The field is set for the 2023 Preakness Stakes.
Mage, the 15-1 upset winner of the 2023 Kentucky Derby, will look to capture the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown Saturday afternoon at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. If he does, he’ll stand a chance at becoming horse racing’s 14th Triple Crown winner (and just the third horse to sweep the series since 1978).
2023 Preakness Stakes field
Preakness morning line odds
Mage is the morning line favorite for the Preakness, which was Monday afternoon. He will line up against seven other horses on Saturday.
Position | Horse | Opening odds | Trainer |
---|---|---|---|
1 | National Treasure | 4/1 | Bob Baffert |
2 | Chase The Chaos | 50/1 | Ed Moger Jr. |
3 | Mage | 8/5 | Gustavo Delgado |
4 | Coffeewithchris | 20/1 | John Salzman Jr. |
5 | Red Route One | 10/1 | Steve Asmussen |
6 | Perform | 15/1 | Shug McCaughey |
7 | Blazing Sevens | 6/1 | Chad Brown |
8 | First Mission | SCRATCHED | Brad Cox |
Mage chases the Triple Crown
Mage came into the Kentucky Derby off of a second-place finish in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. That race’s winner, Forte, was seen as the likely Kentucky Derby favorite. However, he scratched the morning of the race due to a hoof bruise.
Mage did not break well in the Kentucky Derby, which led to him being far back in the race’s early stages. However, he rallied strongly beneath jockey Javier Castellano and edged past Two Phil’s in the final furlong.
The Derby win was the first for all of his connections, including a multi-faceted ownership group and trainer Gustavo Delgado. Castellano, a Hall of Famer, was 0-for-15 in the Derby prior to this year’s renewal.
Preakness field includes many new shooters
Mage is the only horse from the Kentucky Derby to contest this year’s Preakness. A few others from that race, including Disarm and Confidence Game, were under consideration for the event. However, their trainers opted to pass.
One prominent new human face we’ll see this weekend is that of trainer Bob Baffert. Baffert trainees were ineligible for the Kentucky Derby in each of the last two years, and he missed last year’s Preakness because of a suspension. However, he’s back this year with National Treasure, who most recently ran fourth in the Santa Anita Derby.
Chad Brown also did not saddle a Kentucky Derby runner. His top Kentucky Derby point-getter, Blazing Sevens, finished third in the Blue Grass but did not run on the first Saturday in May. He’ll run Saturday, though, and Brown’s track record with this move is excellent. His prior two Preakness winners, Cloud Computing and Early Voting, both skipped the Derby before earning a garland of black-eyed Susans at the Preakness.
How to bet on the Preakness Stakes
Post time for the 2023 Preakness Stakes is 6:50 pm Eastern. In addition to wagering on-track at Pimlico, you can participate using advance deposit wagering platforms, such as FanDuel Racing.
If you sign up for FanDuel Racing today, you can get a $20 no sweat first bet on the Preakness Stakes.