One of the largest and most significant sporting events is set for its 148th run in the state of Maryland. The 148th Preakness Stakes is set for a triumph run on May 20th at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.
Horse betting has been one of the oldest forms of sports gambling as it has also been shown to be one of the accepted forms of betting. The Preakness Stakes is certainly going to be one of the most betted sporting events in 2023. You can access legal horse racing bets at BetMGM Maryland.
The Preakness Stakes or “The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans,” started it’s run of some racing’s top horses in 1873 to 1890 and then continuously since 1894. The race serves as the middle race of the Triple Crown between the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. The race is always on the third Saturday in May, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks before the Belmont Stakes.
The Preakness Stakes is the second-oldest races of the Triple Crown set. It is seven years after the inaugural race of the Belmont Stakes and two years before the first-ever Kentucky Derby.
The Triple Crown is one of the most prestigious sports honors in the United States. The three races compose one of the most celebrated sport events on the race track, in the building, and even at home gatherings.
In the history of the Triple Crown races, there have been 13 horses and jockeys who have won all three races. The latest Triple Crown winner was Justify and jockey Mike Smith in 2018. Smith was the oldest jockey to have ever won a Triple Crown as he was 52-years old. The previous Triple Crown winner was American Pharoah and jockey Victor Espinoza in 2015. Bob Baffert was the trainer for both star horses. He has been the only trainer to have ever worked with two Triple Crown winning horses.
As for the history of the Preakness Stakes, Survivor and jockey George Barbee were the first winners of the race in 1873 by a distance of 1 1/2 lengths. The biggest margin of victory was set in 2004 by Smart Jones and jockey Stewart Elliot by 11 ½ lengths. The most wins by a jockey at the Preakness Stakes was six by Eddie Arcaro in 1941, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1955, and 1957. Bob Baffert and R. Wyndham Walden.
Last year’s 147th Preakness Stakes was up for grabs for any of the 14 competitors as the Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike did not compete in the race due to the horse’s health and need for rest. This was the second time since 1996 that the winner of the Kentucky Derby did not race in the upcoming Preakness Stakes.
In another turn of events, Baffert was forced to miss to the 147th Preakness Stakes due to his suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. His horse, Medina Spirit, finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, but was shortly disqualified after a failed drug testing.
Last year’s winner of the 2022 Preakness Stakes was Early Voting and jockey Jose Ortiz. The two had the third best odds to win the huge race in Baltimore. Early Voting won by 1 ¼ lengths. Epicenter and jockey Joel Rosario, who were the betting favorites before the race, ended up finishing in second place.
Early Voting was among the qualified to compete in the 2022 Kentucky Derby, especially after finishing in first place in the Withers Stakes on Feb. 5 and second place in the Wood Memorial on April 9. Trainer Chad Brown and owner Seth Klarman opted to skip the race for the first leg of the Triple Crown due to Early Voting’s lack of experience. Sometime after winning the 2022 Preakness Stakes, Brown announced
that Early Voting would skip the 2022 Belmont Stakes to rest up.
There is a long way away from the 148th Preakness Stakes as the competitors have not yet been determined and will not for a while. The best to project which horses will be competing in the Preakness Stakes to see the potential competitors for the 2023 Kentucky Derby.
One horse for example is Victory Formation, who has three wins in three starts. One of the best performances for the horse was in the Smarty Jones Stakes on Oaklawn when he won by three lengths. Other horses that could be serious competitors for the upcoming Kentucky Derby are Loggins, Giant Mischief and Verifying.
