🏇 Preakness Stakes Odds 2026: Betting Favorites for Laurel Park

You won’t see Golden Tempo in the gates for the 151st Preakness Stakes. But our Preakness Stakes odds and post position reveal three Derby expats in the 14-horse field, the largest Preakness field since 2011. 

That includes Ocelli, who finished a surprising third in the Derby, Incredibolt (sixth), and Robusta (14th). They join Triple Crown newcomer Iron Honor, who was tabbed the 9-2 morning-line favorite, for the 1 3/16-mile test at Laurel Park in Maryland, which is filling in for traditional Preakness home Pimlico. That track is undergoing long-needed renovations.

NBC/Peacock will bring you the second jewel to thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown starting at 2 p.m. ET. The post time is approximately 6:50 p.m. ET.

🏇 Preakness Stakes odds & post position 2026

Here's a look at this year's Preakness Stakes odds:

💰 Preakness Stakes favorite

Here's a look at what the betting favorites for the 2026 Preakness Stakes. Odds are from the best horse racing betting sites. For more information, dive into our Preakness Stakes post position.

🥇 Iron Honor (9-2)

The lightly raced son of 2016 Derby winner Nyquist is one of three graded stakes winners in the field, joining Napoleon Soto and Incredibolt. Iron Honor joined that club with a length score in the Gotham Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Feb. 28. 

That gave Iron Honor an undefeated record going into the Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct and sending him out as the 2.95-1 favorite. But he finished an uninspiring seventh after getting bumped in the first turn and failing to sustain a mild backstretch rally.

With three other horses (Taj Mahal, Incredibolt, and Chip Honcho) all 5-1, Iron Honor is the definition of “tepid favorite.”  Trainer Chad Brown, who owns Preakness victories with Cloud Computing in 2017 and Early Voting in 2022, wants jockey Flavien Prat to rely less on aggression and more on Iron Honor’s natural stalking style.

🎯Preakness Stakes long shot to watch

🏇 The Hell We Did (15-1)

Unlike the Kentucky Derby, where we illustrated why Golden Tempo was the clear long shot to watch, the Preakness doesn’t offer up that no-brainer choice. But we like the upside and board-hitting potential of this Authentic progeny. 

We like a colt who owns two wins and two seconds – the latter coming in stakes races – in his four career starts. In his last start, the Lexington Stakes (G3), he displayed the tactical speed you like to see in Preakness runners, finishing a strong second to 66-1 surprise Trendsetter. And we like a colt who shook off all hell breaking loose in his final Laurel Park workout, when his breeze was interrupted twice by the riderless-horse siren going off twice. The Hell We Did still turned in a 1:01.4, five-furlong breeze, second fastest of nine to Taj Mahal.

The younger half-brother to 2024 Saudi Cup winner Senor Buscador, The Hell We Did makes a big class jump from the Lexington to the Preakness. But his beneficial post (No. 7) and two-turn experience gives him the edge over his fellow double-digit runners.

Looking for more? I've got you covered in my Preakness Stakes long shots and sleeper picks, and my Preakness Stakes betting trends.

❌ Preakness Stakes pick to avoid

🏇 Ocelli (6-1)

This one’s easy. All we have to do is go to the history books. The good news for the surprise third-place finisher in the Derby is six previously winless horses have won the Preakness. The bad news is the last one to do so was Refund - in 1888.

Yes, Ocelli was the first winless horse to hit the Derby board since at least 1937, when conclusive records on such facts became available. Yes, his Derby finish was impressive, to say the least. The son of Connect actually led the Derby in deep stretch, before Golden Tempo and Renegade reeled him in. And yes, he lost by only a length.

But … deep closers do not typically fare well in the Preakness. Exaggerator 10 years ago in the Pimlico slop and mud was the last deep closer to win. And now, you’re expecting us to take 6-1 on a horse that left the Churchill Downs starting gate at 70-1? Can you say “Underlay?”

⁉️ The Laurel Park factor: What changed?

For the first time in history, the Preakness Stakes moves away from the "Old Hilltop" at Pimlico to Laurel Park. This shift introduces three major variables that handicappers must account for:

The longer homestretch: Laurel Park features a longer homestretch than Pimlico. At Pimlico, horses often struggle to make up ground once they turn for home; at Laurel, there is more real estate for closers like Ocelli and Incredibolt to find their stride.

The alternate finish line: As I note in the trends, the 1 3/16-mile distance at Laurel uses an alternate finish line. This means the run from the final turn to the wire is shorter than a standard Laurel race, which could actually negate the "closer's advantage" and favor tactical speedsters like Iron Honor.

Surface depth: Laurel’s dirt surface is generally considered deeper and more tiring than the often hard-and-fast track at Pimlico. Look for horses with high Equibase Speed Figures in longer races (1 1/8 miles or more), as they will likely have the stamina to handle the extra grind of the Laurel dirt.

 💦 How track conditions affect the Preakness Stakes odds

Saturday’s forecast for Laurel Park is 79 degrees and partly sunny. That should favor front-runner, pace-pressers, and stalkers with good tactical speed.

💸 How to bet on horse racing

Understanding the basics:

• Win: Picking the horse to finish first.
• Place: Picking the horse to finish first or second.
• Show: Picking the horse to finish first, second, or third.

Placing your bets:

• If you’re at a racetrack Saturday and you want to make a Preakness bet at the window, here’s how: 

Say you want to make a Win bet on Iron Honor. You tell the clerk: “Twenty dollars on No. 9 to win in the 12th race at Laurel Park.” For an exacta box, you tell the clerk “A $2 exacta box with No. 1, 6 and 12 in the 12th race at Laurel Park.”

Betting apps like 1STBET or Twin Spires are also available in many states. They allow you to make various wagers ranging from Win-Place-Show to vertical and horizontal (multi-race) exotics.

❓ Preakness Stakes odds FAQs

What is the difference between Morning Line odds and live odds? 

The Morning Line odds are the initial prices set by the Laurel Park track handicapper (usually released the Monday before the race). These are simply a prediction of how the public will bet. Live odds are determined by the actual money wagered in the parimutuel pool. Because the Preakness Stakes is a "pool-based" betting event, your final payout is determined by the odds at the moment the gates open, not the odds when you placed your bet.

How many horses can run in the Preakness Stakes? 

The Preakness Stakes field is limited to a maximum of 14 starters.