2023 Preakness Stakes Best Bets: Red Route Run, National Treasure, Mage

The Preakness Stakes is one of the most prestigious horse racing events in the world, held annually in Baltimore, Maryland. This year, the 2023 Preakness Stakes is expected to be even more exciting, with many top-notch horses set to compete for the coveted trophy. Here are the horses and best bets that have caught the attention of our experts.

2023 Preakness Stakes Best Bets

Longshot Bet

Red Route One (10/1)

Red Route One has the fifth-best odds to win the Preakness, but this is a horse that you should not only include in your exotics but also consider as a threat to win this race. Jockey Joel Rosario and trainer Steve Asmussen team up again after guiding Disarm to a fourth-place finish at the Kentucky Derby.

This is a fresh horse that won its last time out at the end of April. Granted, the field wasn't very strong, and the last time he went up against a tough field, he finished sixth at the Arkansas Derby. The good news for Red Route One is that with most of the really good horses running at the Kentucky Derby, this Preakness is wide open. Rosario and Asmussen will have a plan to get this horse across the line first.

Exotic Wagers

$2 Trifecta Box: (1) National Treasure / (7) Blazing Sevens / (5) Red Route One

A $1 trifecta at the Kentucky Derby paid nearly $1,000. In a race with just eight horses, you're not going to see a number like that, but barring a massive upset, the trifecta is where you will make your money at this race.

Again, we're going to leave out Mage, especially since the horse is likely to go off at even money or better. We really need to find a way to beat this horse to make these bets worthwhile. We're sticking with National Treasure and Blazing Sevens, but who is our third horse?

While many will go with First Mission, the horse is being significantly overvalued. It could win this race, but the odds simply aren't warranted considering what this horse has done. Instead, we're going to go with Red Route One.

Red Route One was trained by Steve Asmussen and will be ridden by Joel Rosario. Both men were involved in the fourth-place finish for Disarm at the Kentucky Derby. At 10-1 odds, this is a horse that is definitely worth a look and would elevate the payout for a trifecta.

Best Bets to Win

I intentionally wrote best "bets" here, as I'm going to take two bets on a win ticket in this small field. Mage is definitely a horse I will be using on top. His Kentucky Derby victory remains impressive weeks later. But unlike in that race, I don't suspect Mage will need to come back from 13 lengths behind to win. While I don't think Mage will set the pace, he probably has the best speed in this field and shouldn't be far behind the anticipated pace-setter Coffeewithchris at the half-mile mark.

After sleeping on him in the Kentucky Derby, Mage has earned my respect and should get another great run from Javier Castellano. The only question is whether Mage has another great performance in him off a short two-week break against a field that enters the race more rested.

The other horse I'll be backing to win is National Treasure. That's right, I'm backing Bob Baffert in his return from suspension. National Treasure drew the rail in post positioning, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Jockey John Velazquez will have no choice but to get this horse going early to avoid getting pinned on the inside. The good news is that National Treasure has the ability to start fast, settle in, and kick on the after burners down the stretch.

This race could come down to whether Mage has enough left in the tank to chase down National Treasure down the stretch. For that reason, I'll trust that one of the two gets the job done.