Preakness 2026 Horses, Entry List, Vegas Odds and Dark-Horse Favorites

The 2026 Preakness Stakes will feel much different than previous iterations of the event.

The location changed to Laurel Park in Maryland while Pimlico Race Course is under construction.

There also won't be a Triple Crown chase, as Golden Tempo's team opted to skip Saturday's race following the Kentucky Derby win two weeks ago.

In fact, only three of the 14 horses in the Preakness field were in the Kentucky Derby field.

That makes the Preakness field a little difficult to handicap, and it opens the door for a potential dark-horse candidate to win, just like Golden Tempo did at Churchill Downs.

Preakness Stakes Odds and Post Draw

Dark-Horse Candidates

Talkin

One of the best ways to pick dark-horse candidates is to go after jockeys or trainers who have had a ton of success in big races.

That's the draw to Talkin with Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard him for the Preakness.

Ortiz is a two-time Belmont Stakes winner and a two-time champion of the Breeders Cup Classic. He also took second in the 2026 Kentucky Derby behind his brother, Jose, who rode Golden Tempo to first.

Talkin's last result was a third-place finish at the Blue Grass Stakes, a race that was won by Further Ado, one of the horses with low odds to win the Derby.

At 20-1, Talkin is worth a shot in the hope that Ortiz drives him to the front of a crowded field.

Corona de Oro

Corona de Oro is another horse to take a shot on solely because of its jockey.

John Velazquez has six Triple Crown wins on his resume, including the 2023 Preakness.

The jockey may have to do some extra work in the Preakness because Corona de Oro hasn't participated in many major races.

Corona de Oro did take third in an April race in Lexington. Fellow Preakness horse The Hell We Did took second in that event.

The horse may not have the resume of a winner compared to others in the field, but there is no one true dominant horse in the lineup either. That could open the door for one of the most skilled jockeys in the field to bring a dark-horse candidate to the winners' circle.