The 2022 Preakness Stakes is set for Saturday on NBC with a post time of 7:01 p.m. Eastern Time. Kentucky Derby runner-up Epicenter is listed as the 6-5 favorite on the morning line with Early Voting second in Preakness odds at 7-2. Also listed at single-digit odds are Secret Oath at 9-2 and Simplification at odds of 6-1. The Preakness will not include Kentucky Derby longshot winner Rich Strike who is being pointed to the Belmont Stakes next month. The Kentucky Derby had an 80-1 longshot winner, so big prices are possible in horse racing. Let’s see if there are any Preakness longshots worth considering.
2022 Preakness Stakes Field
| POST | HORSE | ODDS | TRAINER | JOCKEY |
| 1 | Simplification | 6-1 | Antonio Sano | John Velázquez |
| 2 | Creative Minister | 10-1 | Kenny McPeek | Brian Hernandez Jr. |
| 3 | Fenwick | 50-1 | Kevin McKathan | Florent Géroux |
| 4 | Secret Oath | 9-2 | D. Wayne Lukas | Luis Sáez |
| 5 | Early Voting | 7-2 | Chad Brown | José Ortiz |
| 6 | Happy Jack | 30-1 | Doug O'Neill | Tyler Gaffalione |
| 7 | Armagnac | 12-1 | Tim Yakteen | Irad Ortiz Jr. |
| 8 | Epicenter | 6-5 | Steve Asmussen | Joel Rosario |
| 9 | Skippylongstocking | 20-1 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | Júnior Alvarado |
2022 Preakness Stakes
The Preakness on Saturday has a field of nine horses with five of the nine horses listed at double-digit odds. Unfortunately for longshot bettors, none of the horses look that appealing. When we wrote up the longshot article for the Kentucky Derby the ultimate winner, Rich Strike was not even in the field, as he made the field on Friday after a late scratch. The win by Rich Strike was totally unexpected and very few people even considered the horse. The Derby probably should have been won by Epicenter, but the horse never really saw Rich Strike coming down the stretch until it was too late.
Epicenter is trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Joel Rosario. There is no doubt that Epicenter is the best horse in the Preakness field and he should have won the Derby.
Whether Rosario could have done something different is the question. It shouldn’t come down to Rosario making a bad decision in the Preakness, but stranger things have happened.
Early Voting has only three starts but he is going to be taken to the lead and he might just run away with Saturday’s race. He has already won wire-to-wire, as he won the Withers.
There is a lot to like about Early Voting and he is a real threat to Epicenter.
Secret Oath is trained by D. Wayne Lukas so you know that people are going to bet the horse. The horse is a filly and she did win the Kentucky Oaks, but she is not a great horse. She is a good horse, but good fillies don’t generally win Triple Crown races, great fillies do.
Simplification won the Fountain of Youth and was third in the Florida Derby. He finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby. He starts from the rail and unlike the Kentucky Derby, horses on the rail can win the Preakness.
Preakness Longshots
Creative Minister is coming off a very impressive Allowance win on the Kentucky Derby undercard. He is the son of Creative Cause who placed in the 2012 Preakness and his grandsire is Tapit. The horse might be the most attractive of the Preakness longshots.
Armagnac is trained by Tim Yakteen who is training Bob Baffert horses. The horse was no real threat in the Santa Anita Derby but he did win an Allowance race at Churchill Downs on May 8.
Skippylongstocking was third in the Wood and that is his best finish in three stakes races. He has won just two of nine starts and probably isn’t a threat.
Happy Jack was a poor 14th in the Derby and he was a well beaten third in the Santa Anita Derby. He could improve in the Preakness, but is still a longshot.
Fenwick is the son of Curlin who won the 2007 Preakness. The horse was last in the Blue Grass and doesn’t look like a threat.
Preakness Longshot Picks
Let me begin by saying that I think Epicenter or Early Voting will win this race. That being said, there are at least two longshots worth looking at. I know that the Preakness is almost always won by horses coming out of the Derby, but Creative Minister raced on the Derby undercard and looked good. It is a big step up in competition, but he at least has an outside chance. Happy Jack is the other horse worth a look. He is being totally ignored and he is going to run much better than he did in the Derby.
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