🏇 Preakness Stakes Long Shots & Sleeper Picks 2026: 3 Horses to Bet at Laurel Park

There are four horses, including 9-2 favorite Iron Honor, listed at 5-1 or less, set to run in Saturday’s 151st Preakness Stakes from Laurel Park in Laurel, MD. But the real fun is unearthing those Preakness Stakes long shots and sleeper picks. 

With a full, 14-horse field in the 2026 Preakness, there are more potential sleepers on the Preakness Stakes odds board to find when NBC/Peacock brings you the day’s full card, culminating with a 6:50 p.m. ET post time for the Preakness.

Here are three sleepers we think have the potential to cash you some profitable tickets.

🐎 Preakness Stakes sleeper picks

Here are my favorite Preakness Stakes long shot picks for the 2026 Preakness Stakes and their morning-line odds as of Tuesday, May 12, from FanDuel Racing.

🚨My best Preakness Stakes long shot picks

🥇 Crupper (30-1)

The ultimate value, down-ticket pick is this Candy Ride colt who will have to show a different dimension to hit the board. To do it, Crupper will have to change his running style from the pace-pressing style that brought him two victories – including last month’s Bathhouse Row Stakes at Oaklawn Park – to a more stalking style.

That will allow him to conserve energy and pick off horses in the stretch en route to a nice finish at the bottom of the trifecta or superfecta. Aside from hitting the board in all four of his starts this year, Crupper fits the profile of long shot Triple Crown board crashers of yore, like Golden Soul (Derby runner-up at 50-1 in 2013), Commanding Curve (Derby runner-up at 37-1 in 2024), Senior Investment (Preakness third at 31-1 in 2018), and Jesus’ Team (Preakness third at 46-1 in 2020).

🥈 Corona de Oro (30-1)

If you like Crupper, you’ll like another colt who makes a significant class leap at juicy odds and does so riding a four-race, in-the-money streak (1-1-2). We last saw Corona de Oro as the last horse out of the Kentucky Derby, which made trainer Dallas Stewart’s decision to run him here a no-brainer.

Speaking of Stewart, guess who conditioned the aforementioned Golden Soul and Commanding Curve, along with Tale of Verve, who finished second to American Pharoah in the 2015 Preakness at 28-1? Do not sleep on Stewart’s knack to crash the board in Triple Crown races. Here, he’ll have the Bolt d’Oro progeny not setting the pace, like he did in his last two races, but stalking the leaders before yet another board-crash at a price.

🥉 The Hell We Did (15-1)

We went back and forth on this last spot between The Hell We Did and Talkin (20-1). We went with The Hell We Did because of his superior speed figures, and the fact he did edge Corona de Oro in the Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland a month ago. 

Unlike Talkin, who ran against the marquee 3-year-olds of his class in the Blue Grass (third), Tampa Bay Derby (a non-threatening fifth), Remsen Stakes (a woeful ninth) and the Champagne Stakes (second to Preakness counterpart Napoleon Solo), The Hell We Did primarily ran the out-of-sight/out-of-mind tracks of the Southwest, like Remington Park in Oklahoma and Zia Park and Sunland Park in New Mexico.

He dominated those races (3:2-1-0), building up a foundation (2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic is his sire) with a closing running style that fits the expected pace here. Bet him at the bottom of your trifectas and superfectas.

🎟️ How to bet Preakness Stakes long shots

Aside from the change in venue, this year’s 14-horse Preakness field offers significantly more value than the small, seven-to-nine horse fields we’ve seen in recent years. A larger field spreads the money across more runners, creating "overlays" - opportunities where a horse's odds are higher than their actual chance of winning. While a few long shots can usually be tossed as "non-Triple Crown quality," the right sleepers can turn a modest day into a massive payout.

The case for the underdog

Don't be afraid to fade the favorite. Six of the last seven Preakness winners bested the betting favorite, including:

• Seize the Grey (2024): 9.80-1
• Rombauer (2021): 11-1
• Swiss Skydiver (2020): 11-1

While our three featured sleepers offer "Across-the-Board" potential (betting a horse to Win, Place, and Show), the real money is found in Exotic Wagers.

Understanding exotic wagers

To chase the triple- and four-digit payouts that make horse racing famous, you have to predict the exact order of finish for multiple horses:

• Exacta: Top two finishers
• Trifecta: Top three finishers
• Superfecta: Top four finishers

Straight vs. boxed betting

There are two primary ways to structure these tickets:

1. The Straight (or Key) Bet

This is a more surgical approach. You "key" the horse you think will win on top and place your other sleepers "underneath."

• Example: If you bet Crupper to win with Corona de Oro and The Hell We Did in the second-place spot, you only win if Crupper hits the wire first and one of the other two finishes second.

2. The Boxed Bet

This is the preferred method for beginners or those who like a group of horses but aren't sure of the exact order. By "boxing" your picks, you win if they finish in the top spots in any order.

• Example: If you box Incredibolt (5-1) with our three long shots in a Trifecta, you cash a ticket as long as any three of those four horses fill the top three spots.

The Pro tip: While a box offers flexibility, keep in mind that the more horses you add, the more the ticket costs. Use boxes when you have high confidence in a specific group of horses, but "key" your bets when you have a strong conviction on a single winner.

❓ Preakness Stakes FAQs

Where can I bet on the Preakness Stakes 2026?

Kentucky sports betting is up and running, so horse racing fans should be able to bet from anywhere in the state for the 2026 Preakness Stakes. You can also check out our list of the best Preakness Stakes betting sites here!

Who is the 2026 Preakness Stakes favorite?

Iron Honor (9-2) is the morning-line favorite for the 2026 Preakness Stakes.

How long is the Preakness Stakes track?

The race distance for the Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park is 1 and 3/16 miles, or 9.5 furlongs. It is the shortest of the Triple Crown races in terms of distance.

When is the 2026 Preakness Stakes this year?

The 2026 edition of the Preakness Stakes will be held Saturday, May 17.

Where is the 2026 Preakness Stakes held?

The Preakness Stakes is held this year at Laurel Park in Laurel, MD., which is filling in for Pimlico Race Course, the traditional site of the Preakness. That track is undergoing $400 million in renovations.