Preakness Stakes odds history: Which horse was the biggest underdog to win the Run for Black-Eyed Susans?
The Preakness Stakes will take place at Pimlico Race Course this weekend as Kentucky Derby winner Mage goes for the second leg of the coveted Triple Crown. In a field of just eight horses, Mage is the favorite with 8-5 odds. The horse with the longest odds in this year’s race is Chase the Chaos, who comes in at 50-1, and is one of just three horses with odds of 15-1 or longer.
The Preakness hasn’t traditionally been very favorable to the underdogs. Only four winners have started the race with odds of 15-1 or higher. Last year’s winner, Early Voting, entered with 7-2 odds. But that’s not to say it can’t happen.
In 2013, Oxbow had struggled through spring races before arriving in Maryland. With 15-1 odds, the horse seemed like an afterthought heading to the starting gate at Pimlico. However Oxbow surged at the 138th Preakness Stakes, coming from the sixth post position to win by a comfortable 1 ⁄4 lengths.
In 1972, one year before Secretariat’s Triple Crown win, Riva Ridge looked to be on his way to horse racing’s ultimate prize after a dominating win at the Kentucky Derby. However, Pimlico went wild when Bee Bee Bee went off a 19-1, leaving the favorite in the dust.
The biggest long shot to win the Preakness Stakes was in 1975 when Master Derby had the seventh longest odds at 23-1 in a 10-horse field. Just an afterthought. But he came on strong out of the gate, holding off a late surge by the favorite Foolish Pleasure to win by a length.
The Preakness Stakes is Saturday, May 29, with a post time of 6:50 p.m. ET. Live coverage is available on NBC. Live streaming coverage can be found on NBCSports.com or the NBC Sports app.
