How and Where to Bet on the Preakness Stakes
Let’s have a look at the current Preakness Stakes odds and our exclusive Preakness Stakes Betting guide.
Everything you need for the best Preakness Stakes bets
The Preakness Stakes is the second jewel of the American Triple Crown. Up to fourteen of the best three-year-olds in the United States square off, and after less than two minutes we know where there will be a Triple Crown on the line, or if a new face has joined the elite three-year-old horses of the year.
The 2022 Preakness Stakes will happen on Saturday, May 21: its usual time on the calendar, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby. This will give you all you need to know in order to play the Preakness Stakes like an expert!
Preakness Betting Sites
You can bet the Preakness Stakes from the racetrack, an off-track betting shop (OTB), or a Las Vegas casino. However, millions of people have begun to enjoy the convenience and safety of betting the Preakness Stakes online from their own homes.
This is the first part of our Preakness Stakes betting guide. We present to you the best sites for betting the Preakness online:
Preakness Betting Resources
Once you have chosen the best racebook, the next step is to learn some basic Preakness Stakes betting tips. If you need to learn, or if you would like a refresher to make sure you are as sharp as possible before you place your Preakness bets, read these articles on how to bet the races:
Las Vegas Preakness Stakes Odds
Odds on the Preakness Stakes begin to appear as the race gets closer. It takes a few days after the Kentucky Derby for horses to recover from the race, and for their trainers to decide whether they can move on to race again in just two weeks. This is current as of May 7, 2021, though odds will be created and changed as the Preakness draws closer.
| Preakness Stakes odds 2021 |  |  |  |
| Epicenter | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| Early Voting | +400 | +400 | +400 |
| Zandon | +400 | +400 | +400 |
| Creative Minister | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Rich Strike | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Secret Oaty | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Smile Happy | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
Latest Free Preakness Stakes Picks
Once the Preakness Stakes has drawn, we will have expert selections and analysis to help you make your Preakness Stakes bets as profitable as possible!
Best Preakness Stakes Betting Sites
Choosing the best site to play the Preakness Stakes can be challenging, as there are so many online sportsbooks and racebooks to choose from. Fortunately, our experts have done the work to test and review these sportsbooks, and recommend the ones that offer bettors the best odds, features, and bonuses.
These are the best sportsbooks for betting the 2022 Preakness Stakes online. They are all trusted websites with excellent user interfaces, and they offer players a wide range of incentives including rebates and deposit bonuses.
Why do We Choose these Sites?
The Preakness Stakes is one of the best betting opportunities of the year, so it is important to have the best odds from a sportsbook you can trust. Whether you are just getting started betting horse racing or have been playing horses your entire life and are shifting to modern online betting, finding an easy-to-use sportsbook that you can trust can be difficult. Expert analysis and insight helps.
We have vetted these sites, and these are the sportsbooks that offer what you offer what you need to make betting the Preakness fun and profitable. These sportsbooks are trustworthy, easy-to-use, and always offer true Vegas odds on Preakness Stakes contenders. This means you can sign up for our top sportsbooks and be confident that you will have the best Preakness betting experience.
How to Bet on the Preakness Stakes — Top Tips to Win
First, you need to know the best Kentucky Derby betting sites and odds. However, once you have that information, it helps to know a few hot Preakness trends in order to help you narrow down your betting opportunities and select the right horse. So, if you find a top sportsbook that is offering you better odds than you think the horse should have, you can feel confident about betting them!
Favorites
Favorites typically run well in the Preakness Stakes. They have won the race almost exactly half the time, making it the most friendly to favorites among the three American Triple Crown races, and second betting choices often do well in the Preakness, as well. Favorites do not always win; for example, 2020 Preakness winner Swiss Skydiver won at 11-1 odds. But, even then, the favorite Authentic finished second. Often, playing some longshots around the favorite in exotic wagers can be your key to cashing a nice Preakness ticket.
Trainers and Jockeys
You can often depend on trainers and jockeys who have done well at the Preakness in the past to do well there again. Trainer Bob Baffert has won a record-tying seven editions of the Preakness Stakes, and has won it with all but one of his Kentucky Derby winners who went on to the Preakness. (The only one who lost was Authentic, in 2020, who finished second in a close finish). So, if Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit does move on to the Preakness, the fact that he is trained by Bob Baffert could make him formidable.
Active jockeys who have won multiple editions of the Preakness include three-time winners Kent Desormeaux and Victor Espinoza, and two-time winners Robby Albarado, Javier Castellano, and Mike Smith.
Post Positions
Take the post draw in the Preakness Stakes seriously. More horses have won from the 6 post than any other, with 16 Preakness winners coming from that gate. post positions 4 and 7 have also been very successful in the Preakness. It makes sense that the middle post positions have been so good in the Preakness. In a field of up to 14, drawing the rail can make it difficult for a horse to work out a good, clean trip. But, drawing a far outside post position can mean a horse loses ground on the turn, or has to hustle hard to get a good position up near the pace.
Weather
The Preakness Stakes is run in the middle of May. It often gets rainy in Baltimore during the spring. This means you should check the weather in the week leading into the Preakness Stakes, and the days leading into the race. If it is rainy, look for horses who run well in the mud. That may be clear from their past performances if they have run in the mud before.
If they have not run in the mud yet, pedigree can provide a clue to how well they will handle the mud. Find out whether any of their parents or siblings ran well in the mud, or whether they are closely related to excellent sloppy-track stallions like Speightstown, Distorted Humor, or Bernardini. On a rainy day, finding out how a horse is likely to do in the slop can help you find a good longshot.
Preakness Stakes Odds Explained
Depending on the racebook you choose, you may see Preakness Stakes odds in three major formats. Here is an explanation of the different formats:
- American (+500): These are similar to what you see in American sportsbooks when betting other sports, and denote how much you win, but do not take into account getting back your initial stake. +500 means that for a winning $1 bet, you win $5. Add back your $1 initial stake, for a total of $6.
- Fractional (5/1): These are similar to what you see if you are betting a race at a racetrack. 5/1 denotes, in fractional form, how much money you win, but not your initial stake. So, for a winning $1 bet at 5/1, you get back $5 in profit plus your $1 stake, for a total of $6.
- Decimal (6.00): Decimal odds reflect both the winnings and the returned stake together in one number. So, a winning $1 bet with 6.00 decimal odds means you get back a total of $6: including the $5 profit plus the $1 initial stake.
Keeping these formats in mind will help you know for sure what odds each sportsbook is giving you on your Preakness pick!