Preakness Stakes 2026: Expert Picks for Iron Honor, Incredibolt, and Taj Mahal

Preakness Stake 2026 odds, posts, date: Iron Honor, Incredibolt, Taj Mahal predictions from racing expert

Jody Demling, who has called 11 Preakness winners, reveals his picks for 2026 Preakness Stakes horses such as Iron Honor, Taj Mahal and Incredibolt

By Daniel Lewis

May 15, 2026 at 5:30 pm ET • 4 min read

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The 2026 Preakness Stakes is over 24 hours away, set for Saturday, May 16 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md, as historic Pimlico Race Course finally gets its long-awaited upgrades. Post time is approximately 6:50 p.m. ET. Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo is skipping the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, meaning we will go another year without a Triple Crown winner. The last one was Justify in 2018.

The Preakness Stakes 2026 field is still strong, however. Gotham Stakes winner Iron Honor sits atop the 14-horse lineup as the 9-2 favorite, while Incredibolt, Chip Honcho, Taj Mahal and Ocelli are all within striking distance at 6-1 or better. 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 has also locked in his picks for Iron Honor, the 9-2 morning-line favorite. Chad Brown's Preakness horse finished a distant seventh at the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April, bogged down by traffic and post placement. His prior two races, he won them both, rolling the competition with speed figures that project very well for Preakness Stakes 2026. Demling believes in Brown, who is taking the blinkers off Iron Honor, and has taken similarly experienced horses to Preakness success.

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Demling has also evaluated the chances of Incredibolt, who is 5-1 on the morning line. He was sired by Bolt d'Oro, who won three G1 races but placed 12th in his lone Triple Crown race start. Incredibolt has a pair of wins, but also a pair of sixth-place finishes, over his last four starts as he's seeking consistency at Laurel Park. He finished sixth at the Kentucky Derby despite 23.70 final odds as he'll have to race on less than a four-week turnaround for the first time in his career.

The horse's trainer Riley Mott is making his Preakness Stakes debut, but jockey Jamie Torres has experienced nothing but success at this race. He has just one prior start, but it was a victory aboard Seize the Grey in 2024. Torres will try to get the most out of Incredibolt's top Equibase Speed Figure of 95, which is middle-of-the-pack of the 14-horse 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 latest 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

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/general/news/preakness-stake-2026-odds-posts-date-iron-honor-incredibolt-taj-mahal-predictions-from-racing-expert/)._