How To Bet On The Preakness Stakes
The second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the 146th Preakness Stakes race, will be run on Saturday, May 15, 2021, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. If you missed out on the Kentucky Derby or are looking to refine your horse race wagering skills, learn how to bet on the Preakness Stakes with Odds Shark's guide. We will outline the many betting options to be made online for this Grade 1 thoroughbred racing event.
The Preakness Stakes will be run over a distance of 1 3/16 miles (9.5 furlongs) with a purse of over $1 million. For experienced bettors or wagering beginners trying to figure out how to bet on the Preakness Stakes, there are several key steps and strategies to keep in mind when betting on the race this spring.
How Can I Bet On The Preakness Stakes Online?
#1: Pick a Racebook
Racebooks are the online betting sites you visit so that you can wager on horse racing. All of Odds Shark’s Preakness Stakes sportsbooks are safe, secure, trustworthy and meet all of our criteria. There are plenty of places to bet online for the Preakness Stakes. Have a glance at our horse racing sites page and choose the racebook that suits your preferences.
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#2: Sign Up
Registering is easy-peasy. Type in your name, email address, deposit info and birthdate. You’ll be sent a confirmation email or link. Once the registration process is completed, you’ll be able to make your first Preakness Stakes wager.
#3: Make a Deposit
Next is deciding on a deposit method. Almost all online sportsbooks accept credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX), e-wallets (PayPal, Neteller, Skrill), and debit. Many online sports betting sites will allow you to make deposits by taking cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash and Ethereum.
#4: Place Your Wagers On Preakness Stakes
Pick the track of Pimlico Race Course, the horse race number of the Preakness Stakes, your horse and your bet type. Enter in your dollar amount and submit your Preakness Stakes ticket.
You’re on the last leg. Now decide on a listed racebook and wager on the Preakness Stakes!
How Do Preakness Stakes Odds Work?
The most important aspect of figuring out how to bet on the Preakness Stakes online is ensuring you understand the odds. You can view 2021 Preakness Stakes betting odds at Bodog. For example, the 2020 odds for Preakness Stakes contenders looked like:
- Authentic +150
- Art Collector +350
- Tiz the Law +400
- King Guillermo +1000
- Thousand Words +1400
- Happy Saver +2000
- Mr. Big News +2000
- Mystic Guide +2000
- Pneumatic +2000
- Dr. Post +2200
- Liveyourbeastlife +3300
- Azul Coast +5000
- Mongolian Wind +6600
The horse with the lowest odds (Authentic +150) was favored to win the 2020 Preakness Stakes, while the other horses were all considered underdogs.
If you thought Authentic would win the Preakness Stakes and you wagered $100 on that horse, you’d get a payout of $250 had he won. You would receive your $100 back in addition to your winnings of $150. Our Odds Calculator shows you how much you’d win based on the odds and the amount wagered.
Preakness Stakes History: Betting Odds and Preakness Winners
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Odds | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Swiss Skydiver | Robby Albarado | Kenneth McPeek | +600 | 1:53.28 |
| 2019 | War of Will | Tyler Gaffalione | Mark E. Casse | +600 | 1:54:34 |
| 2018 | Justify | Mike E. Smith | Bob Baffert | -200 | 1:55:93 |
| 2017 | Cloud Computing | Javier Castellano | Chad Brown | +1300 | 1:55:98 |
| 2016 | Exaggerator | Kent Desormeaux | Keith Desormeaux | +300 | 1:58:31 |
| 2015 | American Pharoah | Victor Espinoza | Bob Baffert | -125 | 1:58:46 |
| 2014 | California Chrome | Victor Espinoza | Art Sherman | -167 | 1:54.84 |
| 2013 | Oxbow | Gary Stevens | D. W. Lukas | +1500 | 1:57.54 |
| 2012 | I'll Have Another | Mario Gutierrez | Doug O'Neill | +300 | 1:55.94 |
| 2011 | Shackleford | Jesus Castanon | Dale Romans | +1200 | 1:56.47 |
| 2010 | Lookin at Lucky | Martin Garcia | Bob Baffert | +200 | 1:55.47 |
| 2009 | Rachel Alexandra | Calvin Borel | Steve Asmussen | +180 | 1:55.08 |
How to Bet on the Preakness Stakes and Win
If you’re looking to learn how to bet on the Preakness Stakes and win big, you’re in luck. Let’s look at some Preakness Stakes tips and betting options below. These strategies are relevant to all of the Triple Crown races, including the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, as well as most other races throughout the year.
