Not since Bob Baffert in 2001 and 2002 has a trainer won back-to-back Preakness Stakes, a feat Chad Brown will attempt to achieve this year. He saddled Early Voting for last year’s win and will ride Blazing Stevens in the 2023 Preakness Stakes field. The horse is well-rested, having bypassed the Kentucky Derby despite qualifying. Blazing Stevens is 6-1, giving him the third-lowest 2023 Preakness Stakes odds. The 2023 Preakness Stakes post time is 7:01 p.m. ET on Saturday from Pimlico Race Course.
The only 2023 Preakness Stakes horses with shorter 2023 Preakness Stakes odds than Blazing Sevens are the favorite, Mage (8-5), and the Baffert-trained National Treasure (4-1). Before making any Preakness Stakes 2023 predictions, you’ll want to see elite horse racing handicapper Jody Demling’s 2023 Preakness Stakes picks and analysis.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling has called the Preakness winner nine times in the last 18 years, and nailed his 2022 Preakness exacta. Demling also enters the 2023 Preakness Stakes having nailed the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last five years, including an exacta in 2022 with Mo Donegal and Nest! He also called Flightline’s win at the Breeders’ Cup Classic last November.
Additionally, he has hit 10 of the last 15 Derby-Oaks doubles at Churchill Downs. That means he held a ticket with the winners of both races all but five times in the last 15 tries. Anyone who has followed him on these races is way up.
Now, with the 2023 Preakness Stakes approaching, Demling is sharing his picks and predictions over at SportsLine. Click here to see them.
2023 Preakness Stakes predictions for Mage, Blazing Sevens
One surprise: Demling is high on Blazing Sevens, despite the fact that he’s outside the top two favorites at 6-1. Trainer Chad Brown’s win last year came using a formula that’s also being utilized for Blazing Sevens. Early Voting qualified for last year’s Kentucky Derby, but bypassed the race for the Preakness, which he won. Blazing Sevens also bypassed this year’s Kentucky Derby and was pointed towards Preakness 148.
Outside of Brown, Blazing Sevens has connections and pedigree that are the envy of many. His jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr., has won the Eclipse Award as the nation’s top rider four times and is on his way to a fifth this year. Additionally, the horse was sired by Good Magic, the American champion two-year-old in 2017. Blazing Sevens has everything you’d want out of a longshot horse, so he’s a name to remember when laying down 2023 Preakness Stakes bets. See who else to back here.
Demling has also locked in his 2023 Kentucky Derby picks for Mage, the Kentucky Derby winner and 2023 Preakness Stakes favorite. The son of Good Magic by Big Brown mare Puca began his career as a three-year-old with a maiden win at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 28. He returned a month later to run fourth against a loaded Fountain of Youth Stakes field led by champion Forte.
Mage showed improvement in his next start at the Florida Derby, with Forte needing a surge in the final furlong to best Mage by a length. With Forte scratched at Churchill Downs, Mage continued to show improvement in a Kentucky Derby win in which he shook off a poor start to close impressively. However, he’d become only the third horse in history to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown after only three previous starts (Justify, Big Brown). See Demling’s shocking prediction for Mage here.
Kentucky Derby favorite Forte, who was scratched just hours before the race, will not race in the Preakness Stakes 2023. He was placed on the veterinarian’s list the day of the Kentucky Derby, and horses on that list are not allowed to enter upcoming races. Forte will be off the list in time for the Preakness 2023, but entry for the second jewel of the Triple Crown was on Monday, May 15.
Trainer Todd Pletcher originally told reporters he wanted clarification regarding his star horses’ status. Forte needs a workout and blood test to get off the veterinarian’s list, but none of that mattered following Monday’s 2023 Preakness Stakes post draw given he was not included in the field. The multiple Grade 1 winner galloped 1 3/8 miles at Churchill Downs two days after being scratched by KHRC veterinarians and could race in the future.
How to make 2023 Preakness Stakes picks, bets
Demling’s top pick is an overlooked horse who is “a star in the making.” He’s also locked in a shocking prediction for Mage, who’s coming off a monumental Kentucky Derby victory. He’s sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.
Who wins the Preakness Stakes 2023? Where do Mage, First Mission, National Treasure, and Red Route One finish? And which overlooked horse is a must-back? Check out the latest 2023 Preakness Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling’s picks for the 2023 Preakness Stakes, all from the expert who nailed 10 Derby-Oaks doubles and nine of the last 18 Preakness winners.
2023 Preakness Stakes horses, odds
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