Pimlico Race Course
Race 13
Saturday, May 20, 2023
2023 Preakness Stakes Picks
- Mage
- Perform
- National Treasure
Preakness Stakes Analysis
Mage meets a fresh new cast of runners in the 148th Preakness on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, and there doesn’t appear to be anything that can beat him.
The only horse from the Kentucky Derby to run in this year’s Preakness, Mage outran his seasoning in the Derby, and he could improve again in the Preakness. And even if he doesn’t, his rivals would have to improve dramatically to beat him.
With the late scratch of First Mission, the pace setup won’t be as good for Mage, and there is a slight chance someone could steal this race with a long lead and a slow pace, but that seems to be a poor bet compared to Mage’s chances.
National Treasure breaks from Post 1 and will likely try to steal the race for trainer Bob Baffert, who has won this race seven times. National Treasure comes into the Preakness off a fourth-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby, and while his minor trouble in that race was generally overrated, his performance was decent considering he was coming off a three-month layoff.
National Treasure was facing classier horses, apart from Mage, in the Santa Anita Derby, and he also gets blinkers on, which makes us think he’s going to the lead in here. Federico Tesio Stakes fifth-place finisher Coffeewithchris will likely try to go with National Treasure from the outside, but he dueled from the inside in the Tesio and gave up the ghost in the stretch, and National Treasurer is higher class speed.
Bet your Preakness Stakes predictions for FREE by scoring a 100% real cash bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $300 when you use bonus promo code PREDICT100 at MyBookie Sportsbook! This is a REAL cash bonus, not a crappy match play like most other bookies offer!
