Preakness Stakes Betting in the US

‘The Run for the Black Eyed Susans’ is the middle leg of the US Triple Crown and Preakness Stakes betting in the US is growing in popularity with every passing year.

In our Preakness Stakes betting guide we’ll point you in the direction of the best Preakness Stakes betting sites. Our experts also reveal where you can find the best bonuses, promotions and betting apps.

Best Preakness Stakes Betting Sites in 2025

#	Sportsbook	Bonus
1.	TVG	200 $ BONUS Up to $200 risk free bet	Play
2.	FanDuel Racing	50 $ BONUS Matched deposit up to $50	Play	Live Streaming. Cash Out.
3.	TwinSpires	200 $ BONUS $200 free bet	Play
4.	Xpressbet	100 $ BONUS Bet $500 and get $100 bonus	Play	Live Streaming. Sports Stats.

Top Preakness Stakes Betting Sites by Category

When we were compiling our list of the best Preakness Stakes betting sites in 2022 we used a number of different parameters to help separate the wheat from the chaff. The key elements to consider include bonuses, apps, range of wagers, live streaming and Preakness Stakes odds.

No one Preakness Stakes betting site ticks every single box so it is up to bettors to decide what is most important to them. To save you some time, you can get a rough idea of which sites are strongest in certain areas in the table below.

Best Preakness Stakes racebooks by category

Best odds	Caesars Sportsbook
Best bonuses	TVG
Best app	TwinSpires
Best range of racing bets	TVG
Best for live streaming	TVG

Preakness Betting Sites to Avoid

While there are plenty of Preakness betting sites that can be trusted, there are also a few that should be treated with caution. The sites we recommend are legal, licensed and fully above board but there are some Preakness Stakes betting sites to avoid out there.

Preakness Stakes racebooks to avoid

Illegal in the US

No payout guarantee

Too many restrictions

Illegal in the US

Predatory terms and conditions

Limited payment options

Illegal in the US

Vague bonus terms

Limited payment options

How to Pick the Best Preakness Stakes Betting Sites

How to pick the best Preakness betting sites is a frequently asked question and there are a few basic things that you need to watch out for when making your decision.

Licensing details, Preakness Stakes betting app quality, range of available bet types and payment methods are just some of the elements that go into making a top notch Preakness betting site. Find out what exactly to look out for below:

Licenses

Safety and security should always be a top priority and this is why you need to find out whether the site is fully licensed in your state.
Mobile apps

Mobile bettors should check if the mobile app is compatible with their device. Most sites have Preakness Stakes betting apps for iOS and Android devices.
Selection of racing bets

The bigger selection of Preakness Stakes bets that are available, the better. The more markets you can choose from, the greater your chance of placing a winning wager.
Odds

For a lot of bettors, finding the best Preakness Stakes odds is the top priority. It is the only way to ensure you get maximum returns from winning bets so shop around.
Preakness Stakes betting bonuses

Many horse racing betting sites will have bonuses and promotions for the Preakness Stakes. Look out for any that may apply to your big race bet (e.g. Exacta Insurance/Money back for 2nd).
Payment methods

Always find out what payment methods are accepted at Preakness Stakes betting sites. You won’t be able to make deposits or withdrawals unless the payment method you use is accepted.

How to Bet on the Preakness Stakes

Is it difficult to bet on the Preakness Stakes? No, thankfully it is really easy. The toughest part is picking which Preakness Stakes betting site is best for you. Once that task is complete, follow the steps below to start betting on the Preakness Stakes.

Find a legal US Preakness betting site

The first step is choosing a Preakness Stakes betting site and you won’t find any better than the ones recommended on this page.

Click through and register with your chosen Preakness Stakes betting site. Don’t forget to opt in to any available welcome offers or promotions.

Make your first deposit

After registering, click on the ‘Deposit’ button, choose a payment method and lodge money into your account.

Pick the Preakness Stakes from the list of available events

Navigate to the Preakness Stakes betting page and there you’ll see the range of available markets.

Choose a Preakness betting market

Find the single or exotic wager/market that you want and click on the odds to open a betslip.

Enter your stake

On the betslip there will be a box where the stake amount is entered.

Confirm the bet

Once you enter your stake, hit the place bet or confirm bet button and it is job done.

Types of Preakness Stakes Bets

One of the keys to success when betting on the Preakness Stakes is choosing the best type of horse racing bet for the race. In some races, single Preakness bets like win/show/place are the way to go, while in races with smaller fields it can often pay to take a chance on an exotic wager.

For example, if you are going to bet Preakness Stakes favorites, then a win bet is the way to go. If you plan to bet Preakness Stakes long shots, then you are better off going with a place or show bet.

In the table below we outline briefly how each of the different types of Preakness Stakes bets work.

