Preakness Stakes Odds and Betting Preview: Authentic and Art Collector Top Favorites

• The Preakness Stakes will be run Saturday at 5:36 pm EST
• Kentucky Derby winner Authentic is the favorite
• Several interesting longshots are worth a serious look before you bet

Normally the Preakness Stakes takes place the third Saturday in May, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, and three weeks before the Belmont Stakes. COVID-19 drastically altered the Triple Crown schedule, and Saturday the Preakness will finally be run, months after the shortened Belmont won by Tiz The Law, and four weeks after Authentic captured the Kentucky Derby.

Given the scheduling changes, Preakness Stakes odds have fluctuated accordingly. Since Tiz The Law is not running, Authentic is the reasonable Preakness favorite.

Authentic is far from a sure thing, and the updated odds certainly give bettors some value options. Let’s look at the field and analyze some contenders.

2020 Preakness Stakes Odds

Odds taken September 30th from Bet365

NBC will televise the mile-and-three-sixteenths Preakness Stakes with a strong undercard running earlier in the day. While Pimlico Race Course is not used a lot anymore, it has hosted the event since 1873. Trainer Bob Baffert is hoping to win his record eighth Preakness.

Favorite: Authentic

The Kentucky Derby was the first time Authentic had run where he was not the favorite. At +840 he broke from the extreme outside, didn’t get out great, and still bested 14 rivals to win the roses. He is five for six in his career.

Baffert did not elect to run Authentic in the Belmont Stakes, instead choosing to stay at home in California. His lone loss came a couple of weeks prior to the Belmont when he fell to Honor A.P. in the Santa Anita Derby. He rebounded in The Haskell Invitational on July 18, and unlike several rivals had a little more rest going into the Kentucky Derby.

Odds to Finish the Preakness Stakes Among the Top Group of Horses

All odds taken Sept. 30

Because this is a Triple Crown race, in addition to using a sportsbook to bet on fixed price win odds, you can bet whether a horse will finish in the Top five, four, three, or two. While the odds for the favorite aren’t all that enticing, it is reasonable to think you might like an outsider, but feel like they have a chance of winning, but a good opportunity to hit the board. For all the horses we highlight, consider whether the price is right to finish close but not necessarily in the winner’s circle.

Top Contenders: Art Collector, Swiss Skydiver, Thousand Words

It feels like there has been a discussion about Art Collector for months now. Finally, we will get to see how good he is. After an uninspiring 2019, he is four-for-four this year with victories in the Blue Grass Stakes and Ellis Park Derby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aih_JZM0Suc

He was scratched with a minor injury a few days before the Kentucky Derby. There is still a question of how strong his competition was in several prep races.

Probably the top horse Art Collector has faced is the filly Swiss Skydiver. She responded after the Blue Grass setback returning to face girls and won the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga easily. Her effort in the Kentucky Oaks, the day before the Derby, is a little hard to gauge.

Beating Gamine is an accomplishment. Not getting to Shedaresthedevil was a disappointment. That said, the Kentucky Oaks record was broken that day, and she was right there.

Like Art Collector, Thousand Words was scratched in Louisville. Trained by Baffert, and purchased for $1 million, he really has only run one race that would make him a player against this field.

Beating Honor A.P. is huge, and he is a very fresh horse having last run on August 1. His scratch at Churchill Downs was not an injury, he acted up in the paddock right before the race.

Other Options: Pneumatic, Ny Traffic

There is very little to dislike about Pneumatic. He debuted in February and won his first two races. In his stakes debut, he finished third, behind the incredibly talented Maxfield, and Ny Traffic. After a fourth-place finish in the Belmont Stakes, he rebounded to win a stakes race at Monmouth Park.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ll0VBLIis4

Pneumatic has never beaten horses this caliber, but he has been close, and his last race was his best. There is talent present though he will need his A-race.

NyTraffic ran just the second clunker of his 10 race career in the Kentucky Derby. Perhaps the distance was just too long? His prior three starts were all second-place finishes against strong competition. Watch how close he comes to Authentic in the Haskell.

It is possible Authentic’s rider Mike Smith misjudged the Haskell and maybe stopped riding too early allowing NyTraffic to come close. That said, he was that close from a super impressive victory. Ny Traffic tends to be close and is the type of horse if you don’t like him to win, playing him to finish second or third offers some opportunity.

The Bet: Swiss Skydiver

If she had won the Kentucky Oaks her odds would be +250 or something along those lines in this race. She lost but ran well against a horse that broke a record in an event that is well over 100 years old. Art Collector handled her in the Blue Grass, but he got a perfect trip in there and the discrepancy in odds tells us that she offers value to be the first filly to win the Preakness since Rachel Alexandra in 2009.

Pneumatic at +500 to be among the top three is a price worth serious consideration too. Even if he isn’t your first choice, to think he isn’t highly competitive for ‘show’ bet is odd.