The eyes of the horse racing world and beyond will converge on the 148th Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore for the second jewel of the Triple Crown series. Last year, there was no chance for a Triple Crown winner after Rich Strike, the surprising Kentucky Derby winner, was not entered to run the Preakness. But this year’s Derby winner, Mage, will and is an early 8-5 favorite as the only one from the May 6 race set to compete amid the eight-horse field.
As always, there will be plenty to watch for on and off the track. Here’s what you need to know:
What is the Preakness Stakes?
The Preakness Stakes first ran in 1873. It’s run two weeks after the Kentucky Derby at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. It’s the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, which consists of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, which runs three weeks after the Preakness. The 148th edition of the Preakness, which covers 1 3/16 miles on the dirt track and is run by 3-year-old colts, geldings and fillies, is set for Saturday evening.
How to watch
TV coverage is 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on CNBC and 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on NBC (channels 11 and 4 locally). Post time is listed as approximately 7:01 p.m. Gates open at Pimlico at 9 a.m. There will be 14 races. First post is at 10:30 a.m. The Preakness is the 13th race of the day.
The draw and odds
Post 1: National Treasure. Morning-line odds: 4-1
Trainer Bob Baffert, a seven-time Preakness winner, will be back in the race for the first time since 2021 with National Treasure, fourth in the Santa Anita Derby in his last start. If National Treasure wins, Baffert would break a tie with 19th-century trainer R. Wyndham Walden for the most Preakness victories in history.
Post 2: Chase the Chaos. Morning-line odds: 50-1
California-based gelding Chase the Chaos earned his spot in the Preakness by winning the El Camino Real Derby in February. He has finished seventh and eighth in his two starts since. He’s the longest shot in the race.
Post 3: Mage. Morning-line odds: 8-5
The Kentucky Derby winner arrived at Pimlico Sunday morning after an overnight van ride from Kentucky. He took his first jog and gallop over the Pimlico dirt Monday and adapted well, co-owner and assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. said. Mage, who joined Justify (2018), Big Brown (2008) and Regret (2015) as Derby winners with just three previous starts, is looking to become the first horse since Triple Crown winner Justify to win the Derby and Preakness.
Post 4: Coffeewithchris. Morning-line odds: 20-1
Coffeewithchris is a Maryland-bred long shot who finished fifth in the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel in his last start. “Our plan was to run in the Preakness,” Laurel-based trainer John Salzman Jr. said. “The biggest thing is coming up with the money sometimes. I’m a poor working guy. … I worked it out to come up with the funds to take a chance. I don’t get to take a chance very often.”
Post 5: Red Route One. Morning-line odds: 10-1
Trainer Steve Asmussen will try to win his third Preakness with Red Route One, winner of the Bath House Row Stakes at Arkansas’ Oaklawn Park in his last start. Asmussen decided Monday morning not to bring fourth-place Derby finisher Disarm to Pimlico. Red Route One is the fifth choice in the morning line.
Post 6: Perform. Morning-line odds: 15-1
Perform earned his berth in the Preakness with a win in the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park. His owners had to pay an extra $150,000 to get him in the field because he was not originally nominated for the Triple Crown series, but trainer Shug McGaughey said they did not hesitate. McGaughey, whose trainee, Easy Goer, lost one of the greatest duels in Preakness history to Sunday Silence in 1989, said Perform will have a solid chance Saturday if the early pace is quick enough to set him up for a late charge.
Post 7: Blazing Sevens. Morning-line odds: 6-1
Trainer Chad Brown will try to win his third Preakness with Blazing Sevens, who, like Mage, arrived at Pimlico Sunday and went to the track for the first time Monday morning. Brown won in 2017 with Cloud Computing and last year with Early Voting, neither of whom ran in the Derby, so he’ll attempt to triple down with the same formula. Blazing Sevens is the fourth choice in the morning line.
What is Preakness LIVE?
Baltimore is bringing that uptown funk to Pimlico for this year’s Preakness 148 celebration.
Superstar R&B performer and Grammy-winning artist Bruno Mars will headline Preakness LIVE in a concert set to take place immediately following the day’s races.
It will be a return appearance for Mars, who first headlined Preakness in 2011.
The inaugural Preakness LIVE event in 2022 took place on the Friday before the signature horse race. However, this year the entertainment, arts and culture festival will take over the InfieldFest on the same day as the Preakness.
The stage for the performance is also being relocated from the center of the infield, which will also include a sportsbook.
Organizers, including Baltimore native and Morgan State University graduate Kevin Liles, said Preakness LIVE will start at 10:30 a.m. and will offer a full day of entertainment with performances by Grammy-nominated duo Sofi Tukker, DJ Chantel Jeffries and Martin 2 Smooves plus many others.
Tickets for Preakness LIVE are on sale now and start at $59 for general admission.
What is the Black-Eyed Susan race?
The Black-Eyed Susan Stakes race is hosted annually at Pimlico on Friday, the day before Preakness. The race dates back to 1919 and was given graded stakes status in 1973. Taxed surged past a field packed with more accomplished fillies Friday to win the 99th running of the George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.
How’s the weather looking for the Preakness?
Saturday’s forecast is mostly cloudy with a chance of showers after 5 p.m, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures are expected reach a high of 77 degrees — much cooler than last year, when temperatures reached the mid-90s — and the low is 58 degrees. There is a 50% chance of rain today.
Recent Preakness winners
2022: Early Voting
2021: Rombauer
2020: Swiss Skydiver
2019: War of Will
2018: Justify
2017: Cloud Computing
2016: Exaggerator
2015: American Pharoah
2014: California Chrome
2013: Oxbow
2012: I’ll Have Another
2011: Shackleford
2010: Lookin At Lucky
2009: Rachel Alexandra
2008: Big Brown
2007: Curlin
2006: Bernardini
2005: Afleet Alex
2004: Smarty Jones
2003: Funny Cide
2002: War Emblem
2001: Point Given
2000: Red Bullet