Win/place/show

A win bet is a wager placed on a horse to win the race. A place bet will have smaller odds but your horse only needs to finish in the first two. A show bet requires a top three finish.
Exacta

This is an exotic single bet that requires bettors to pick the first two finishers in the ‘exact’ order.
Quinella

Very similar to an exacta. Pick the first two home in any order. A good Preakness Stakes bet to place as field sizes are limited to 14 horses or less.
Trifecta

A trifecta works very similarly to an exacta but instead of predicting the 1-2, bettors must predict the 1-2-3 in the correct finishing order.
Superfecta

This Preakness Stakes bet is best suited to races with less than 11 runners. It is a single bet and to win the 1-2-3-4 must be picked in the exact order.
Box bet

This is a multiple exotic that is an option when placing trifectas or superfectas. It requires punters to pick the 1-2-3 or 1-2-3-4 and you’ll win no matter what their finishing order is.
Wheel betting

This is another multiple exotic bet suited to when you strongly fancy a horse to win the Preakness Stakes. The winner must be selected and then you can include as many horses as you want to finish in the places in any order.

Preakness Stakes Betting Bonuses and Promotions

The Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes and the Preakness Stakes are the three legs of the US Triple Crown and betting sites always have betting offers and promos for each race. It is always worth taking full advantage of any available Preakness Stakes betting bonuses and promotions if possible.

For example, TVG have had Preakness Stakes risk free bet offers in the past while Xpressbet ran a money back special for the race. It is well worth looking for exotic promos like trifecta insurance or win bonuses if those are the bet types you are planning to place.

#	Sportsbook	Bonus
1.	TVG	200 $ BONUS Up to $200 risk free bet	Play
2.	TwinSpires	200 $ BONUS $200 free bet	Play
3.	Xpressbet	100 $ BONUS Bet $500 and get $100 bonus	Play	Live Streaming. Sports Stats.

Preakness Betting Apps

The latest stats indicate that nearly 300 million Americans use their mobile devices to browse the internet. That is a hell of a lot of potential customers and betting sites are well aware that their needs must be catered for with well designed Preakness Stakes betting apps.

If your device uses an iOS or Android platform, most mobile betting apps are specifically designed to work with those operating systems. Users of other platforms can bet on the Preakness Stakes via their mobile browsers.

What makes a quality Preakness Stakes betting app? Well, we like to see bespoke apps for iOS or Android that are well designed, easy to use and that operate smoothly. If Preakness Stakes live streaming is available, even better!

Best Preakness Stakes betting apps

Best for Android	TwinSpires
Best for iOS	FanDuel Racing
Best bonuses	TVG
Easiest to use	Xpressbet
Highest odds	Caesars Sportsbook

Preakness Betting Tips and Strategy

Choosing a betting site, signing up and making a deposit is easy. Finding winning Preakness Stakes bets is a little bit more difficult. Don’t fret though, because if you are looking for inspiration our horse racing experts have got your back with some top quality Preakness betting tips and strategies.

Racing is always unpredictable so we can’t guarantee that the following advice will help you find the Preakness Stakes winner. However, once you stick to the main principles your chances of sneaking a profit will rise considerably.

Kentucky Derby Form – The Preakness is the middle leg of the Triple Crown so make sure to watch the Kentucky Derby very closely. The Preakness Stakes is half a furlong shorter so look out for horses that showed good early speed at Churchill Downs but didn’t quite get home.
Don’t just bet Preakness Favorites – Many bettors make the mistake of just focusing on the favorites in the Preakness Stakes. As you can see in our Preakness Stakes results table, only five favorites have won since 2007. Don’t be afraid to bet Preakness Stakes outsiders, especially if they have decent form.
Track Condition Key – In days gone by, the Preakness Stakes was more often than not run on fast dirt. However, in 2015, 2016 and 2018 it rained and the track turned sloppy. Some horses relish it when it rains so keep a close eye on the weather forecast to see if it is going to rain. When it is sloppy, the chance of a surprise result increases.
Odds Are Everything – Placing winning wagers on the Preakness Stakes isn’t easy so when you do land a winning bet, make sure returns are maximized by securing the best odds wherever possible. The difference between 5/6 and 10/11 might seem small but in the long run if you took the shorter odds every time, you’d end up nearly 7% worse off than if you took the best odds.
Exotics Can Hit – The maximum field size for the Preakness Stakes is 14 but quite often only 10 or 11 horses run in the race (20 can run in the Kentucky Derby). This makes it a lot easier to narrow the field and it also means that landing a nice exotic bet like a quinella or a trifecta is a realistic possibility. Don’t be afraid to include long shots, especially if the track at Pimlico is sloppy.

Is Preakness Betting Online Legal in the US?

