The 151st running of the Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park in Maryland is scheduled for Saturday, May 16. The race is at Laurel Park temporarily, as Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore is under renovations. The official post time is 7:01 p.m. ET, which is the 13th race on a 14-run slate. The 14-horse, 1-and-3/16-mile race can be viewed on NBC and/or USA Network.
Leading up to the race, we saw Crude Velocity scratched. That horse was among the favorites to win the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Silent Tactic was also scratched, and Golden Tempo, the Kentucky Derby winner, will not be in the field.
With several scratches, and Golden Tempo not in the mix, the favorite is Iron Honor, the favorite as of publishing at 9/2. Chip Honcho, Incredibolt and Taj Mahal are next in line at 5/1.
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2026 Preakness Stakes Best Picks & Predictions to Win
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Iron Honor (9-2)
The favorite, Iron Honor, is trained by Chad C. Brown. He was the trainer of Early Voting back in 2022, with Jose Ortiz on board. The 2023 winning trainer Bob Baffert (National Treasure), 2024 winner D. Wayne Lukas (Seize the Gray) and 2025 winner Michael W. McCarthy (Journalism) do not have a horse in the field. In fact, Steven M. Asmussen (Chip Honcho) and Doug F. O’Neill (Robusta) are the only other trainers in the field with a Preakness victory under their belt.
The last time we saw Iron Honor was early April in the Wood Memorial (G2), and the 3-year-old colt tumbled to seventh place with Flavien Prat on board. However, prior to that, on Feb. 28, Iron Honor rolled to a win in the Gotham Stakes (G3) after a maiden special weight win, also at Aqueduct, on Dec. 13, 2025.
If you want a safe play, Iron Honor is strong play with the accomplished Brown and Ortiz working in tandem for another major horse racing victory.
Pick: Iron Honor to win (+450)
Great White (15-1)
In the middle of the pack, Great White is an interesting horse to watch Saturday with Alex Achard aboard the John Ennis-trained 3-yard old gelding. Great White is the horse which was rearing and flipping while entering the starting gate at the 2026 Kentucky Derby, throwing Achard off. Neither the horse nor the rider were injured, as is evidenced by the fact Great White is in the 14-horse field Saturday.
Great White has three races in 2026, last racing at Keeneland in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1), finishing fifth, with an Equibase score of 74. However, prior to that, Great White won at Turfway Park in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes (Listed) on Feb. 21. In four races, Great White has a pair of wins, and two fifth-place showings, so this is a high-risk, high-reward pick. For the chance to go 15X, though, it’s worth a roll of the dice.
Pick: Great White to win (+1500)
The Hell We Did (15-1)
If Great White doesn’t intrigue you, consider The Hell We Did, with the same longshot odds. The Todd W. Fincher-trained 3-year-old colt will have Luis Saez as the rider. The Peacock Family Racing Stable owned horse has two races in 2026, with a second-place finish at the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland on April 11, while winning an allowance race at Sunland Park on March 15.
This could be a coming out party with Saez aboard, as he looks for his first-ever Preakness Stakes victory. Call me crazy, too, and it’s circumstantial, but the team owner is Peacock Family Racing Stable, LLC, and the race is on NBC, with the peacock logo. With longshot plays, you have to take all of the facts, and a little luck. This is Project Hail Mary area here.
Pick: The Hell We Did to win (+1500)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe