Pimlico Race Course will host the 147th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 20. The current favorite is Mage, who won the Kentucky Derby at 15/1 odds, and he comes into the Preakness as a 3/1 favorite. Forte, who was scratched shortly before the Kentucky Derby, is an important factor but may not run at all, as Kentucky’s horse racing commission has placed a 14-day veterinary hold on the three-year-old. Before that hold can be lifted, he has to have a negative substance test and pass a veterinary examination that would declare him fit to race. Forte’s status is something you will want to pay attention to before locking in any early sports betting picks on the second leg of the Triple Crown. We’ll look at a quick definition of some of the popular Horse Racing betting options and then go through some of the top contenders.
Horse Racing Betting News: Preakness Stakes Picks → Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta
When you wager on horse racing, you can pick individual horses to win, or you can also place bets on them to win, place (come in second) or show (come in third). Obviously, your payoff will be less if you take the second option, but your odds of a winner increase significantly.
An exacta is a wager in which you pick the first two horses to finish. A trifecta is a pick for the first three horses to finish, and a superfecta is a pick for the first four. You can increase your odds of winning by making any of those a box wager.
Here’s how a box wager works. Let’s say you think Mage will win the Preakness and Forte will come in second. Your exacta wager would have Mage finishing first and Forte second. An exacta box wager would list the two horses, but it would also pay off if Forte finished and Mage finished second; it pays off as long as the horses in the box wager finish in one of the positions.
Speaking of
Mage
, he’s going to show up in a lot of these wagers after winning on May 6 at Churchill Downs. In 2013, he has four total starts, and he has a pair of wins and a runner-up.Then there’s
Forte
. He had an impressive resume coming into the Kentucky Derby, but it was fairly small. He had won both of his races in 2023, including the Curlin Florida Derby on April 1 at Gulfstream. However, that scratch at the Kentucky Derby makes picking him a real gamble (pun intended).The runner-up at the Kentucky Derby was
Two Phil’s
. That gave him two second-place finishes, to go along with a win and a third-place finish in four starts in 2023. His connections have not yet decided whether to run him at Pimlico, though.Angel of Empire
came in third at the Kentucky Derby; in 2023, he has four starts, with two victories and a runner-up, along with that third-place finish. At this point, his connections do not plan to run him at Pimlico, with an entry into the Belmont Stakes his most likely next event.Tapit Trice
finished seventh at the Kentucky Derby, his first race so far in 2023 that he did not win. He will not race in the Preakness, as his connections have opted to wait until the Belmont.Disarm
came in fourth at the Kentucky Derby, his worst finish in a 2023 campaign that also includes two second-place and one third-place finish. At this point, his connections plan to enter him in the Preakness.Pretty Mischievous
won the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs and is the top-ranked filly in America’s Best Racing’s polling. In three races in 2023, she has two wins and a runner-up, but her speed figures are not up there with the top males in these standings.First Mission
is an interesting horse going into the Preakness Stakes. He didn’t run in the Kentucky Derby but has two wins and a runner-up so far in 2023, including a win at the Lexington Stakes on April 15 at Keeneland.Bet on the Preakness Stakes!
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