The second leg of the Triple Crown will take place on Saturday with the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes. The starting gates open at 6:50 p.m. ET from Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. This will be the first time the event won’t be held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore due to construction at the site. Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo will skip the Preakness Stakes 2026. There has not been a Triple Crown winner since Justify in 2018.
Iron Honor enters as the favorite at 9-2 in the 2026 Preakness Stakes odds. He is followed by Taj Mahal, Chip Honcho and Incredibolt, all at 5-1. Ocelli is at 6-1, Napoleon Solo at 8-1, and The Hell We Did, Great White and Pretty Boy Miah, all at 15-1. Before making any 2026 Preakness Stakes picks, you’ll want to see the 2026 Preakness Stakes predictions from SportsLine’s Michelle Yu.
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She started off 2025 by correctly going all-in on Citizen Bull to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, and she also predicted Forever Young’s win in the Saudi Cup, Journalism’s win in the San Felipe Stakes, Sandman’s win in the Arkansas Derby and Mindframe’s win in the Churchill Downs Stakes. She also hit the exacta in the 2025 Kentucky Derby. In August she hit the Fierceness-Journalism exacta in the Pacific Classic, and in March 2026 she nailed the Renegade-Silent Tactic-Taptastic trifecta in the Arkansas Derby.
Now, with the 2026 Preakness Stakes post positions set and odds on the board, Yu is sharing her 2026 Preakness Stakes betting picks and 2026 Preakness Stakes predictions over at SportsLine. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2026 Preakness Stakes predictions
One surprise: Yu likes Taj Mahal, one of the second favorites at 5-1. Taj Mahal has only run at Laurel Park, and he’s done so extremely well, winning all three starts.
“This undefeated Brittany Russell trainee is certainly a horse for the course, having notched all three lifetime wins over this track,” yu told SportsLine. “He cost more than $500,000 at auction, so expectations have always surrounded him, and so far he has lived up to them. He will get a class test on Saturday, but he deserves the opportunity. He isn’t inching out these wins; he’s winning going away. A woman won the Derby; maybe one wins the Preakness too?” See which other 2026 Preakness Stakes horses to back at SportsLine.
Another one of Yu’s surprising Preakness Stakes picks: She is not taking Iron Honor as her top win contender. Iron Honor won the Gotham Stakes in February, but stumbled in the Wood Memorial, finishing a disappointing seventh place.
“The Gotham Stakes winner really faltered when stretching out to nine furlongs in his last start,” Yu told SportsLine, as she prefers two other horses in her win picks. See which other horses to fade at SportsLine.
How to make 2026 Preakness Stakes picks
Instead, Yu’s top pick is a horse who is in “super shape.” She’s also high on a massive double-digit longshot who is “sneaky.” She’s sharing which 2026 Preakness Stakes horses to back at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2026 Preakness Stakes? What double-digit longshot is a must-back, and how has Yu constructed her wagers? Visit SportsLine to see Yu’s picks for the Preakness Stakes, all from the Santa Anita-based racing insider who has a long history of success in the Preakness Stakes, and find out.
