Yes, conventional wisdom maintains that this is one of the weakest Preakness Stakes fields this century.
How weak? Well, 11 of the 14 colts still lack a graded-stakes victory, and only one (Napoleon Solo) owns a Grade 1 win.
One of the perceived front-row contenders, Ocelli, is still a maiden. And, of course, Preakness 151 is missing the Kentucky Derby champion — our favorite longshot from that race — Golden Tempo.
But in absence, there is opportunity.
The 14-horse Preakness field is the largest since 2011, when Shackleford beat that year’s Kentucky Derby winner, Animal Kingdom, at 12-1. Astrology (15-1) completed what became a $1,401.80 payout for the $2 trifecta.
And there is the key to why this year’s Preakness offers value that previous events with smaller, albeit more talented, fields lacked.
Let's analyze the best and worst Preakness Stakes long shot picks you can make, along with underdogs and sleepers you need for your tickets.
Preakness Stakes long shots and underdog bets for 2026
These eight Preakness Stakes horses have long odds, but some shouldn't be overlooked. Learn more below and see where they will stack up in the Preakness Stakes post positions.
- Crupper (30-1)
- Robusta (30-1)
- Talkin (20-1)
- The Hell We Did (15-1)
- Bull By The Horns (30-1)
- Corona de Oro (30-1)
- Great White (15-1)
- Pretty Boy Miah (15-1)
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Preakness Stakes long shot pick
Unlike my go-to Derby longshot pick, Golden Tempo, I’ve gone back and forth on this one, especially given that every double-digit colt here has issues. But I'm going with Corona de Oro.
Pick: Corona de Oro (+3000 at FanDuel)
Read my complete analysis of the most intriguing Preakness Stakes long shots below:
Crupper
There’s plenty to like here, starting with the fact this Candy Ride colt has hit the board in all four of his starts this year and that he fits the profile of Triple Crown board-crashers of yore.
However, Crupper will have to change his running style from the pressing style that produced two victories to a more stalking style to stay competitive here. Otherwise, his sub-par speed in his last three races (80-63-68 Beyer Speed Figures) will get him crushed.
| Morning Line Odds |  |
|---|---|
| 30/1 | +3000 |
Robusta
Say “hello” to the weakest of the three Derby expats in the field, not only via his 14th-place, non-threatening finish, but in terms of form, speed and ability. Before that, there was his last-place finish by 16 lengths in the Santa Anita Derby where he literally gave up in the stretch.
This product of Accelerate hasn’t shown the acceleration of a Preakness contender since his San Felipe runner-up three races ago. No speed plus no value equals no spot on your tickets.
| Morning Line Odds | |
|---|---|
| 30/1 | +3000 |
Talkin
You can’t accuse Talkin’s connections of dodging the top runners in his class. This Good Magic (runner-up in the 2018 Preakness to Justify) progeny has two board hits in Grade 1s on his CV: a third in the Blue Grass at Keeneland in April, and a second to Napoleon Solo in the Champagne Stakes last fall. Nor can you fault them for putting Irad Ortiz Jr., one of the world’s best jockeys, in the irons.
However, Talkin is 0-for-4 in graded stakes, and his pressing style and below-par speed figures here against his competitors make him at best, a bottom-dweller on your tickets.
| Morning Line Odds | |
|---|---|
| 20/1 | +2000 |
The Hell We Did
Unlike Talkin, this Authentic colt hasn’t exactly played the main Derby prep stages, breaking his maiden at Remington Park in Oklahoma, before migrating to New Mexico for a second in the Zia Park Derby and a blowout win by 13 lengths in a Sunland Park allowance.
When trainer Todd Fincher finally brought him to the main stage at Keeneland for his two-turn debut, The Hell We Did finished a respectable second by 2 1/4 lengths.
Translation: he’s never finished worse than second at four different tracks, so The Hell We Did belongs down-ticket as a potential sleeper — if jockey Luis Saez can hold him back early.
| Morning Line Odds | |
|---|---|
| 15/1 | +1500 |
Bull By The Horns
Someone has to be the slowest horse in the field.
This Essential Quality colt’s last three Beyers are 70-69-68, which makes him a perfect allowance horse — and an anything-but-perfect Preakness contender. To twist this Bull by the Horns further, the one Derby prep he ran in — the strong Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park — Bull by the Horns finished seventh by nearly 20 lengths.
A subpar closer who would need a complete pace collapse and the defection of better closers just to sniff the board.
| Morning Line Odds | |
|---|---|
| 30/1 | +3000 |
Corona de Oro
Trainer Dallas Stewart, known for sneaking high-priced longshots onto Triple Crown boards, will likely instruct ace rider John Velazquez to put this Bolt d’Oro colt off the pace. He’s coming off a third at the Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland, which has sent numerous runners to in-the-money finishes here.
The price is definitely right to put him in your tickets.
| Morning Line Odds | |
|---|---|
| 30/1 | +3000 |
Great White
When we last saw this massive (nearly 18 hands) gelding, he was flipping out — and flipping over — outside the Churchill Downs starting gate. That scratched him from a Kentucky Derby he had next to no chance of hitting the board in, much less winning.
Here, Great White returns to a softer field, but with the same sub-glacial fractions (14.9 final furlong/41.5 final three furlongs) he clocked in his fifth-place finish — by nearly 23 lengths — in the Blue Grass Stakes.
Putting aside that only seven geldings have won the Preakness, Great White is a slow presser in a race where better horses of that genus — along with the closers — will run him into the ground.
| Morning Line Odds | |
|---|---|
| 15/1 | +1500 |
Pretty Boy Miah
Since this Beau Liam colt is a presser in a race with better runners of that genus, we’ll press ahead with our pressing questions about Pretty Boy Liam, starting with his ability to run 1 3/16 miles. He’s never run more than a mile.
Pressing question No. 2 is how Pretty Boy Miah will handle two turns, since he’s never run that either.
Pressing question No. 3 is what will he do against Grade 1 company, considering he’s never run a stakes race? The strong 92 Beyer he ran in an allowance last out provides a weak answer to all of the above.
Throw in Pretty Boy Miah leaving the Preakness Post of Death (Post No. 14), and I believe we have our answers to all of the above.
| Morning Line Odds | |
|---|---|
| 15/1 | +1500 |
