Horse Racing Betting News | The Preakness, Market Watch & Analysis | May, 2026

By Bob Duff, Updated on: May 15, 2026 12:00 AM

Mid-May means it’s time to bring out the Black Eyed Susans. The Preakness Stakes, the second leg in North American thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, is set to go postward on Saturday, May 16.

Preceded by the Kentucky Derby and followed by the Belmont Stakes, the Triple Crown is a true test to determine which horse among the three-year-old class is the best in the business. They’ve been contesting the Triple Crown since 1875, and in over 150 years of racing, only 13 horses have laid claim to the title of Triple Crown winner.

Good morning from Incredibolt.@PinOakStud pic.twitter.com/ri9zMNltU1

— Preakness Stakes (@PreaknessStakes) May 14, 2026

Covering 1 3/16 miles on the dirt track surface at Laurel Park, NBC will be broadcasting all the action of this year’s Preakness Stakes. The race was first run in 1873.

Journalism was the winner of the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes on May 17, 2025. A trainee of Michael W. McCarthy, Journalism was second in the Kentucky Derby, edged at the wire by Sovereignty in the final furlong. Umberto Rispoli was the winning jockey aboard Journalism. He was the first jockey from Italy to ever win a Triple Crown race. Journalism paid $4.00 on a $2 win ticket.

Below, we break down the biggest Preakness Stakes betting storylines, odds movement, and angles bettors should be watching heading into mid-May. For everything about betting on the Preakness Stakes and horse racing in general, be sure to check out our handy and informative Horse Racing Betting Guide, which contains all things about the sport of kings. It’s chock full of in-depth information that will be equally valuable to the newbie bettor and the experienced tout. As well, there are detailed guides about some of the very best horse racing sports betting sites around. And if you are new to sports betting, you’d do yourself a service by delving into our How to Bet on Sports guide.

Key market storylines driving futures odds

Derby Winner Skips Preakness

Preakness Finds Temporary Home

Schedule Debate Heats Up

Few Derby Horses Return

Incredibolt Favored, Taj Challenges

Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo won't be contesting the Preakness Stakes. It's the second year in a row that the race will go postward without the Kentucky Derby winner, and the sixth time in the past eight years. Citing the short two-week break between races, Golden Tempo's trainer, Cherie DeVaux, is electing to point her horse toward the Belmont rather than try for the Triple Crown.

This year's Preakness Stakes has a new temporary home at Laurel Park Raceway. Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course, the track's longtime host, is undergoing massive renovations. The plan is for the Preakness Stakes to return to Pimlico for the 2027 running of the race.

Golden Tempo's absence and the continued lack of Kentucky Derby winners in the race are fueling the debate over whether the Preakness should be moved back a week to allow a three-week pause following the Derby. There's already a three-week break before the daunting test that is the 1 1/2 mile Belmont Stakes. If the Preakness slides back a week, then it's likely that the Belmont would also require a one-week push back.

Only three Kentucky Derby starters are going postward in the Preakness. That list includes Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt. The current five-week span for the Triple Crown races has been the schedule since 1969. All 13 of the Triple Crown winners have won the Preakness with a maximum two-week break between the Derby and Preakness.

Incredibolt, trained by Riley Mott, is the current +475 favorite to win the Preakness Stakes. The colt was sixth in the Kentucky Derby. Lightly raced, Incredibolt has posted three wins in six starts. His signature victory came in the Street Sense Stakes. Mott is the son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. The second betting choice at +450 is Taj Mahal. The son of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist is 3-0 lifetime.

Preakness Stakes betting trends to watch

Could this be the year of the female conditioner in the Triple Crown? DeVaux was the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner when Golden Tempo took the Run For the Roses. Taj Mahal, the second betting favorite, is trained by Brittany Russell. She was the top trainer in Maryland in 2024.

No woman has ever trained a Preakness Stakes winner. Might Russell be the one to break down that barrier? If so, there will be another unique connection in the Taj Mahal camp. Russell's husband, Sheldon Russell, is Taj Mahal's jockey. No husband and wife have ever won a Triple Crown race as a jockey/trainer tandem.

In 2023, trainer Jena Antonucci broke the Triple Crown training gender barrier by sending out Arcangelo to win the Belmont Stakes

Laurel Park is Taj Mahal's home track. The colt's three lifetime wins in three career starts include victories in the Miracle Wood Stakes and Federico Tesio Stakes. However, over the past five years, Russell-trained horses have gone 0-for-32 in graded stakes races contested on dirt track surfaces.

