Preakness Stakes 2024 Predictions: Mystik Dan Continues His Triple Crown Quest

Preakness Stakes 2024 Odds

Odds provided by Author Brian Zipse.

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My Top 3 Picks to Win the Preakness Stakes

Catching Freedom

Although he was outfinished down the Churchill Downs’ stretch by Sierra Leone and Forever Young, this son of Constitution turned in a very solid overall effort in the Kentucky Derby. Rallying on the inside, he was beaten less than two lengths on the wire by Mystik Dan. This time around, the consistent colt is the top late runner in the Preakness field.

Experienced at the distance, having impressively won the Louisiana Derby at the same 1 3/16-mile trip as the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Brad Cox-trainee has not failed to fire in four stakes races so far this year. In both of his 2024 losses, he ran well and was not badly beaten by top horses.

Given that there are a number of speed type horses in this nine-horse field, I believe Catching Freedom will have every opportunity to come running late, and without all the traffic of the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field. He also offers excellent value in this race as the likely third choice. This should be a great spot for him to run his race. He is the top pick.

Bet on Catching Freedom at FanDuel Racing 

Mystik Dan

One of my top two longshots for the Kentucky Derby, this Kenny McPeek-trained runner rode the rail at Churchill Downs to win the big race at odds of 18/1. Can the son of Goldencents do it again on Saturday? The answer is yes, he can, but I like the talented colt only second best in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

He’s won three of his seven career starts to date, and in each of his three wins, he ran a big race. A performance like those would again put him in the mix in the Preakness. In his four losses, however, he wasn’t able to run near his best after a little adversity. Having only won the Run for the Roses by a nose, and now coming back on short rest, you have to wonder if we will see his absolute best on Saturday. McPeek considered skipping this one because his only previous race on short rest was a disappointment.

One other thing to mention about the Kentucky Derby winner is in case of a sloppy track, his chances would only improve. If Pimlico is hit by rain on Saturday, which looks like a possibility at this point, Mystik Dan has proven to like a wet track, having turned in the best off-track performance of any horse in the race.

Bet on Mystik Dan at FanDuel Racing 

Tuscan Gold

Trainer Chad Brown has won two of the last seven editions of the Preakness Stakes and in both cases, he has done it with lightly raced colts who had skipped the Kentucky Derby. Enter this son of Medaglia d’Oro, who comes into the big race with a similar pattern as Brown’s other two winners, Cloud Computing and Early Voting.

A lightly raced colt, he only started once as a juvenile and finished fourth behind his highly regarded stablemate Sierra Leone. In his sophomore debut, he easily handled maiden competition at Gulfstream Park. Off that good looking maiden victory, he moved way up in class to test the waters in the $1 million Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds and finished a solid third behind Catching Freedom, while beaten less than two lengths.

The Louisiana Derby was his stakes debut and he handled both the distance and the step up in class pretty well. Given time between races, a move forward on Saturday in his fourth career race, and he could be an even bigger threat to my top pick than he was last time. I like the top two coming out of the Kentucky Derby the best, but I believe Tuscan Gold is the biggest threat among the new shooters.

Bet on Tuscan Gold at FanDuel Racing 

My Exacta, Trifecta, and Superfecta Picks for the Preakness Stakes - Best Bets to Make 

• $20 Exacta Box - Catching Freedom and Mystik Dan = $40 

• $5 Trifecta Part Wheel - Catching Freedom and Mystik Dan over Catching Freedom, Mystik Dan, and Tuscan Gold over Catching Freedom, Mystik Dan, Tuscan Gold, Uncle Heavy, and Imagination = $60

• $1 Superfecta Part Wheel - Catching Freedom over Mystik Dan, Tuscan Gold, Uncle Heavy, and Imagination over Mystik Dan, Tuscan Gold, Uncle Heavy, and Imagination over Mystik Dan, Tuscan Gold, Uncle Heavy, Imagination, Seize the Grey, and Just Steel = $48

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Where to Bet on the Preakness Stakes

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How to Watch the Preakness Stakes 2024

• What: Preakness Stakes (Grade 1) 

• Location: Pimlico Race Course

• Time: Saturday, May 18 at 7:01 pm Eastern time

• How to Watch: NBC

• Purse: $2,000,000