Preakness Stakes Betting: Guide, Odds And Favorites

The Preakness Stakes is traditionally the second leg of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, held on the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD. It is preceded by the Kentucky Derby and followed by the Belmont Stakes.

There has been a Preakness run at Pimlico annually since 1873, and it is the race that allows the Kentucky Derby winner to win the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes.

In 2020, the Preakness Stakes was moved to Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Belmont Stakes was run on June 20, 2020, and the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, 2020, making the Preakness the final leg of the Triple Crown. However, different horses won the first two legs, ensuring no Triple Crown winner in 2020, even before the final leg. The 2020 Preakness was also run without fans in attendance.

Racing could return to a degree of normalcy in 2021. What’s known as the run for the Black-Eyed Susans, the 146th running of the Preakness Stakes is set for May 15, 2021, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico. It will be the second leg of the 2021 Triple Crown.

That means in Iowa, you’ll be able to bet on the 2021 Preakness at Prairie Meadows Casino & Racetrack and various off-track betting (OTB) facilities inside Iowa casinos, retail sportsbooks, and at Q Casino, Iowa’s lone greyhound track.

Plus, you’ll be able to bet on the Preakness online through Iowa and mobile sportsbooks and the biggest online horse race betting and simulcast operator in the country, TVG.

Keep reading, and you should find everything you need to know about betting on the 2021 Preakness Stakes in Iowa, including the latest odds and race details, how to bet online, and where to do it, right here in Iowa.

How to bet on the Preakness Stakes in Iowa

Iowa allows online horse race betting, which means you have several options for betting on the 2021 Preakness Stakes online. Horse betting apps, such as TVG, remain the best and most convenient way to bet on the Preakness.

You can download the TVG app from the TVG website and install it on any Android or Apple mobile device. After that, it’s a matter of signing up for an account, depositing funds in your account and clicking on the bets you want to make ahead of the race.

Your preferred Iowa online and mobile sportsbooks may also take bets on the Preakness, and the betting process is similar to that with TVG. However, most Iowa sportsbooks do not offer the same type of pari-mutuel betting you find with TVG. That means payouts may be capped, and you won’t always get paid at the same odds you find at the track, OTB facilities or through TVG. Check with the online sportsbook first or bet with TVG to be safe.

Preakness Stakes betting options

Interest is heightened, which means the pari-mutuel betting pools are larger, but for the most part, betting on the Preakness is the same as betting on any horse race. That means it’s easy and begins with the following basic bets:

• Win: Bet on any horse to win.
• Place: Bet on any horse to win or finish second
• Show: Bet on any horse to win, finish second or third.
• Exacta: Bet on two horses to finish first and second in that order. Or, box your exacta, placing two bets and the same two horses, flipping the finishing order.
• Trifecta: Bet on three horses to finish first, second, and third in that order. Or if you can box your trifecta, placing bets on all the different combinations of finishing order for the same three horses.
• Superfecta: Bet on four horses to finish first, second, third and fourth in that order. Or, box your superfecta, can be boxed, placing bets on all the different combinations of finishing order for the same four horses.

How to place a ‘wheel’ bet

You can also “wheel” your exacta, trifecta and superfecta bets. Wheeling involves fixing certain horses’ finishing positions. Then you can put together multiple betting combinations by adding different horses to later finishing positions. You key specific horses in the top one, two or three and mix in various possibilities in later finishing positions.

2021 Preakness Stakes odds

The 2021 Preakness Stakes field has not yet been set. Once it is, opening odds on the horses will be available, and you’ll find them here in this space. Let’s look at the results and odds from the 2020 Preakness:

2021 Preakness Stakes favorites

The Preakness’ favorites usually emerge from the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby.

Held traditionally on the first Saturday in May, two weeks ahead of the Preakness, the 2021 Kentucky Derby is Saturday, May 1, 2021. Once that race is run, the winner will be making a run at the Triple Crown, and a group of Preakness contenders should show up. The Kentucky Derby field is not yet set, but the horses that performed well as 2-year-olds last year will likely compete.

