2023 Preakness Stakes odds, best bets, predictions, expert picks

The Preakness Stakes — one of the most exciting events of the horse racing season — is here. Bettors will take advantage of countless opportunities to cash in on winning wagers while enjoying this second leg of the Triple Crown.

As folks are getting ready to wager on the weekend, we enlisted the help of our betting talent.

Our experts — Chris “The Bear” Fallica, Sammy Panayotovich and Geoff Schwartz — are here to give you their best bets, predictions and insights for what will certainly be a thrilling weekend of horse racing.

Let’s dive in!

Editor’s Note: First Mission, the second favorite to win the Preakness, was scratched early Friday morning.

Chris “The Bear” Fallica’s bets

Read here for his full breakdown and betting nuggets.

Sammy P’s Best Bets

PICK: No. 1 National Treasure (3-1)

I’m still bummed about Forte getting scratched on Derby day. Ugh. We got our money back, yet the saltiness remains. As for the Preakness Stakes, let’s circle National Treasure, trained by seven-time Preakness winner Bob Baffert. 

The horse is definitely a front-runner, so he’ll have to hang on late, but there’s a decent chance his early speed will create enough of a gap that it won’t matter. 

This price might be even bigger on Saturday after all the Mage money rolls in. 

Insight from Geoff Schwartz

Like I did for the Kentucky Derby, I turned to my friend and wagering professional Bill Krackomberger for advice. Krack advised to skip all the ‘Fecta wagers and look for the head-to-head match-up wagers where you can gamble on which horse will finish ahead of another horse. 

“Market handicap them,” he advised. “Look at the oddsboard, and if one horse is 2/1 and the horse he’s up against is 5/1, you can look for value there.” Krack also strongly advised to wait until near post time to make these wagers as you’d get the most up-to-date lines possible.

The Preakness field is already small, and recent scratches means it’s just getting thinner. So you’ll find that sportsbooks have been slow to post any head-to-head Preakness matchups. When they are all posted closer to go time, it’s worth following Krack’s advice. My Derby wagers went two for three!

Blazing Sevens is sitting at 5-1, the third-best odds to win the Preakness. National Treasure, a horse trained by seven-time Preakness winner Bob Baffert, is second with odds at 3-1. In a head-to-head matchup, Blazing Sevens is +140 while National Treasure is -160. The implied probability of National Treasure winning this match up is 61.54%, while Blazing Sevens is at 41.07%. That gap is too big when the margin of implied probability of these horses winning the race outright is only separated by almost 6%. 

So I’m rolling with Blazing Sevens in this matchup.

Are you ready to throw some money on the Preakness? Head over to FOX Bet and get in on the action now!

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