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Kentucky Derby champion Golden Tempo is not running in the 2026 Preakness Stakes. From a glance at the newest Preakness Stakes odds, a deep, competitive field could make this a very interesting Triple Crown race. The 151th running of the Preakness is Saturday, May 16 from Laurel Park in Maryland as regular Preakness host Pimlico Race Course is undergoing renovations.

Five horses are at 6-1 or shorter Preakness Stakes odds, including Iron Honor, the morning line favorite at 9-2. Chip Honcho and Taj Mahal are each listed at 5-1, with Ocelli, the surprising third-place finisher two weeks ago at Churchill Downs, at 6-1. 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 also has his predictions for the favorite, Iron Honor (9-2). Demling knows Iron Honor has a solid bloodline but has questions following his most recent race. The son of Nyquist, the 2016 Kentucky Derby champion, Iron Honor will look to improve upon his seventh-place finish at the dirt-fast 2026 Wood Memorial. Albus won that 1 1/8-mile event, followed by Right to Party and Ocelli, who is also set to run at the 2026 Preakness Stakes.

The Chad C. Brown-trained colt had won his first two races. He took first at the dirt-fast MSW at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, N.Y. Iron Honor followed that up with a first-place finish at the 2026 Gotham Stakes. Two of Brown’s horses have won the Preakness as Cloud Computing won it in 2017 and Early Voting in 2022.

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Demling has also evaluated the chances of Incredibolt, who is 5-1 on the morning line. The Steve Asmussen-trained entrant was sixth at the Kentucky Derby at 20-1 odds to qualify for the next leg of the Triple Crown. In the last four races, Incredibolt finished sixth in two of them, but won the other two. He got stuck in Derby traffic in the massive field but still battled from 14th to sixth. A cleaner race could be expected here with four fewer horses in the projected field. 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 newest 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

Post Horse  Odds Projection
1 Taj Mahal 5-1 SEE PICKS
2 Ocelli 6-1 SEE PICKS
3 Crupper 30-1 SEE PICKS
4 Robusta 30-1 SEE PICKS
5 Talkin 20-1 SEE PICKS
6 Chip Honcho 5-1 SEE PICKS
7 The Hell We Did 15-1 SEE PICKS
8 Bull By The Horns 30-1 SEE PICKS
9 Iron Honor 9-2 SEE PICKS
10 Napoleon Solo 8-1 SEE PICKS
11 Corono De Oro 30-1 SEE PICKS
12 Incredibolt 5-1 SEE PICKS
13 Great White 15-1 SEE PICKS
14 Pretty Boy Miah 15-1 SEE PICKS