Straight Bet: Win, Place, Show
If you want to place some bets on your favorite horses at this year's Preakness Stakes, but you don’t know how or where to bet on the race, some of the most basic bets are: win, place, and show. These are great options for beginner horse bettors. Win, Place and Show are common bets you can make on a horse to win or finish in the top three of the race.
Win Betting
A win bet is a bet on a horse to finish in first place.
Place Betting
A place bet is a bet on a horse to finish in first or second place.
Show Betting
A show bet is a bet on a horse to finish in the money, third or better.
Across the Board
An across-the-board wager is a bet on a horse to win, place and show. If the horse wins, the bettor collects three ways (win, place and show). If the horse comes in second, the bettor collects two ways (place and show). And if the horse comes in third, the bettor collects one way (show), missing out on the win and place wagers.
The across-the-board bet is like a parlay bet in other sports. It’s pretty much three wagers combined on one big Preakness Stakes ticket. In parlay betting, you could wager on:
- • Will the winning horse be brown or white at the Preakness Stakes?
- • How old will the winning jockey be at the Preakness Stakes?
- • What post position will the winning horse start from at the Preakness Stakes?
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Preakness Stakes Horse Matchup Wagering
Instead of handicapping a field of 13 horses and trying to pick a winner, matchups consist of two horses in the field, with a moneyline that’s comparable to what you’d find in other team sports. With match races, you wager on the horse you think will finish ahead of the other horse. It does not matter if that horse wins.
Preakness Stakes Futures Betting
A Preakness Stakes futures wager is when you bet on a winner several weeks or months ahead of the big event. Horseplayers can get their Preakness Stakes betting action down early, and at fixed and often generous odds.
Daily Double Wagering
A daily double bet is a wager where bettors pick the winner of two straight races.
Exacta Bets
An exacta bet, or a perfecta bet, is a wager where bettors pick the top two finishers in the exact order.
Trifecta Box Betting
A trifecta bet is a wager in which the first three finishers must be selected in exact order.
Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 6
Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 6 betting is a form of multi-race bet. A Pick 3 wager means you have to pick the winner of three races in a row. A Pick 4 wager means you have to predict four successive winners, and a Pick 6 wager means you need to pick the winner of six straight races.
Quinella Wagering
A quinella wager is a bet in which the first two finishers must be picked in either order. It’s like an exacta wager only it doesn’t matter what order the two horses you pick come in.
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Preakness Stakes Betting FAQ
Can I bet on the Preakness Stakes?
Yes, you can bet on the Preakness Stakes. You can choose from straight bets like win, place, show, and across-the-board. Preakness Stakes betting also offers horse matchup wagering, futures bets, Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 6 betting. You can make daily double bets, and exotic wagers such as exacta bets, trifecta bets and quinella bets.
How many horses run in the Preakness Stakes?
In 2020, there was a strong field of 11 three-year-old thoroughbreds in the 145th running of the Preakness Stakes. The makeup of the field typically isn’t known until after the running of the Kentucky Derby. The first running of the Preakness Stakes in 1873 saw a field of seven horses line up at the start.
How long is the Preakness Stakes?
The Preakness Stakes horse race runs 1 3⁄16 miles or 9.5 furlongs around the dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Since its first race all the way back in 1873, the Preakness Stakes has been run at seven different distances from 1 1⁄2 miles to 1 3⁄16 miles.