Preakness online betting is now legal in almost 40 states and that number is set to grow. Since online horse betting was legalized federally, more states are starting to introduce legislation and issue online Preakness betting licenses.

Some states do have restrictions. For example, some only allow betting on certain tracks and others might only permit betting on domestic races. In the table below you can see where online horse racing betting on the Preakness Stakes is currently legal, we’ll update it as more are added.

Alabama	Idaho	Maryland	New York	Tennessee
Arizona	Illinois	Massachusetts	North Dakota	Vermont
Arkansas	Indiana	Michigan	Ohio	Virginia
California	Iowa	Minnesota	Oklahoma	Washington
Colorado	Kansas	Montana	Oregon	West Virginia
Connecticut	Kentucky	New Hampshire	Pennsylvania	Wisconsin
Delaware	Louisiana	New Jersey	Rhode Island	Wyoming
Florida	Maine	New Mexico	South Dakota

Preakness Stakes History and Records

Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Maryland has been the home of the Preakness Stakes since it was first run in 1873. The race is known as ‘The Run for the Black Eyed Susans’ as a blanket made up from the state flower is draped over the back of the winning horse.

It is the second most attended race in the US and in 2017 over 140,000 people watched the Preakness Stakes live. The purse for the race is $1 million with over $500k going to winning connections. With a trip of 9.5 furlongs, it is the shortest of the three Triple Crown races.

Controversial trainer Bob Baffert won the race for a record 7th time in 2018 with Triple Crown hero Justify. Only six fillies have ever won the Preakness Stakes, the last being Swiss Skydiver in 2020. The winning most Preakness Stakes jockey is Eddie Arcaro who was triumphant six times between 1941 and 1957. To learn more details about this race, have a look at the Preakness Stakes website.

Preakness Stakes race info

Distance	1 mile 1.5 furlongs
Surface	Dirt
Venue	Pimlico Racecourse
Type	Flat Thoroughbred

Qualifying horses	3-year-old horses only
Established in	1873
Location	Baltimore, Maryland
Best betting site	Caesars Sportsbook

Previous Winners

Year	Winner	Odds
2021	Rombauer	118/10
2020	Swiss Skydiver	117/10
2019	War Of Will	61/10
2018	Justify	2/5 fav
2017	Cloud Computing	134/10
2016	Exaggerator	13/5
2015	American Pharoah	9/10 fav
2014	California Chrome	1/2 fav
2013	Oxbow	154/10
2012	I’ll Have Another	16/5
2011	Shackleford	126/10
2010	Lookin at Lucky	12/5
2009	Rachel Alexandra	9/5 fav
2008	Big Brown	1/5 fav
2007	Curlin	17/5

Conclusion

Although it may not have the same lofty reputation as the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes is a huge race in its own right and it is always worth having a bet on. It is very important to choose the best Preakness Stakes betting site to ensure that betting on the race is an enjoyable experience.

There wasn’t much between the betting sites mentioned on this page when it comes to betting on the Preakness Stakes. The old reliables TVG and TwinSpires are both good choices but you should also give Xpressbet, Caesars Sportsbook and BetAmerica a try. They all have different strengths, just choose the one that suits you best.

FAQs

How do I bet on the Preakness Stakes?

Just follow these five simple steps to bet on the Preakness Stakes: Choose a Preakness Stakes betting site, register, make a deposit, choose your wager and then hit the confirm bet button. It really is as easy as that.

Is betting on the Preakness Stakes legal in the US?

It is now legal to bet online on the Preakness Stakes in a majority of US states. At the moment, online horse betting is legal in 39 states but more are due to come on board in the coming months and years.

What is the best Preakness Stakes betting site?

If you are looking for the best Preakness Stakes betting sites, the ones we recommend on this page are about as good as it gets. Caesars Sportsbook, TwinSpires and BetAmerica are all worth a second look while Xpressbet is another site that has plenty of positive aspect, including some tasty Preakness Stakes betting promotions.

What is the best Preakness Stakes betting app?

We didn’t find any major flaws when we tried out the Preakness Stakes betting apps provided by our recommended racing sportsbooks. If we had to pick two, the BetAmerica and TVG apps are both high quality.

How to win a bet on the Preakness Stakes?

To give yourself the best chance of placing a winning bet on the Preakness Stakes stick to singles like win, place and show wagers. Make sure you study the form, especially the Kentucky Derby. Don’t be afraid to try exotic bets too as they give you the chance to win big for relatively small stakes.

Before taking on USbetting.org, Oliver was a sports journalist and an avid bettor himself, with soccer and football being his favorite sports. His guilty pleasure are free bets with high minimum qualifying odds. He prefers in-play over pre-match betting, and he always has a bet tip on his mind. Poke him long enough and he will share it with you.