless you don’t want to bet the favorite, Mage is a great choice. In fact, he’s our top pick.

Dark Horses

First Mission +250
National Treasure +400
Blazing Sevens +600

Because of the odds, we added Blazing Sevens to the dark horses category but Sevens doesn’t have the talent to win the Preakness. No doubt, Chad Brown is a genius trainer. So we’re not saying Blazing Sevens won’t win the Preakness. We’re saying the three-year-old doesn’t have the talent. So something crazy must happen.

If National Treasure has learned how to harness his speed, the Baffert runner could be dangerous. But we should expect more than +400. Pulling the trigger on Treasure at anything less than +600 doesn’t make sense.

First Mission can beat Mage. If the odds lift from +260 to +400 or even +350 or +300, we’d have to consider. First Mission won a graded race right after breaking the maiden. Only talented horses can accomplish the maiden to graded stakes double.

Longshots

Chase the Chaos +5000
Coffeewithchris +2000
Red Route One +1000
Perform +1500

Give Red Route One a chance. The Steve Asmussen trainee was closing like a monster in the Bath House Row Stakes. Not only did Red Route One win, but he beat a couple of decent three-year-olds in Victory Formation and Tapit Shoes.

We’d love to see Chase the Chaos run well because Brittany Russell trains. Real horseplayers know that Brittany is one of the country’s best. But Chase would have to improve by leaps and bounds, and we don’t see it.

Coffeewithchris and Perform don’t look fast enough to hang with Mage, First Mission, National Treasure, or Red Route One.

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