2025 Preakness Stakes Betting Guide: Odds, Predictions, and 2 Best Bets
After an exciting Kentucky Derby, we are moving on to Baltimore for the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness. The Preakness is a bit shorter than the Derby, sitting at 9.5 Furlongs compared to 10 Furlongs, so the race will be a bit different.
We sadly won’t be seeing the Derby Winner, Sovereignty, this weekend, so the Triple Crown hopes are dead. Also, this race is much smaller than the derby, with only 9 horses in the running. However, we are still in for an awesome race with a ton of familiar horses from the Derby.
It should be dry this Saturday in Baltimore, so we won’t see the muddy conditions we witnessed at Churchill Downs. Today, I’ll give you my two best underdogs on the card. Let’s get into it!
Clever Again (5-1)
This horse isn’t exactly a longshot, so I didn’t want to phrase it that way. It is the 4th running favorite, with Sandman and Journalism being the top two we saw at the Kentucky Derby. Clever Again is a bit of a mystery to many since he has only 3 races on his resume, but he has done a lot with those few starts. His two wins are by 3 ½ lengths and 4 lengths in his last 2, and his one loss was in a 4.5-furlong sprint where he lost by a head.
Clever Again also posted the 2nd fastest Beyer Speed Figure, which determines total race speed, with a score of 101. Journalism is the only horse to post a faster score with a 108. Clever Again is the offspring of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharaoh and is being trained by two-time Preakness-winning trainer Steve Asmussen, so he has the pedigree behind him.
He will also be accompanied by a great jockey in Jose Ortiz, who won the Preakness in 2022. This horse may be a bit of a mystery in terms of race experience, but it certainly has everything you would hope for in a winner.
American Promise (15-1)
American Promise had a rough go at the Kentucky Derby, finishing 16th after a rough start. However, with the much smaller field here at the Preakness, it will be a bit easier to maneuver if they get a bad start again.
The story with this one isn’t as much about the horse, but the trainer. D. Wayne Lukas is an 89-year-old legend of Horse training who has had more horses race the Preakness than anyone else. He sits second to only Bob Baffert in wins at the event. With American Promise, he is seeking to become the first back-to-back Preakness winner since Baffert pulled it off in 2011/2002.
As I mentioned, American Promise should benefit from the smaller field. He is a large horse, so room to run should go a long way. This horse needs to get off to a good start to have a chance this weekend anyway. American Promise doesn’t really have the closing speed to catch up to some of the horses who will be making a late push, but if he can hold an early lead, I like his odds. At 15-1 he is the 3rd Longest shot, so it could be fun to sprinkle a little on him and hope for a great start.
Jason Martinak
Sports Betting Contributor
Jason Martinak is a seasoned sportswriter covering UFC, English Premier League, and a bit of horse racing. He is a proud graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and has been a savvy sports bettor for several years.
