Preakness 2026 picks: Betting predictions for who will win it all

The Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Thoroughbred Triple Crown, will take place on Saturday at Laurel Park in Maryland. Fourteen 3-year-olds will vie in the 1 3/16 miles race that carries a $2 million purse. Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo is bypassing this race, which will be run at Laurel while Pimlico Race Course is rebuilt. Three horses that ran in the Run for the Roses will come back after two weeks and try to win the Preakness. The betting is wide open. Any number of horses can win and the one that crosses the finish line first should pay a nice price even if favored. One can start on the rail with the local horse, Taj Mahal. Maryland-based horses tend to be the hometown heroes and attract a lot of attention. This son of Nyquist is 3-for-3 lifetime and each race was at Laurel. In his most recent try, he romped in the Federico Tesio, a Preakness prep. Taj Mahal will received plenty of local support from Post 1.

#Preakness151 contender TAJ MAHAL galloping this morning at Laurel Park ahead of his graded stakes debut in the second leg of the Triple Crown!

The Nyquist colt is undefeated from three starts by a combined winning margin of 12 3/4 lengths including back-to-back stakes wins👀… pic.twitter.com/kNtXBEL7Wt

— Equibase (@Equibase) May 14, 2026 Next to him will be a maiden. Yes, Ocelli, is 0-for-7 lifetime but he did finish third in the Kentucky Derby with a late rush at 70-1. The speed fell apart in the Derby and Ocelli chugged along for the show dough. Fact: A maiden has not won the Preakness since 1888. Chip Honcho was regarded nicely earlier in the year. He was up the track in the Louisiana Derby in his last start. This son of Connect gets Jose Ortiz, who has been winning everything, including the Derby. The jockey is better than the horse. A closer look at GI @PreaknessStakes contender CHIP HONCHO (Connect) who spent plenty of time on the track this morning at Laurel Park.

The Steve Asmussen trainee is already a stakes winner and graded stakes-placed. pic.twitter.com/XInU0LZWle

— TDN (@theTDN) Iron Honor was the favorite on the morning line at 9-2. Doubt he will be the chalk entering the starting gate. He won the Gotham at Aqueduct, but regressed when finishing seventh in the Wood Memorial. Hard pass from Post 9. Napoleon Solo -- Post 10 -- faltered on the lead and finished fifth in the Wood. One stat that becomes obvious as more horses are studied is how ordinary their Daily Racing Form Beyer Figures are. Napoleon Solo is coming off a 78, which is the worst number of his career. Preakness contender NAPOLEON SOLO was full of beans this morning at Laurel Park.