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The 2024 Preakness Stakes will run Saturday afternoon at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. It’s the 149th running of the second jewel in the American Triple Crown of horse racing. Live coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET (CNBC/Peacock), before coverage shifts to the main network at 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock), with post time for the Preakness Stakes at approximately 7:01 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze DraftKings Sportsbook lines around the 2024 Preakness Stakes odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.
Preakness Stakes: What you need to know
- Mystik Dan (+250), the Kentucky Derby winner, is the favorite as the 3-year-old colt looks to secure the 2nd jewel of the Triple Crown
- Catching Freedom (+600) has the 2nd-shortest odds, tied with Imagination (+600), after finishing 4th at the Kentucky Derby 2 weeks ago
- Flavian Prat is the jockey aboard Catching Freedom. He won the 2021 Preakness Stakes aboard Rombauer
- Tyler Gaffalione is riding Tuscan Gold (+800). He won the 2019 Preakness Stakes while riding War of Will
- Just Steel (+1500) and Seize the Grey (+1500) are each D. Wayne Lukas-trained colts. Just Steel tumbled to 17th at the Kentucky Derby, while Seize the Grey make his Triple Crown debut
- Muth was originally the favorite for Saturday’s race but was scratched earlier in the week due to an elevated temperature
- The forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of rain from 5 a.m. through 1 p.m. ET, tapering off to 30 percent by post time for the main race around 7 p.m. ET
- The Preakness is the shortest of the Triple Crown races at 1 and 3/16 miles, so it’s a good idea to focus on faster horses
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Preakness Stakes – Expert pick
Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 10:39 p.m. ET.
CATCHING FREEDOM (+600) is worth a roll of the dice as the 3-year-old is a much better value than the favorite Mystik Dan. Prat is on board Catching Freedom, and he has the most recent Preakness win among all of the active jockeys in this year’s installment.
Catching Freedom finished just outside the top 3, ending up 4th in the lightning-quick Kentucky Derby 2 weeks ago. Since Oct. 2023, Catching Freedom has picked up 3 wins in 6 races, including a victory at the TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds in late March, as well as the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park on New Year’s Day.
Preakness Stakes – Contender
If you’re looking for a contender that many might not be talking about, consider TUSCAN GOLD (+800) with Gaffalione on board. He was on board War of Will in 2019 for the Preakness Stakes win, and he is 1 of 2 jockeys in this field with a win in the 2nd race of the Triple Crown.
Tuscan Gold has just 3 races since Nov. 2023, with a victory at Gulfstream Park in a Maiden Special Weight race Jan. 31, while he finished 3rd in the Louisiana Derby, 2 spots behind Catching Freedom, in late March.
Preakness Stakes – Long shot
If you’re looking for a long shot, consider JUST STEEL (+1500). If it were a dry track, there would be no sense backing the Lukas-trained colt. But Just Steel, sired by 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, has won both of his previous races on a wet track. We should have considerable slop at Pimlico Saturday, which might slow things down and give Just Steel a chance at the victory.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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