Early 2021 Preakness Stakes Betting Odds

The early odds for the $1 million Preakness Stakes (G1) were released with Derby winner Medina Spirit the early favorite (Photo credit: Maryland Jockey Club).

The Bob Baffert trained Medina Spirit opened up as the early betting favorite for the $1 million Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico on Saturday, May 15.

In early Preakness betting odds released by BUSR today the Kentucky Derby winner opened up as the 4-1 betting favorite for the second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown.

The colt took the Kentucky Derby field gate to wire to pull off an upset at 12-1 with Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in the irons. It gave Baffert a record setting seventh Derby win and now he tries to break the tie for most Preakness winners by   trainer. He is currently tied at seven with R. Wyndham Walden.

All of Baffert’s Preakness winners competed in the Run for the Roses including American Pharoah and Justify who went on to win the Triple Crown.  Baffert ran second in last year’s race with Authentic.

Concert Tour Second Choice

The current second choice in early Preakness wagering at BUSR is the Baffert trained Concert Tour at 5-1. The colt is owned by Gary and Mary West and was third in the Arkansas Derby (G1) in his last outing on April 10. The colt earned enough points to race in the Derby with his win in the Rebel (G2) on March 13, but the connections elected to skip the Kentucky Derby.

“I’ll sit down and talk to Mr. West,” Baffert said. “He wants that horse to develop and not to get in a rush. We know he’s a really good horse. We’ll see how he is next week.”

Essential Quality is the third choice for the Preakness at 6-1. The colt was the beaten favorite in the Kentucky Derby where he checked in fourth for trainer Brad Cox. His stablemate Mandaloun bounced back off a sixth-place finish in the Louisiana Derby (G2) to run a game second in the Kentucky Derby at odds of 26-1. The colt is currently listed at 9-1 in early Preakness betting at BUSR.

Not including last year’s race which was held in the fall, nine of the last 10 Preakness winners competed in the Derby. Going back 34 years every Preakness winner with the exception of Red Bullet (2000), Bernardini (2006) and Cloud Computing (2017) competed in the Derby. (Last year’s winner Swiss Skydiver competed in the Kentucky Oaks).

Hot Rod Charlie at 7-1 and O Besos at 10-1 are the other runners exiting the Run for the Roses who may wheel back and run in the Preakness.

After Concert Tour the newcomer with the next lowest odds is the Cox trained Caddo River at 12-1. The colt was being pointed toward the Kentucky Derby but spiked a fever and was not entered.

The colt was the runner up in the Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park in his last outing. The winner of the Arkansas Derby was Super Stock who ran 16^th in the Kentucky Derby.

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Early 2021 Preakness Stakes Betting Odds via BUSR: