PGA Championship Picks
May 16, 2023
Missouri Flops Again
May 17, 2023
Mage will look to become the 14th horse to win the Triple Crown in the next few weeks after topping the field at the Kentucky Derby on May 6, 2023. The horse ridden by the legendary jockey Javier Castellano had a great run at Churchill Downs a few weeks ago, moving from 14th place at the ¾ mile mark to win the Kentucky Derby by a full length over Two Phil’s. He will face an entirely new group of horses this time around though as Mage is the only horse that took part in the Kentucky Derby that will be in the eight-horse field at Pimlico Race Course for the 148th Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 20, 2023.
2023 Preakness Stakes Betting Preview
Mage 8/5
Four-time Outstanding Jockey Eclipse Award winner Javier Castellano had won more than 5,500 races in his professional career, but he never won the Kentucky Derby until two weeks ago. Castellano is now looking to lead Mage to the Second Jewel in the Triple Crown, and he has had a good deal of success at the Preakness Stakes. He won the 2006 Preakness Stakes atop Bernardini, and he had an excellent run on Cloud Computing to win the 2017 Preakness Stakes despite being a sizeable underdog by the horse racing odds.
Mage will be the favorite at the 2023 Preakness Stakes, and he should see enough action to move his odds closer to even money as the week progresses. However, there is reason to be skeptical about his chances. He is the only horse that ran at Churchill Downs two weeks ago, and his Kentucky Derby win was his first victory at a Graded Stakes race. Additionally, Mage has yet to post a speed figure higher than 104, and he finished fourth at the Fountain of Youth Stakes and was the runner-up at the Florida Derby.
First Mission 5/2
The aptly named First Mission will be taking part in just his second Graded Stakes race this Saturday. First Mission needed two attempts to win his maiden earlier this year, and that led to him only taking part in the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes in the spring. He stayed with the main pack and had enough juice to surpass Arabian Lion at the end and posted a speed figure of 103 as the favorite coming into the race.
This is the right kind of race for First Mission as he is a stalker that would not have thrived in a big field like the Kentucky Derby. He has the speed to hang close for a while, and jockey Luis Saez likely does not have to worry about holding anything back for the Belmont Stakes in a few weeks. The big question with First Mission is experience, and that’s why it’s a pass on him at this price.
National Treasure 4/1
Bob Baffert is tied with R. Wyndham Walden as the all-time winningest trainer at the Preakness Stakes. Baffert has led seven horses to wins at the Preakness Stakes with Justify being the most recent winner back in 2018. His only horse at this year’s event is National Treasure, and the 70-year-old would love to break the tie with Walden this year.
National Treasure has not won a Graded Stakes race in his career. However, he has been very consistent over the last six months. He was runner-up at the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes last October, and he hit the board with a Show at the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile the following month. Some of the luster has worn off him after a disappointing third-place finish at the Grade 3 Sham Stakes despite being a heavy favorite per the horse racing track odds, and he finished fourth at the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby last month. However, his speed figures have only gotten better as he has moved from a 99 to a 101, so National Treasure is worth considering in your trifecta boxes.
Blazing Sevens 6/1
This horse has been hit or miss since last September. Blazing Sevens has taken part in five Graded Stakes races (four of which were Grade 1), and he has hit the board three times with a win at the Champagne Stakes last October. However, he had a speed figure of 72 in a third-place finish at the Hopeful Stakes and has only run in the high 90s twice. Both of those runs came last year, and he was a disappointment this year at both the Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. That makes this horse one to avoid even though Irad Ortiz Jr. is set to be the jockey.