Two of the three Kentucky Derby returnees are also getting plenty of love from the bettors. Along with the favorite Incedibolt, Ocelli is given a betting line of +675. However, Robusta is a long shot at +2200. Certainly, the proving ground of already having run in a Triple Crown race is a factor in this betting action. In fact, 57% of Preakness winners since 2012 came into the race off a start in the Kentucky Derby.

Another factor to keep in mind is that 12 of the past 14 Preakness winners finished in the top four in their previous start. That's an 86% win rate.

Since 2013, every Preakness winner has started from Post Position No. 9 or inside of that. Twelve of the past 14 winners scored from the No. 6 post position or closer to the rail. The favorite Incredibolt starts from the No. 12 hole. The betting line is -125 that the winner will come from the seven hole or inside.

Best Preakness Stakes horse racing props to consider

Iron Honor and Incredibolt are the +115 co-favorites to hit the board in Preakness Stakes prop wager plays. If you opt for Taj Mahal in this prop, the betting line is +125. go with Taj Mahal and Incredibolt in either order to finish 1-2, and you'll draw odds of +2000 in a Preakness exacta prop. The odds are +110 that the winning margin will be 1.5 lengths, and it's +200 that it will require a photo finish to determine the winner of the race.

Crupper getting a feel for @LaurelPark. pic.twitter.com/lQtHZPd1gf

— Preakness Stakes (@PreaknessStakes) May 14, 2026

A betting line of -130 is assigned to a prop that the name of the Preakness winner will exceed 9.5 letters. You can also play a prop on the horse to finish last in the Preakness. Crupper and Bull by the Horns are both +450 to see the back end of all the other horses in the race. Robusta is +600, and Pretty Boy Miah is +650. You can also wager at odds of -130 that at least one horse will poop on the way to the start of the race.

Latest horse racing betting news

NBC is in the last year of its contract to broadcast the Preakness. FOX, which holds the rights to the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown, is reportedly seeking to add the Preakness contract.

Owner Peter Brant told the Daily Racing Form he has moved nearly 75% of his horses out of the stable of trainer Chad Brown. Brant divided the horse he moved between trainers Bill Mott, Riley Mott, and Miguel Clement. Bill Mott is now training Brant's Gezora, the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner. The horse was trained at that time by Francis Henri-Graffard. Brant transferred Gezora to Brown following her Breeders' Cup win.

Japanese-owned Danon Bourbon, the fifth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, is out for the season. The horse will be undergoing surgery for a knee chip. Danon Bourbon is a trainee of Manabu Ikezeo for Danox Co. Ltd.

Jockeys Jose Ortiz and his older brother, Irad Ortiz Jr., were honored by Puerto Rican Governor Jenniffer González-Colón during a ceremony on May 12. The recognition for the brothers stemmed from their 1-2 finish in the Kentucky Derby. Jose won the race aboard Golden Tempo. Irad finished second in the rein to Renegade. It was Jose's first Derby victory and the best finish by Irad in 10 Derby starts.

With Golden Tempo passing on the Preakness, Jose Ortiz will be up on Chip Honcho for the race. The only jockey to win the Derby and Preakness with different horses was Calvin Borel in 2009. He won the Derby with the 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird at Churchill Downs. Borel took the Preakness aboard the filly Rachel Alexandra.

Irad Ortiz is up on Talkin in the Preakness. The odds are +2500 that the Ortiz brothers will again finish 1-2 in this race.

Previous market updates

[April 2026]: Leading into the Kentucky Derby, the final betting lines for the top contenders to win The Run For The Roses were becoming clearer, and Kentucky Derby betting trends and prop bets were coming into focus.
[March 2026]: Kentucky Derby prep races continue to impact the board, with points standings influencing odds movement and pushing consistent runners into the +800 to +1000 range.
[March 2026]: Dubai World Cup creates volatility in international markets, with odds shifting rapidly following late withdrawals and track condition changes.
[March 2026]: Cheltenham Festival drives heavy betting action, with favorites tightening significantly after dominant wins in Grade 1 races.
[February 2026]: Kentucky Derby prep races begin shaping futures markets, with leading contenders shortening from +2000 to +1200 after strong performances in early qualifiers.

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Meet the author

Bob Duff

Sports betting journalist covering NFL, NBA, MLB, UFC, NHL, and major global events since 2016. Former columnist for MSNBC.com, The Windsor Star, and Postmedia. Covered the Super Bowl, World Series, Olympic Games, and FIFA World Cup. Author of 25+ books and contribut...