How Journalism Is Quietly Upending the Preakness—and Changing the Derby Bet Forever

Every year, like clockwork, the Preakness Stakes swoops in just two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, stirring up the same old grumbles: “Isn’t that too soon?” And honestly, it’s hard to argue. The Derby winner nowadays often gives Baltimore a polite pass — and who could fault them? Horses aren’t bred to bounce back like spring chickens, especially with an eye on a grueling fall campaign culminating in the Breeders’ Cup. This year, with Sovereignty opting out, the Preakness feels less like the dazzling second jewel of the Triple Crown and more like a shiny cubic zirconia—sparkly, but missing that real bite. That said, nearly a dozen horses, some carrying fresh legs and others riding Derby leftovers, will chase a hefty $2 million purse on Pimlico’s main track. The twist? A handful of these runners will soak up big-money bets from casual fans who don’t quite get the finer points of form — and I’m here to tell you a couple of those favorites couldn’t win this race if they ran it ten times. Ready to unravel the pretenders, the dark horses, and the true contenders? Let’s dive into the lineup and decode how to play the Preakness this Saturday night. LEARN MORE.The Preakness Stakes takes place this Saturday at Pimlico Race Course with a post time of 7:01pm (EST) with three holdovers from the Kentucky Derby and six new shooters vying for a prize pool of $2,000,000. The money notwithstanding, the second jewel of the Triple Crown may as well be a cubic zirconia at this point. My least favorite conversation directly after every Kentucky Derby is that the Preakness comes too soon, just two weeks after the Run for the Roses, and lately the Derby winner simply skips out on shipping to Baltimore. Who can blame them nowadays? Horses just aren’t bred to run back that quickly and maintain their health for a taxing thoroughbred season that will hopefully lead to success in the Breeders’ Cup all the way on the first weekend in November. With Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby Champion, skipping out on this historic race, many of the amateur or part-time fans of this sport may simply tune out and not wager/watch come Saturday. Wagering was up on this year’s Derby, which can hopefully lead to a lot of dead money again.  A few of these horses will be taking some serious money from the “I bet on 3 races a year” folks. Those horses, in my humble opinion, couldn’t win if they ran this race 10 times. Let’s talk about them, the rest of the field, and then how to bet on this race.

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