Preakness 2023 Draw Results, Updated Betting Odds

Kentucky Derby winner Mage is the 8-5 morning-line favorite to win the Preakness, the second jewel of the Triple Crown, on Saturday.

A field of only eight will contest the 1 3/16-mile race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Mage won’t recognize any of his rivals — he is the only horse in Preakness 148 who ran in the Kentucky Derby. It’s the first time since 1969 that the Preakness included only one Derby horse.

The connections of Derby runner-up Two Phil’s and third-place finisher Angel of Empire decided to pass on the Preakness and both horses are candidates to run in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.

Mage, who finished second to Forte in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and Florida Derby, won the Kentucky Derby at 15-1 odds, rallying down the stretch to beat Two Phil’s by a length. Forte was scratched the morning of the race because of a foot bruise and is not yet ready to return to racing.

Among the top new challengers in the Preakness field are First Mission (5-2), National Treasure (4-1) and Blazing Sevens (6-1).

First Mission won the Lexington Stakes last month at Keeneland but did not have enough points to qualify for the Derby. National Treasure is trained by Bob Baffert, who is suspended from Churchill Downs but has won the Preakness a record-tying seven times. Blazing Sevens had enough points to run in the Derby, but opted to wait for the Preakness. Blazing Sevens is trained by Chad Brown, who used a similar strategy last year to win the middle jewel with Early Voting.

If he wins the Preakness, Mage will become the first horse to capture the first two legs since Justify, who went on to win the Triple Crown in 2018.

The field for Preakness 148, which was drawn Monday, with the jockey, trainer and odds.