Joel Rosario will be aiming for an elusive win when he races Red Route One at the 2023 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday. Rosario, winner of the 2021 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey, won the 2013 Kentucky Derby with Orb and has since had two Belmont Stakes wins but has yet to find the winning circle at Preakness. Rosario, 38, has finished second in the race four times, most recently last year with Epicenter. Red Route One is 10-1 behind the 2023 Preakness Stakes horses, while Kentucky Derby winner Mage is the 8-5 favorite at the 2023 Preakness Stakes odds. National Treasure (4-1) and Blazing Sevens (6-1) round out the top four in the seven-man field for the 2023 Preakness Stakes.
The release time is 7:01 PM ET. With several new horses poised for a shot at the Kentucky Derby winner, be sure to see what SportsLine writer Gene Menez has to say before making your selection for the 2023 Preakness Stakes.
A former reporter and editor at Sports Illustrated, Menez covered a range of sports, including horse racing, for the magazine and its website for nearly 14 years. Between 2010 and 2012 he served as the SI handicapper for the Triple Crown races and correctly predicted that Super Saver would win the Kentucky Derby in 2010. In 2015, while writing for Sports on Earth, Menez accurately awarded the Kentucky Derby superfecta (American Pharoah, Firing Line, Dortmund and Frosted) who paid $1,268.20 for $2. Then, in 2017, he tweeted his Kentucky Derby tips, including Always Dreaming to win, and made pick 4, which netted almost $6,900 on a $1 bet.
On December 26, Menez made the pick 5 at Santa Anita Park. In seven races he won the Lecomte Stakes winner, the Southwest Stakes exacta, the Holy Bull Stakes winner, the Sam F. Davis Stakes winner, the Rebel Stakes place horse and… the trifecta in the Jenny Wiley Stakes. Anyone who followed his example is way up.
Now he’s compiled the 2023 Preakness Stakes lineup, made his selections and constructed his bets. You can only see them here.
Top expert predictions for the Preakness Stakes 2023
A surprise: Menez trails Mage despite being the Kentucky Derby winner and 8-5 Preakness favorite. Mage won his first career race in January, but started poorly in his next two starts, finishing fourth and second. He got off to a slow start again at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Derby but rallied and won “The Run for the Roses” by a wide margin.
Given his initial difficulties, Menez is not confident about Mage’s chances of winning the Triple Crown second leg. “Assuming his scoring problems continue to be an issue, he’ll probably have to chase two main rivals who are more rested and have a more favorable pace scenario than the Derby champion,” he told SportsLine. Menez uses Mage sparingly in his 2023 Preakness Stakes bets. See which horses of the 2023 Preakness Stakes he is supporting at SportsLine.
How to place bets on the Preakness Stakes 2023
Instead, Menez’s first choice is a horse that is “sitting in a big race.” He’s also high on another horse who has “a great chance” of getting through for his supporters at Pimlico. He reveals which Preakness horses should only be supported at SportsLine in 2023.
So who will win the 2023 Preakness Stakes? Which horse is a must and how did Menez set up his bets? Check out the latest 2023 Preakness Stakes odds below, then head over to SportsLine to see Menez’s Preakness Stakes picks, all from the expert smashing prep races.