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We haven’t seen a true longshot win the Preakness Stakes in the long history of this race. The winning horse with the longest odds to win the Preakness Stakes was Master Derby back in 1975. Master Derby was more than a 23-1 underdog at post time, and only two other horses have won the Preakness Stakes with odds of greater than 15-1. Those horses were Coventry in 1925 (21.8-1) and Display in 1926 (19.35-1). That doesn’t bode well for Perform, CoffeewithChris, and Chase the Chaos even though the Preakness Stakes has a much smaller field than the Kentucky Derby. Eight horses will line up for the 148th Preakness Stakes and half of them have horse racing odds of 10-1 or more as of Wednesday morning.
2023 Preakness Stakes Betting Preview
Red Route One 10/1
Red Route One is one of the most seasoned horses in the Preakness Stakes field. This will be his 10th race, and although he has not won a Grade Stakes race, his speed numbers have been impressive since the start of the year. Red Route One notched a 102 at the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes and the Bath House Row Stakes, winning the latter event last month. He finished with figures of 98 at his other two races, earning him a Place at the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes, but that led to a sixth-place finish at the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby.
There are real concerns for Red Route One at the Preakness Stakes though. He is a deep closer, and he may not have enough time to make up ground if he falls too far behind given this is the shortest race in the Triple Crown. Also, his speed figures in 2022 were subpar at best, so he must have his best performance yet if he is going to win The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans.
Perform 15/1
A win for Perform is hard to imagine considering this horse’s performances over the last nine months. It took Perform six races before he finally won his maiden, and he didn’t have a speed figure higher than 78 until that point. Perform posted an 89 speed figure at his maiden victory in March, and his owners decided to run him in the Preakness Stakes after an upset win at the Federico Tesio Stakes last month. In that race, Perform was in sixth place at the start of the backstretch, but he chased down the rest of the field in order to win the $75,000 prize for first place.
This is not a horse to back to win, but he could be an intriguing pick for exotics because of his closing speed. Keep that in mind on race day, even if the odds on Perform rise significantly.
CoffeewithChris 20/1
The most seasoned horse in the field is CoffeewithChris. This will be his 13th race over the last year, and he has three wins, three second-place finishes, and two first-place finishes to his name. CoffeewithChris has yet to take part in a Graded Stakes race though, and his top speed figure is 94. That has led to plenty of doubts about his ability to win this race on Saturday.
CoffeewithChris looked like another disappointing racehorse in 2022. He didn’t post a speed figure higher than 78 until he won the Heft Stakes, and that rejuvenated his career. However, it’s hard to have much faith in him considering he has not participated in a Graded Stakes race, and this is a big step up as a challenge. Additionally, CoffeewithChris did finish in fifth place at the Federico Tesio Stakes, and he was almost three lengths behind Perform.
Chase the Chaos 50/1
We don’t see a lot of geldings run in major races like the Preakness Stakes, but Chase the Chaos will be in the field this weekend and is worth a look if he is still 50-1 at post time. Chase the Chaos was disappointing at Santa Anita and Golden Gate in his last two races, but he also posted a 98 speed figure in February, proving he can run with the big boys. He would be the biggest longshot to ever win the Preakness Stakes, yet any horse with a 98 speed figure should be considered at these odds.
