Eight of the nine posts being utilized for 2025 Preakness Stakes betting picks have produced at least 10 winners, but Post No. 9 has only four victors in the race’s history. No horse since I’ll have Another in 2012 won the Preakness Stakes from Post No. 9, the longest drought for any of the first nine Preakness Stakes posts besides No. 8 entering the Preakness Stakes 2025 on Saturday. Gosger is a 20-1 longshot running from Post No. 9, but Clever Again is running from Post No. 8 and is 5-1 in the latest 2025 Preakness Stakes betting odds.
Journalism is the 8-5 Preakness Stakes favorite, followed by River Thames (9-2), as the only two horses with better 2025 Preakness Stakes odds to win than Clever Again to win. The 150th running of the race is set for 7:01 p.m. ET from Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Saturday, so who should you include in 2025 Preakness Stakes bets? SportsLine’s horse racing experts are breaking down the Preakness Stakes 2025 from all angles.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Jody Demling hit the top three finishers in the Kentucky Derby in the correct order. He also called 10 of the last 20 Preakness winners, including 2023 when he hit the winner, exacta, trifecta and superfecta. He hit the trifecta in the 2024 Preakness Stakes and has predicted the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last seven years. Anyone who has followed those picks on sites like FanDuel Racing and TwinSpires is up huge. You can see Demling’s full projected leaderboard at SportsLine.
Here are three Preakness Stakes longshots to target, according to Demling:
Clever Again (5-1)
There is some mystery surrounding this colt, since he has just three races on his resume. However, he has shown he can command a race with his wire-to-wire win in the Hot Springs Stakes at Oaklawn Park. He posted a red-hot Beyer Speed Figure of 101, which is second in the Preakness Stakes field only to Journalism, who posted a 108 at the Santa Anita Derby.
Clever Again also has pedigree on his side. He is the sire of American Pharoah, who won the Triple Crown in 2015. He is also trained by Steve Asmussen, who won the Preakness Stakes in 2007 with Curlin and again in 2009 with Rachel Alexandra. Eclipse Award-winning jockey Jose Ortiz won the Preakness in 2022 aboard Early Voting, and he will shoot for the same result with Clever Again on Saturday. New users can bet Clever Again at FanDuel Racing now and get a no-sweat first bet up to $500 with the latest FanDuel Racing offer code:
Goal Oriented (6-1)
Bob Baffert’s Goal Oriented takes his perfect record into his first graded stakes race on Saturday. Baffert is the winningest trainer in Preakness Stakes history, with eight victories, most recently winning in 2023. Although Goal Oriented didn’t run in the Kentucky Derby itself, he did run at Churchill Downs on Derby Day and won his race to improve to 2-0 over his career.
Besides a proven winning trainer in Baffert, Goal Oriented will be ridden by a top jockey in Flavien Prat. The 32-year-old won the 2021 Preakness Stakes with Rombauer, who ran as an 11-1 longshot. Prat is a multi-time Triple Crown winner, also riding Country House to a Kentucky Derby win as a 30-1 longshot. Prat’s proven ability to get the most out of longshot horses, plus a pairing with Baffert, makes Goal Oriented a longshot to strongly consider for 2025 Preakness Stakes bets. New users can bet Goal Oriented at FanDuel Racing and get a no-sweat first bet:
American Promise (15-1)
American Promise is coming off a tough trip in the Kentucky Derby, as he got cut off at the start and was unable to squeeze between horses down the stretch. He is returning to the track on Saturday for legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who has sent more horses to the second leg of the Triple Crown than any other trainer. The 89-year-old won the Preakness last year and is trying to become the first to win the Preakness back-to-back since Baffert in 2001 and 2002.
Jockey Nik Juarez made his first Kentucky Derby start aboard American Promise, and he will stay aboard for the Preakness. Juarez grew up nearly 30 miles northeast from the track, so it will be a particularly special day for him as he makes his first Preakness start. American Promise is one of the most experienced horses in the field with 10 starts since last July, and he won the Virginia Derby (LS) in March. New users can take advantage of the current TwinSpires offer code and bet American Promise now at TwinSpires and get up to $400 in bonus bets:
How to make 2025 Preakness Stakes picks, bets
Demling is especially high on a huge longshot who “could be a factor” and will spice up your exotics. Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected 2025 Preakness Stakes leaderboard and betting tickets, over at SportsLine.
SportsLine also has Preakness Stakes 2025 picks from long-time horse racing journalist Gene Menez. You can also find 2025 Preakness Stakes bets from Michelle Yu, a racing analyst who has already hit winners in multiple prep races this year.
Best Preakness Stakes betting promos
Here are several places to bet on the Preakness Stakes.