2018 Preakness Stakes Betting Preview

The 2018 edition of the Preakness Stakes is set for Saturday night at 6:20pm Eastern time. Coverage begins at 2:30pm Eastern on NBC Sports, and the pregame chatter will move over to NBC at 5:00. Justify, who rolled to a win at the Kentucky Derby despite a rain-slopped track, is the odds-on favorite to win at Pimlico Racetrack and gain the first two wins of the Triple Crown. Check out our Preakness Stakes betting preview for this storied event, which includes the odds and how to bet at the window (or online).

2018 Preakness Stakes Betting Preview

Updated Contender Odds (pending post draw)

• Justify                                                 4/9
• Bravazo                                               4/1
• Good Magic                                        5/1
• Quip                                                    10/1
• Tenfold                                                            10/1
• Diamond King                                     15/1
• Givemeaminit                                     20/1
• Sporting Chance                                 20/1
• Lone Sailor                                          30/1
• Pony Up                                              30/1

When you bet on horse races, you are taking part in parimutuel betting, which means you are wagering against other bettors, not a bookmaker or a casino. The house takes a cut out every bet. The odds can change — and they will once the post positions are drawn. When you place a wager on a horse, whether you’re going to a local track simulcast, betting online, or betting right at Pimlico, you indicate the number of the race you’re betting, the track name, the amount of the wager, the wager gype and the post positions of the horses in your wager. There are many different ways to wager on horse racing, but here is an overview of some of the more frequently used ones. You can bet on a horse to “win,” which means that if you put down money on a horse and that horse wins, you get the winnings — your original wager plus the odds-based payout. If you bet on a horse a 8 to 1, and you put down $100, you’ll walk away with your original $100 plus $800. If you pick a horse to “place” that means you think that horse will finish second. A bet on a horse to “show” indicates that the horse will finish third. If you wager “across the board,” you’re picking a horse to take all three positions. If your horse finishes first, you win all three wagers; but if it finishes second, you win the “place” and “show” wagers, and if it finishes third, you win the “show” wager.

What is and Exacta Pick?

You can also pick horses to finish in a particular order. An “exacta” wager is a bet on the two horses that you think will finish first and second. A “trifecta” wager is your guess at the order of the first three horses. If you want to add a fourth place to your wager, you place a “superfecta” bet. If you “box” any of those wagers, then the horses you pick can finish in any order. In the example of an exacta, if you “box” it, the two horses you pick and finish first and second in either order. You can also pick three (or other numbers). This bet means that you are picking which horse will win in several different races taking place at a track on a specific day. The Preakness Stakes is just the last of a series of races at Pimlico on Saturday, so you could put down this sort of wager on Saturday as well. Should you pick Justify to win again? The track at Pimlico is shorter than the one at Churchill Downs, so Justify could have an even bigger lead at the end, particularly if the rain stays away from Maryland and the track isn’t as muddy. The competition is not likely to be as strong, with just Bolt d’Oro and Good Magic making the trek to Pimlico for the race. Good Magic put up a fight against Justify at Churchill Downs, but it will be interesting to see how he reacts in the rematch.