Bet the Preakness Stakes 2018 - Latest Odds
The Super Bowl has a ton of history, right? Lombardi, Montana, Brady - since 1967, Super Bowl winners have become household names. The World Series has even more history, occurring 112 times since 1903. There is an annual event, however, with far more tradition than the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Rose Bowl, and even the ball drop in Times Square. This event is the Preakness Stakes, and on Saturday, May 19th we will witness its 143rd running. SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE
The Preakness Stakes was first run in 1873 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD. The inaugural running, won by Survivor, featured a purse of just $1,000. In comparison, the purse of the 2018 Preakness Stakes is worth a staggering $1.5 million, with the winner taking home a cool $900,000. A record amount of nearly $100 million dollars was wagered on the Preakness in 2017.You can get in on the action this year with a secure, certified racebook online at BetPhoenix sign up to bet the Preakness at BetPhoenix Sportsbook today!
The Preakness has been run at seven different lengths throughout its history, although the length has remained constant at 1 3/16 miles since 1925, making the race 1/16 mile longer than the Kentucky Derby. At 1 minute and 53 seconds in 1973, Secretariat, who also set the track record at the Kentucky Derby, holds the distinction of the fastest time in the Preakness Stakes. A garland of Maryland’s state flower, the black-eyed Susan, is supposed to be placed around the neck of the winning horse each year. The timing of the race presents a problem, however. Black-eyed Susans are not in bloom by the third Saturday of May. Instead, viking poms are painted to resemble the state flower. The race has been dubbed “the run for the black-eyed Susans,” despite the fact that all of the black-eyed Susans are still in the ground when the winning horse is being adorned. Nonetheless, the winning horse is draped by a massive garland measuring 18x90 inches and containing roughly 4,000 flowers.
The Kentucky Derby, which is held annually on the first Saturday in May, two weeks before the Preakness, is the first of three major US horse races collectively known as the Triple Crown. To claim the Triple Crown, horses must win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes races. Each of these races is referred to as one of the jewels on the Triple Crown. Twelve horses have won the Triple Crown in history. It has only happened once in the last forty years, however. That honor goes to American Pharoah who was ridden to glory by jockey Victor Espinoza in 2015. SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE
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This year’s Derby winner, Justify, is the favorite at the Preakness. Justify looks to become the 35th horse to win the Preakness after also taking the Kentucky Derby. Justify is trained by the renowned Bob Baffert, who boasts six Preakness wins in his career, the last being the 2015 Triple Crown Winner American Pharoah. Justify is owned by WinStar Farm, a prestigious firm in Kentucky, also housing 2018 Preakness contender Quip. Each of these horses is expected to finish near the top of the field on Saturday. Lexington based Calumet Farm will also be sending two horses to the Preakness this year: Bravaso and Sporting Chance. Calumet boasts two Triple Crown winners in its storied history. Its last Preakness win came in 2013 when Oxbow took home the black-eyed Susans.
Justify is the heavy favorite for this Preakness run with 1-2 odds. This means that bets on Justify will receive winnings equal to one half of the wagered amount. Finishing second to Justify in the Kentucky Derby and projected to do so again in the Preakness is Good Magic. At 3-1 odds, this stallion will not create astronomical paydays but is a solid wager should Justify faltering. Many experts seem to be high on the 12-1 favorite Quip. Trainer Rodolphe Brisset opted to keep Quip out of the Derby, meaning that he will be fully rested and ready to roll come Saturday.
If you want to generate massive winnings while risking only small amounts of money, you will need to back a longshot. Candidates this year include the aforementioned Sporting Chance at 28-1 odds. Sporting Chance was also held out of the Derby, making his Preakness finish more unpredictable. If there is one thing longshot backers look for in a horse, it is unpredictability. Finishing eighth in the Derby and a 30-1 favorite in the Preakness is Lone Sailor. Backers of this horse can point to the belief that sloppy weather at Churchill Downs especially slowed Lone Sailor and that on a clear day, this stallion can hang with anyone.
