Preakness Stakes Longshots: Which Horse Has The Best Chance?


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Learn about the 2023 Preakness Stakes longshots, featuring Red Route One and Coffeewithchris

Two weeks ago, Mage won the Kentucky Derby as a 15-1 long shot. He’ll have far shorter odds in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, where he started as an 8/5 morning line favorite. There are three horses with the most favorable odds, and an additional four Preakness Stakes longshots that round out the field.

Do you think one of the longshots will capture another leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown? If so, you’ve got a few options to pick from, and we’ll dive into them here.

Latest odds for Preakness Stakes longshots

PositionHorseCurrent OddsOpening Odds
5Red Route One7/110/1
6Perform7/115/1
4Coffeewithchris8/120/1
2Chase The Chaos8/150/1
Odds provided by FanDuel Racing

Get odds on Preakness Stakes favorites

Red Route One looking to come flying late

We’ll start with a name that had some buzz earlier this year. Red Route One was second in both the Southwest Stakes and Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park this past winter. However, a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Arkansas Derby put the kibosh on any Kentucky Derby dreams.

The horse, however, regrouped one start later. He won the Bath House Row Stakes in late April for his first victory since September, and that put him on track for the Preakness.

The connections behind Red Route One may look familiar. Owner Winchell Thoroughbreds and trainer Steve Asmussen teamed up with Epicenter, who ran second in both the Derby and Preakness a season ago. They were also the connections behind Disarm, who ran fourth in the Run for the Roses earlier this month.

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Perform aims to continue his rapid rise

Less than three months ago, Perform was winless in five career starts. Ahead of a March 11 maiden race at Tampa Bay Downs, the Shug McGaughey trainee had just two top-three finishes on his resume.

What a difference two races can make. Perform won that event and proceeded to rally from last to first to win the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park. The Tesio has a reputation as the “local prep” for the Preakness, and it took place at Pimlico for many years.

McGaughey was inducted into horse racing’s Hall of Fame in 2004. However, he’s never won the Preakness. The closest he came was in 1989, when Easy Goer lost a photo finish to rival Sunday Silence in one of their four head-to-head clashes that year.

Great stories, long odds

The two biggest long shots in the field are Coffeewithchris and Chase the Chaos. Both will be huge prices, but they carry plenty of sentimental value for bettors looking for the best backstories.

Coffeewithchris is a mainstay on the Maryland horse racing circuit. He’s competed 12 times, more than any other horse in the field, and all but one of those starts have come in the Old Line State. Most recently, he was fifth behind Perform in the Tesio.

Chase the Chaos, meanwhile, won a fees-paid berth to the Preakness by taking down the El Camino Real Derby in February at Golden Gate Fields. His trainer, Ed Moger Jr., has never before saddled a Preakness runner. Chase the Chaos has run two poor races since that winning effort, though, and will almost certainly be the longest shot on the board.