The 146th Preakness Stakes will be run on Saturday, May 15, 2021. 10 of the best three-year-old horses in the country will run 1 3/16 miles for a $1 million purse. Kentucky Derby first-place finisher Medina Spirit will strive for the second jewel of the Triple Crown, but the field features several foes who look well placed to become a Classic winner.
The Preakness Stakes is one of the most important horse races of the year, and one of the best betting opportunities of the year. Here are the odds on the top contenders for the 2021 Preakness Stakes.
| Horse |  |  | Intertops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medina Spirit | +185 | TBA | +200 |
| Concert Tour | +200 | TBA | +200 |
| Midnight Bourbon | +500 | TBA | +600 |
| Crowded Trade | +800 | TBA | +1000 |
| Risk Taking | +1200 | TBA | +900 |
| Rombauer | +1200 | TBA | +1400 |
Due to COVID-19 safety regulations, only 10,000 fans will be allowed to watch the 2021 Preakness Stakes in person at Pimlico Race Course. Fortunately, you can still enjoy the action! The best online sportsbooks give you a full menu of horse racing bets, real Vegas odds, and secure payments and cash-outs from the comfort and safety of home.
Your Preakness betting experience can be even more profitable thanks to bettor incentives. The top horse racing betting sites, like Bovada, are offering bonuses, rebates, and loyalty programs for Preakness Players. Make sure to read about what each site offers, and choose the sportsbook that gives you the best incentives for the plays you want to make!
The 2021 Preakness field, with Preakness trainers and jockeys as well as official morning lines, is as follows:
The winner of the Kentucky Derby is usually the favorite in the Preakness. That means you have to think hard about whether the Kentucky Derby winner will hold his form in the Preakness Stakes, since you will have to take a short price to use them in your Preakness bets.
Trainer Bob Baffert habitually runs well with his Derby winners in the Preakness. He has won the Preakness seven times, and the only time one of his Kentucky Derby winners who ran in the Preakness did not win in Baltimore came in 2020, when Authentic ran a close second behind the ultra-game filly Swiss Skydiver.
Favorites do well in the Preakness, though they do not always win the race. Favorites have won the Preakness almost exactly half the time. Though that means favorites have a better strike rate in the Preakness than in the other two Triple Crown races, it still means non-favorites win about half the time as well.
Consider post position when handicapping the Preakness. Outside post positions do not tend to succeed. Horses from the 6 gate have won the Preakness more than from any other gate. And, so far this spring at Pimlico, the inside four gates have produced the overwhelming majority of race winners.
Assuming he is allowed to run, the favorite in the 2021 Preakness Stakes will be Medina Spirit, off of his finishing first in the Kentucky Derby. He does have a forward running style that plays well at Pimlico, and his trainer Bob Baffert’s Kentucky Derby winners have never run poorly in a Preakness. He is a serious contender, but odds will be short.
Midnight Bourbon is also an interesting horse in the Preakness. Even though he was only sixth in the Kentucky Derby, he rallied for that position after a difficult break. His more natural style has him close to the pace. He is the kind of gutsy and consistent horse that should, with a better break, be close up early and still be in the thick of it late.
Concert Tour, Medina Spirit’s stablemate in the Bob Baffert barn, will be another shorter-priced horse. However, there are serious questions. He will almost certainly lose ground from the outside post, and he will be up on a contested pace. Especially after losing the pace battle in a less-than-strong Arkansas Derby, he is hard to like at short odds.
Trainer Chad Brown has a pair in the Preakness, and the more interesting between them is Crowded Trade. He drew well in the 4 gate. And, he fits the profile of Chad Brown’s other Preakness winner: a lightly-raced horse who got some shares in New York preps for the Kentucky Derby, coming into a Preakness without a true divisional leader.
When Michael McCarthy sees fit to ship a horse out for a big stakes, take notice. And, that is the case with Rombauer. He showed a more tactical side in the Blue Grass (G2) at Keeneland, where he finished third behind the top-class Essential Quality. If he keeps that running style and makes a reasonable step forward, he can contend at a great price.
Though Unbridled Honor is unlikely to win the Preakness, between his late-running style and his lack of experience, he has a good chance to fill out a trifecta or superfecta. He is a fast-improving horse for trainer Todd Pletcher, and with an honest pace in front of him likely, there is a good chance Unbridled Honor can pass enough tiring horses for a minor award.
First, make sure that you have found which online betting sites have the best bonuses for you and made your accounts on the top sportsbooks. Then, you are ready to place your bets on the 2021 Preakness Stakes!
About the Author
For a decade, Rowan Ward has been making horse race predictions and wagers in Chicago, and has been writing about horse racing for nearly just as long. Understanding the various factors that influence a race's outcome, they often find that the age-old saying "the pace makes the race" can uncover worthwhile betting opportunities. When it comes to handicapping, their favorite races are those held locally in Chicago, major stake races across the country, and two-year-old maiden races with intriguing bloodlines.
Read Rowan's ProfileAsk Rowan about this guide:
