Best Ways for Beginners to Bet $10 on the Preakness Stakes

A full field of three-year-old horses will take aim at the second leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday. The $2 million Preakness S. (G1) will be hosted by Laurel Park for the first time in history, and while the field is missing the top two finishers of the Kentucky Derby – Golden Tempo and Renegade – the cast features numerous talented runners and appears to be a very attractive betting contest, nonetheless. 

Win Wagers

• $5 win #9 Iron Honor ($5)
• $5 win #10 Napoleon Solo ($5)

Exacta Wager

• $5 exacta box: 9-10 ($10)

As I mentioned in a similar type of piece I wrote two weeks back about the Kentucky Derby, placing wagers can be somewhat intimidating for newcomers to the sport, given the many betting options available. But it doesn't have to be – keeping things simple is always an option, and a sound one at that. 

From a personal standpoint, I feel as though two horses will be ready to run their best at Laurel Park on Saturday, and I will press forward with the duo in my wagers. I’ve liked #9 Iron Honor (9-2) since his debut win in December in New York, and the Chad Brown trainee wisely skipped Kentucky to point towards this historic race. The son of 2016 Kentucky Derby star Nyquist will rally from off the early pace with Flavien Prat accepting the mount. 

#10 Napoleon Solo (8-1) is the second horse that I’m expecting to perform in a big way in the race. A top-level winner as a two-year-old when he won the Champagne (G1) at Aqueduct, the fast son of Liam’s Map is the fleetest runner in the group and will be on the attack from the start of the Preakness. Trained by Chad Summers, the gray colt has recorded four swift morning workouts while training for the race, and he will be flying early and daring the cast to run with him. I think he could go all the way under jockey Paco Lopez. 

Another good option for newcomers to the game is an exacta box play, which carries a higher risk and reward factor. To cash in on an exacta box, a bettor must select the top-two finishers of the Preakness, regardless of the order that the two horses finish in. (In this case, the result can be 9-10 OR 10-9 at the finish and you are a winner.) It’s no easy task to cash this kind of ticket when 14 horses will go to the gate, as picking one horse is not easy, but the exacta can be especially rewarding when you hit it. A $2 exacta in the Kentucky Derby returned in excess of $278! 

Good Luck!