That makes the following list of horses early favorites to compete for the 2021 Triple Crown:

• Essential Quality: Achieving three wins in three races as a 2-year-old. A maiden race win at Churchill Downs, and two Grade 1 race wins in the Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
• Jackie’s Warrior: Achieving four wins in five races as a 2-year-old. Winner of the Grade 2 Saratoga Special, Grade 1 Hopeful, Grade 1 Champagne followed up by a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
• Hot Rod Charlie: Achieving one win in five career starts but second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile as a 2-year-old.
• Highly Motivated: Winner in a maiden race and the Nyquist Stakes as a 2-year-old.

Road to the Preakness Stakes

The field at the Preakness Stakes is typically a total of 14 3-year-old thoroughbreds, weighing 126 pounds or less.

Barring any injury or other unforeseen circumstances, the field usually includes the winner of the Kentucky Derby making a run at the Triple Crown. Most of the other horses in the Kentucky Derby field also compete. However, the Preakness also includes horses that have qualified by winning certain Maryland Jockey Club series races. These include:

• $125,000 Federico Tesio at Laurel Park
• $300,000 Oaklawn Invitational at Oaklawn Park
• $100,000 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields

InfieldFest 2021 music festival

Pimlico hosts something called the InfieldFest full-day music festival at the track on Preakness race day.

There’s music, food and beverages, and access to the betting windows. The 2020 InfieldFest event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but organizers are hopeful it will return in 2021.

Greatest moments in Preakness Stakes history

Five moments stand out as the greatest in the Preakness Stakes’ rich history:

• 1973: Secretariat wins the Preakness, setting a record time that stands to this day.
• 1980: Codex wins the Preakness, bumping Kentucky Derby winner Genuine Risk on the final turn and ruining his chance at the Triple Crown.
• 2005: Afleet Alex wins the Preakness after a disappointing loss in the Kentucky Derby. The horse went on to win the Belmont, making his Derby run even more of a disappointment.
• 2015: American Pharoah wins the Preakness by seven lengths giving him a chance to win the Triple Crown at the Belmont. The horse went on to win the Belmont, becoming the first Triple Crown winner in close to 40 years.
• 2018: Justify wins the Preakness following his Kentucky Derby victory. Then, the horse went on to win the Triple Crown at the Belmont.

Preakness Stakes records and times

Secretariat holds the record for the fastest Preakness time in history, running the 1 3⁄16 miles in 1:53 in 1973.

Of course, his time was originally posted as 1:55, then changed to a Pimlico clocker’s time that was close to a second faster, before the Maryland Racing Commission decided in June 2012, based on replay and testimony evidence, that the two Daily Racing Form clockers who had him at 1:53 were correct.

Others have come close to Secretariat’s Preakness record, including:

• Tank’s Prospect: 1:53.4 (1985)
• Louis Quatorze: 1:53.4 (1996)
• Curlin: 1:53.46 (2007)
• GateDancer: 1:53.6 (1984)

The Triple Crown

The Triple Crown of thoroughbred racing is a series of stakes races for 3-year-olds. It includes the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. The races typically run in May and June, in that order, which makes the Preakness traditionally the second leg of the Triple Crown.

The first horse ever to win all three races was Sir Barton in 1919. Only 13 others have done it, including Justify in 2018 and American Pharoah in 2015. Before American Pharoah, it had been 37 years since thoroughbred racing saw a Triple Crown winner. A total of 23 horses have booked wins in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes before failing to complete the Triple Crown in the Belmont.

Secretariat: The legend

Secretariat is widely considered one of the greatest racehorses in history. He has been enshrined in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. The 1973 Triple Crown winner set a record in each leg and his 1:53 at Pimlico still stands as the Preakness record today. That 1:53 is also the fastest time in any Triple Crown race in history. Secretariat also finished the Kentucky Derby in 1:59 ⅖ and the Belmont in 2:24.

Where to bet on the Preakness Stakes live in Iowa

Iowa has one horse racing facility with simulcast racing and pari-mutuel wagering. Preakness Stakes betting is available in person at the state’s only racetrack, Prairie Meadows and Q Casino:

Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino

• 1 Prairie Meadows Drive, Altoona; 515-967-1000

There’s also a greyhound racing facility with simulcast racing and pari-mutuel wagering:

Q Casino

• 1855 Greyhound Park Road, Dubuque; 563-582-3647

Iowa also has several casinos with sports and racebooks offering OTB services, including simulcast racing and pari-mutuel wagering: