2026 Preakness Stakes: Expert Picks and Predictions for Saturday’s Race at Laurel Park

2026 Preakness Stakes predictions, horses, odds, posts: Surprising picks from proven horse racing expert

Michelle Yu reveals her Preakness Stakes 2026 best bets for the annual Run for the Black-Eyed Susans on Saturday, May 16, at Laurel Park

By Daniel Kohn

May 16, 2026 at 9:18 am ET • 4 min read

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We will have to wait at least one more year for a Triple Crown winner to be crowned as Golden Tempo, fresh off a surprise comeback win at the Kentucky Derby, will not enter the starting gate for the 2026 Preakness Stakes this Saturday, May 16, at 6:50 p.m. ET. In fact, just three horses who ran at the Derby -- Incredibolt, Great White and Ocelli -- are slated to run at this year's Preakness, and all three figure to be top contenders at Laurel Park this weekend.

Iron Honor is the early favorite at 9-2 in the 2026 Preakness Stakes, with Chip Honcho, Incredibolt and Taj Mahal all close behind at 5-1. Ocelli is 6-1 after a strong Kentucky Derby performance, and Napoleon Solo is another top contender at 8-1. Before making any 2026 Preakness Stakes picks, you'll want to see the 2026 Preakness Stakes predictions from SportsLine's Michelle Yu .

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She started off 2025 by correctly going all-in on Citizen Bull to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, and she also predicted Forever Young's win in the Saudi Cup, Journalism's win in the San Felipe Stakes, Sandman's win in the Arkansas Derby and Mindframe's win in the Churchill Downs Stakes. She also hit the exacta in the 2025 Kentucky Derby. In August she hit the Fierceness-Journalism exacta in the Pacific Classic, and in March 2026 she nailed the Renegade-Silent Tactic-Taptastic trifecta in the Arkansas Derby.

Now, with the 2026 Preakness Stakes post positions set and odds on the board, Yu is sharing her  2026 Preakness Stakes betting  picks and 2026 Preakness Stakes predictions over at SportsLine.  You can head to SportsLine now to see them .

Top 2026 Preakness Stakes predictions

One surprise: Yu is really high on Taj Mahal this week, as the horse is 3 for 3 in his career at Laurel Park. At the Kentucky Derby, trainer Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to win the top race at Churchill Downs. Now Yu thinks another female trainer could be on the verge of making history in the Preakness. Brittany Russell is prepping Taj Mahal, and the colt has the resume to pull it off. That's why he is among the favorites at 5-1. All three of Taj Mahal's victories -- in fact, all of his races -- have come at Laurel Park, most recently the Federico Tesio Stakes, which he won by 8¼ lengths.

Taj Mahal "is certainly a horse for the course," said Yu, who has been impressed by his limited performances. "He isn't inching out these wins, he's winning going away." Taj Mahal got a bit of a bad break drawing the inside rail, but 12 horses have won the Preakness from that spot, and the horses just to the outside might not have the speed to squeeze him out. Yu thinks Russell could finally break her 0-for-32 run in graded stakes races on dirt and make history Saturday. "A woman won the Derby," she said, "maybe one wins the Preakness too?"  See which other 2026 Preakness Stakes horses to back at SportsLine .

Another one of Yu's surprising Preakness Stakes picks: She is not taking Iron Honor as her top win contender. Chad Brown's horse does own two impressive wins this year, but those came at 3/4 miles and 1 mile. Iron Honor finished seventh in the 1 1/8-mile Wood Memorial in his last appearance, and the Preakness is 1 3/16 miles.

"He really faltered when stretching out to nine furlongs," Yu said of Iron Honor. There are other horses catch Yu's eye compared to Iron Honor, who has yet to prove he can truly contend at this kind of distance.  See which other horses to fade at SportsLine .

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How to make 2026 Preakness Stakes picks

Instead, Yu's top pick is a horse who is in "super shape." She's also high on a massive double-digit longshot who is "sneaky."  She's sharing which 2026 Preakness Stakes horses to back at SportsLine .

So who wins the 2026 Preakness Stakes? What double-digit longshot is a must-back, and how has Yu constructed her wagers?  Visit SportsLine to see Yu's picks for the Preakness Stakes, all from the Santa Anita-based racing insider who has a long history of success in the Preakness Stakes , and find out.

2026 Preakness Stakes odds, post positions

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

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/general/news/2026-preakness-stakes-predictions-horses-odds-posts-surprising-picks-from-proven-horse-racing-expert/)._