For the second year in a row, the Kentucky Derby winner won't be running in the Preakness Stakes. With Golden Tempo out, there are six horses with morning line odds of 8/1 or better. However, there are also numerous horses with odds of 15/1 or worse in this crowded 14-horse field.
Below, I highlight three of my favorite 2026 Preakness Stakes picks, explaining why each horse has winning potential and offers value in exotics.
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Best 2026 Preakness Stakes Picks: Longshots & Sleepers
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Talkin (20/1)
Talkin has potential, but inconsistency has undone this horse in many races throughout his short career. This is a horse with one win in five starts. His career started well with that win and a second-place finish at the 2025 Champagne. However, since then, Talkin has been all over the place. He finished ninth in his final race of 2025, then finished fifth at the Tampa Bay Derby. But this is also a horse that finished third at the Blue Grass Stakes.
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has never won the Preakness, but he has won the Belmont Stakes twice. This is a veteran jockey with plenty of Triple Crown experience, and I am confident that he will get the best race out of this horse.
Now, this is a very competitive field, so there's always a chance that the competition is simply too great for Talkin. However, while this horse isn't a closer, he also showed in the Blue Grass that he can hold on for a podium finish after a fast start. I don't expect this horse to win, but there's a chance, and I'll definitely be playing Talkin in exotics.
Corona de Oro (30/1)
I'm genuinely shocked at the morning line for this horse. Corona de Oro hasn't faced the best competition, but this is a horse that has finished in the top three in all but one race in his career. In early March, he picked up the only win of his career, and he followed it up with a third-place finish at the Stonestreet Lexington (G3).
In his last race, Corona de Oro drew the No. 1 post position, and he was essentially forced to set the pace for the entire race. While he did drop back to third down the homestretch, he actually didn't fade as badly as the final result would suggest. He was stride-for-stride with The Hell We Did for the majority of the final stretch, so I'm surprised to see The Hell We did with odds of 15/1, while Corona de Oro sits at 30/1.
Bull by the Horns (30/1)
I don't like this horse nearly as much as I like Corona de Oro, but Bull by the Horns is worth a look for exotics, especially if you're looking for a long shot in the last spot of a trifecta or superfecta.
This is a fresh horse that hasn't run since March 21, when he won the Rushaway Stakes, defeating Trendsetter, the horse that beat Corona de Oro and The Hell We Did at Lexington. In five career races, Bull by the Horns has won twice and finished third twice. However, he also finished seventh at the Fountain of Youth, the most competitive race he's run.
Neither jockey Micah Husbands nor trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. is a household name, so it's unlikely this horse gets any traction from bettors on race day. Therefore, of all the long shots I've mentioned, I expect Bull by the Horns to have the longest odds when the race starts. Rightfully so, in my opinion, but this is still a much better horse than many other 30/1 horses in this race.
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.