2019 Preakness Stakes Betting Preview: Which Longshots Have a Hope?

If we thought the 145th Kentucky Derby was wide open, I don't know what the term is to describe this year's Preakness Stakes, which will be without Kentucky Derby winner Country House.

The post time for the Preakness Stakes is 6:48 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 18, with coverage beginning on NBC at 5 p.m. ET.

2019 Preakness Stakes Odds

No. 1: War of Will (4-1)
No. 2: Bourbon War (12-1)
No. 3: Warrior’s Charge (12-1)
No. 4: Improbable (5-2)
No. 5: Owendale (10-1)
No. 6: Market King (30-1)
No. 7: Alwaysmining (8-1)
No. 8: Signalman (30-1)
No. 9: Bodexpress (20-1)
No. 10: Everfast (50-1)
No. 11: Laughing Fox (20-1)
No. 12: Anothertwistafate (6-1)
No. 13: Win Win Win (15-1)

No. 4 Improbable will be the favorite for the Preakness. He is trained by the legendary Bob Baffert and his jockey, Mike Smith, is a Hall of Famer. He is also the most well known horse in this field. Having said that, I don't know that he likes the classic distances and is certainly a beatable favorite. Let's see if we can find a horse or two that can topple Baffert's best pony.

Lots of people will be looking at No. 1 War of Will, who is the horse that was disrupted by Maximum Security in the Kentucky Derby. Even though I think War of Will is a solid horse, he has too much to prove and again has drawn the dreaded first post position. This is a talented horse with great connections, but he has a lot to overcome.

There's been some buzz surrounding No. 12 Anothertwistafate. I will be playing this horse in some exotics, but don't think 6-1 is enough value for an outright bet here.

The big price I'm hunting for is with No. 2 Bourbon War (12-1). He finished fourth and second, respectively, in his last major prep races at Gulfstream but was positioned too far back in those runs. His trainer Mark Hennig will add blinkers for this race to help him stay closer to the pace. His jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr., is one of the best young riders in the country so he will have this horse positioned where it needs to be.

Bourbon War has the best closing figures of any horse in this field, has competed against the best of this 3-year-old crop and with no dominant horse to contend with, the win very well could be there for the taking.