Betting on the Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore set a record on Saturday when it jumped 11.3 percent compared to last year despite the defection of the Kentucky Derby winner, according to charts of the races.
The $67.26 million bet on the race was the highest since 2021, when the Preakness was won by newcomer Rombauer, with that year’s Derby winner, Medina Spirit, finishing third. In that year, the sporting world was transfixed by the drama surrounding Medina Spirit, who had tested positive for a regulated medication in the Derby but was allowed to run in the Preakness under special oversight. Medina Spirit was eventually stripped of his Derby title due to the infraction.
The massive jump in Preakness betting flew in the face of conventional wisdom due in large part to the decision by the connections of Derby winner Sovereignty to skip the Preakness to prepare for the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes. The lack of a Derby winner usually leads to less interest in the Preakness.
Last year’s Preakness had an eight-horse field, including Derby winner Mystik Dan, compared to nine horses this year. The 2021 race featuring Medina Spirit had 10 horses.
Journalism, the second-place finisher in this year’s Derby, went off at even money in the Preakness, yet betting in all the same-race pools for the Preakness was up double digits, with the exception of the straight pools, which were up 8.7 percent. Exacta betting jumped 15.4 percent, trifecta betting jumped 12.1 percent, and superfecta betting was up 15.2 percent, according to the charts.
In total, same-race betting for the Preakness was $56.12 million, compared to $50.28 million last year, a gain of 11.6 percent.
Betting was especially strong in many of the multi-race bets ending in the Preakness, with the pick three up 66.2 percent, the pick four up 31.4 percent, the pick five up 43.2 percent, and the $2.08 million pick six pool up 189.6 percent.
Total multi-race betting for the pools ending in the Preakness was $11.14 million, up 16.1 percent.
Weather at Pimlico was sunny and warm on Saturday, as it was throughout the Midwest and East Coast after strong storms moved through the areas on Friday. Good weather throughout the U.S. can often dampen simulcast handle for racing’s biggest events, another trend that was bucked on Saturday.
The strong handle totals are difficult to explain using traditional metrics, which would have predicted wagering numbers which would have been, at best, slightly higher than last year.
This spring, Netflix aired a six-episode documentary on racing that appeared on the service’s top 10 list for a week. One of the entrants in the Preakness, Sandman, who also ran in the Derby, has a highly popular social-media star, Griffin Johnson, as a fractional owner, and the horse’s win odds in both the Derby and Preakness were significantly lower than those assigned by professional handicappers.
Saturday’s mid-day sports line-up was barren of major events except for the PGA Championship. Most sports-wagering apps heavily promote the races in the Triple Crown, and the apps have increased dramatically in popularity over the past three years.
Wagering totals on this year’s Kentucky Derby also set a record at $222.6 million, a gain of 12.2 percent. The gain was mostly due to a 17.4 percent jump in win, place, and show bets on the race.
Total betting on the entire 14-race card at Pimlico on Saturday was $110.67 million, according to the charts, the second-highest of all time and up 11.1 percent over the total for the 14-race card last year. A total of 106 horses competed on this year’s Preakness card, compared to 107 last year and 125 during the record-setting year in 2021.
