The Preakness Stakes is the second race of the horse racing triple crown. Unfortunately, we already know that 2025 won’t result in a triple crown as Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty has decided not to run at the Preakness. It’s the second time in four years and fifth time in seven years that the Preakness is being run with the triple crown already off the table.

While this does certainly take some of the buzz away from the Preakness, it’s still one of the marquee events on the horse racing calendar and features a solid race for bettors to handicap.

Overall, only three horses who ran in the Kentucky Derby are making the trek to Maryland, making this an entirely different race to handicap. Let’s dive into how to bet the 2025 Preakness.

2025 Preakness betting odds

Here’s this year’s Preakness field, listed in order of post position. The odds listed are the morning-line odds and are subject to change as wagers come in as we get closer to post time.

About the Preakness Stakes field

Let’s take a closer look at the nine horses set to race on Saturday at Pimlico.

Goal Oriented

Goal Oriented has two wins in two career starts, including a victory at Churchill Downs the day of the Kentucky Derby. The colt is trained by Bob Baffert, who is looking for his ninth Preakness victory. Jockey Flavien Prat won the Preakness in 2021, in addition to winning the Kentucky Derby in 2019.

Journalism

Journalism enters the Preakness as the betting favorite, which is familiar territory for the colt. Journalism was the favorite in the Kentucky Derby but ultimately finished in second place. In six career starts, he has four victories, one second place finish and one third place showing. Journalism is trained by Michael McCarthy, who won the 2021 Preakness with Rombauer.

American Promise

Sired by 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, American Promise has two wins in 10 career starts, but hasn’t shown in any of his three graded stakes races, including a 16th place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Trainer Wayne D. Lukas has won the Preakness seven times and has 15 triple crown victories in his career.

Heart of Honor

The British owned horse had enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, but his owners held him back to give him a better chance to run well at Pimlico. In six career starts overseas, Heart of Honor has two wins and four second place finishes. The horse is a dirt runner, according to all reports.

Pay Billy

In 2025, Pay Billy has made four starts and won three of them. While none of those races were graded stakes, it’s still good to see the colt come out near the top. Trainer Michael Gorham has seen his horses race nearly 10,000 races and is yet to experience a triple crown race victory.

River Thames

River Thames has the third best odds to win the Preakness and it’s not hard to see why. The horse has shown in all four of his starts, winning two of them. Todd Pletcher is his trainer, and Pletcher is a hall-of-fame trainer who is looking for his first ever Preakness victory after winning Belmont four times and the Kentucky Derby twice. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has finished second in the Preakness twice in the last five years and is finally looking to win one.

Sandman

Sandman enters the Preakness in a similar spot to which they entered the Kentucky Derby: near the top of the odds-board, behind Journalism. Despite being one of the favorites, Sandman had a disappointing seventh place finish at Churchill Downs. Outside of the race two weeks ago, Sandman has shown in every race they ran in 2025 and overall has three wins, one second place finish and two third place finishes in nine career starts.

Clever Again

Clever Again was sired by American Pharoah, the winner of the 2015 Triple Crown and Breeders Cup, making the horse immediately interesting. Clever Again has just three career starts, with two wins and a second place finish. Trainer Steven Asmussen has won the Preakness twice. Jockey Jose Ortiz won the Preakness in 2022, riding Early Voting.

Gosger

At 20-to-1, Gosger is the longest shot in the field. The colt has three career starts, which have resulted in two wins and a second place finish. With that being said, the speed analytics are far from impressive. Gosger is sired by Nyquist, the 2016 Kentucky Derby winner.

How to bet the Preakness Stakes

The Preakness will feature just nine horses, making it easier to handicap the race than the 19 or 20 horse fields we often see at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby. With that being said, there is a case to be made for a bunch of these horses.

Journalism is the betting favorite for a reason. He ran a solid race in the Kentucky Derby, but the slop of a track allowed Sovereignty to outduel him late. While Journalism might be the best horse in the field, the odds don’t make him an extremely appealing bet to make.

There’s a case to be made for a bunch of the horses right behind Journalism in the odd. You can bet on Bob Baffert with No. 1 Goal Oriented (6-to-1). River Thames (9-2) has the chance to get legendary Todd Pletcher his first Preakness victory. Despite a disappointing Kentucky Derby, Sandman (4-to-1) has shown enough in previous races. Clever Again (5-to-1) is sired by one of the greatest horses of all time and has great connections.

If we’re looking for a long-shot, I like Heart of Honor at 12-to-1. It seems like the owners and trainers were very calculated as to when and how the horse would race in America. They took advantage of additional rest and are now going to let him loose on a dirt surface.