Preakness 2023 Post Positions: Horse Odds, Prize Money Predictions and More
The 2023 Preakness might feature a small field, but there's still big money on the line and a big prize to be won.
The dominant storyline remains Mage. The Gustavo Delgado-trained colt leapt into the running for Horse of the Year with an impressive win at Churchill Downs. Now he'll be the only entrant making the two-week turnaround to run at Pimlico in Baltimore.
He won't have to beat many horses to cash in again. With Godolphin-owned First Mission scratched because of a left hind issue, the field is down to seven horses. It's the smallest field for the Preakness since 1986.
It's a unique setup for the 148th running of the race to be sure. With just one Derby entrant in an incredibly small lineup, it feels like just about anything could happen in the 1-and-3/16-mile race.
Here's the info you'll need to catch the race along with prize money, predictions and the latest odds.
Race and Prize Payout Info
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Where: Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore
When: Saturday
Post Time: 6:50 p.m. ET
TV Coverage Start Time: 4:30 p.m.
TV and Live Stream: NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app and Peacock (pre-race coverage on CNBC from 1-4:30 p.m. ET)
Prize Purse: $1.5 million
Payouts
First: $900,000
Second: $300,000
Third: $165,000
Fourth: $90,000
Fifth: $45,000
Entries, Post Positions and Odds
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1. National Treasure (3-1)
2. Chase the Chaos (30-1
3. Mage (4-5)
4. Coffeewithchris (20-1)
5. Red Route One (8-1)
6. Perform (12-1
7. Blazing Sevens (5-1)
Odds via Preakness Stakes
Preview and Prediction
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First Mission's withdrawal from the race is a big deal for Mage and his connections. The colt went from an 8-5 favorite to a 4-5 favorite when the announcement came down that First Mission would not be able to race.
The Brad Cox trainee represented one of the biggest obstacles to the Derby winner's quest for the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Now there are only a handful of threats to deal with.
Only two horses will finish outside the money now that there are seven horses in competition in Baltimore.
The early pace is going to be fascinating to watch. None of the horses in the field are generally pacesetters. If that holds, then it could be Mage who gets to control the tempo of the race before fending off fellow closers down the stretch.
So a storyline to watch early in the race is what jockey will try a different running style with their horse in hopes of potentially winning the race from wire to wire.
National Treasure could be a candidate. He is the most lightly raced horse in the field outside Mage, with only five career starts. A Bob Baffert horse is always a threat in a Triple Crown race, now that his year-long ban for repeated medication violations is over, he could have a winner in the colt.
Baffert has trained seven Preakness winners, and National Treasure will break from the No. 1 post, which isn't a bad spot given the shorter distance of the race and the smaller field.
National Treasure finished fourth in the Santa Anita Derby in April, but that was a Grade 1 Stakes race, the competition was fierce and he still finished with an impressive 101 Equibase speed figure.
Red Route One and Coffeewithchris are relative long shots worth backing. Red Route One is trained by Steve Asmussen and has posted triple-digit speed figures in two of his last three starts, including a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes.
That kind of speed can play in the Preakness.
Coffeewithchris is the only local horse in the race. The Maryland-bred gelding has made several starts at Laurel Park but recently put blinders on, which could help elevate his form.
"He kept getting better," trainer John Salzman Jr. told Blood Horse. "And we put blinkers on him (beginning with the 2022 James F. Lewis III Stakes). And then the distance, he just keeps going another sixteenth of a mile each time and comes out of the race super. It's not knocking him out or anything."
Perhaps he can make a surprise run and showcase a level we haven't seen from him in his home state.
With a small field and a slow starting pace, Mage is set up to take the second leg of the Triple Crown though.
Prediction
1. Mage
2. National Treasure
3. Red Route One
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