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2026 Preakness Stakes odds: Expert picks for Iron Honor, Taj Mahal, Incredibolt, more
Post positions for the 2026 Preakness Stakes have been drawn, and several familiar faces from the Kentucky Derby will return for the second leg. Ocelli, who ran a big third in the Run for the Roses, leads the Derby contingent, joined by Incredibolt and Robusta. Meanwhile, surprise Derby champion Golden Tempo is taking a pass on this race, skipping the Preakness to prep for the Belmont Stakes.
The 151st Preakness is scheduled for 6:50 p.m. ET on Saturday at Laurel Park, about 30 miles south of usual spot, Pimlico Race Course. Iron Honor is the favorite at 9-2 in the 2026 Preakness Stakes odds, but nine of the 14 horses in the field are at 15-1 or lower odds. Before making any 2026 Preakness Stakes picks, be sure to see the 2026 Preakness Stakes predictions and best bets from SportsLine’s elite horse racing expert Jody Demling.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling hit the top three finishers in the 2025 Kentucky Derby in the correct order. He also called 11 of the last 21 Preakness winners, including 2023, when he hit the winner, exacta, trifecta and superfecta. He hit the trifecta in the 2024 Preakness Stakes and nailed Journalism as the 2025 Preakness winner. Anyone who has followed him on horse racing betting sites could be way up.
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Now, with the 2026 Preakness Stakes horses finalized, Demling is sharing his 2026 Preakness Stakes betting picks and 2026 Preakness Stakes predictions over at SportsLine. Go to SportsLine to see them.
Top 2026 Preakness Stakes picks for Taj Mahal, Incredibolt, Iron Honor
One of Demling’s surprising 2026 Preakness Stakes picks: He has Taj Mahal outside the top 5 on his projected leaderboard despite him being tied with Chip Honcho and Incredibolt for the second-lowest odds at 5-1. He’s a perfect 3-for-3 in his career, with all his wins coming at Laurel Park. That comfort level around this track is a big factor in why he’s among the favorites. Level of competition, however, is a question mark since he hasn’t faced the caliber of horses that many who were on the Derby trail have, so Demling does not have him as a top-3 pick in his early Preakness predictions.
Demling has also locked in his picks for Iron Honor, the 9-2 morning-line favorite. Chad Brown’s Preakness horse finished a distant seventh at the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April, bogged down by traffic and post placement. His prior two races, he won them both, rolling the competition with speed figures that project very well for Preakness Stakes 2026. Demling believes in Brown, who is taking the blinkers off Iron Honor, and has taken similarly experienced horses to Preakness success.
Demling has also evaluated the chances of Incredibolt, who is 5-1 on the morning line. Incredibolt raced strong at the Kentucky Derby, finishing four lengths behind and in sixth. In six career races, Incredibolt has won three of them.
Trainer Riley Mott was happy with the Derby run and it sets up for a productive ride at the Preakness Stakes. That’s a factor Demling takes into consideration. “I love a horse on a turnback as well as one bouncing out of the Derby,” Demling writes at SportsLine. “There’s good juju here.” See what horses Demling is backing at SportsLine.
How to make 2026 Preakness Stakes predictions, bets
Demling is also especially high on an epic double-digit longshot “with a chance” to win it all. Anyone who backs this sleeper pick could hit it big. Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected 2026 Preakness Stakes leaderboard, over at SportsLine.
Which horse wins the Preakness Stakes 2026, and which stunning longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2026 Preakness Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling’s picks for the Preakness Stakes, all from the expert who has nailed the last three winners.
2026 Preakness Stakes odds
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