2019 Preakness Stakes Betting Strategies

It’s hard to imagine a race with more drama than the Kentucky Derby that came and went two weeks ago. Omaha Beach, who had been the initial favorite, was scratched from the list. Haikal followed because of a bum foot. The weather prognostications kept changing, with forecasts of fine and foul weather. Nothing was as chaotic as the finish, though, as Maximum Security earned the first disqualification for an on-track incident in the 145 runnings of the Derby. Now we head into the weekend of the Preakness Stakes with a much quieter mood. How can horse racing betting enthusiasts take advantage of this race? Check out some of our suggestions.

2019 Preakness Stakes Betting Strategies

Riding on another planet right now. Four wins in a row for JJ. Point of Honor is his next mount in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes @PimlicoRC. He’s on Warrior’s Charge @PreaknessStakes on Saturday. #Preakness144 pic.twitter.com/hL5Ku5Dryc

— Danonymous Man (@DanonymousMan) 17 de mayo de 2019

Compared to the Kentucky Derby, there has been less instability ahead of the Preakness Stakes. With a late entry, the field is at 13. Most of the wagering should focus around War of Will and Improbable, both of whom raced at the Kentucky Derby. Recent history suggests that horses that ran at Churchill Downs tend to do well two weeks later at Pimlico Race Course, despite the quick turnaround. Both of these horses have won multiple graded stakes races, and their speed figures have held steady over the year. Neither is a particularly explosive choice, but those are the top choices. It is worth noting that Improbable has not won any races in 2019 Other choices for value include Win Win Win, who sits in post position 13 but could push out and around to deliver. He offers, at this writing, the same odds that War of Will offered at Churchill Downs. The disturbance that Maximum Security brought to the Kentucky Derby kept Win Win Win from finishing his best so he could get some redemption on the slightly shorter course. Alwaysmining comes in with a six-race winning streak, but this will be his first foray in graded stakes. He won the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel last month easily. The winners from the Tesio have historically done poorly at Pimlico, but Alwaysmining has a much better resume than many of the other Tesio winners to show up at the Preakness. Bourbon War did not qualify for the Kentucky Derby, but he ran well at the Florida Derby and the Fountain of Youth. Horses that look good at those races tend to look good at Pimlico as well, and given the value available, you might want to take a look at him. He does show up at Pimlico fresh. Given that the Florida Derby horses who did well then did well at Churchill Downs, as Maximum Security won that race and then finished first at Churchill Downs before disqualifications, and Code of Honor, who finished third at the Florida Derby, finished third at Churchill Downs.

How to bet on the 2019 Preakness Stakes?

Bourbon War offers a lot of value right now, so a win-place-show ticket for him makes a lot of sense. Improbable makes sense on the board given the overall weakness of this Preakness field. There are some dark horses such as Signalman and Laughing Fox who could get caught up in the pace and end up finishing on the board, so putting some field slots into the superfecta wagering slots could end up bringing in some money for you as well, along with Bourbon War and Improbable. Thinking about other dark horses? Alwaysmining is jumping up in terms of competition, and if he wins, his trainer would become the first woman to have a Preakness winner. His breeder is a small-time operation, asking a neighbor to come over at foaling time to help out. Owendale delivered a dominant win at the Lexington Stakes, and he could emerge by delivering some value at Pimlico on Saturday.