Bet on the 2026 Preakness Stakes

Bet & Watch the Preakness Stakes online with OffTrackBetting.com - US Legal Online Wagering

The 151st running of the Preakness Stakes (Grade I), the second jewel of the Triple Crown, is set for Saturday, May 16, 2026. The 2026 race will not be held at its traditional location, Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Maryland.

Instead, it will be held at Laurel Park Race Course in Maryland, about 20 miles south of Pimlico. This is because Pimlico is undergoing a $400 million renovation and revitalization project. The Preakness is expected to return to the revitalized Pimlico in 2027.

When is the 2026 Preakness Stakes?

The Preakness Stakes is on Saturday, May 16, 2026

Where is the 2026 Preakness Stakes?

The Preakness Stakes will be held at Laurel Park in Baltimore, Maryland.

When is the field drawn for the Preakness Stakes?

Post positions are scheduled to be drawn Monday, May 11 at Pimlico.

Where can I watch the Preakness Stakes?

Watch the Preakness Stakes via your OTB player account with OffTrackBetting.com or live on TV with NBC with a post time of 6:45 p.m. ET.

---

OffTrackBetting.com (OTB), America's premier online wagering platform for Thoroughbred, Harness and Greyhound racing, is proud to offer live race video and betting for the second jewel of the Triple Crown - the Preakness Stakes.

PREAKNESS STAKES 2026 SCHEDULE

5/15/2026 Black Eyed Susan $300,000 Grade 2 3YO Fillies 1 1/8 mi. Dirt

5/15/2026 Pimlico Special $250,000 Grade 3 3YO & Up 1 3/16 mi. Dirt

5/15/2026 Miss Preakness $150,000 Grade 3 3YO Fillies 6 fur. Dirt

5/15/2026 Allaire DuPont $100,000 Listed 3YO & UpFillies and Mares 1 1/8 mi. Dirt

5/15/2026 The Very One $100,000 3YO & UpFillies and Mares 5 fur. Turf

5/15/2026 Hilltop $100,000 3YO Fillies 1 mi. Turf

5/16/2026 Preakness Stakes $2,000,000 Grade 1 3YO 1 3/16 mi. Dirt

5/16/2026 Dinner Party $500,000 Grade 3 3YO & Up 1 1/8 mi. Turf

5/16/2026 Chick Lang $200,000 Grade 3 3YO 6 fur. Dirt

5/16/2026 Gallorette $100,000 Grade 3 3YO & UpFillies and Mares 1 1/16 mi. Turf

5/16/2026 MD Sprint $100,000 Grade 3 3YO & Up 6 fur. Dirt

5/16/2026 Jim McKay $100,000 Listed 3YO & Up 5 fur. Turf

5/16/2026 Sir Barton $100,000 3YO 1 1/16 mi. Dirt

5/16/2026 James Murphy $100,000 Listed 3YO 1 mi. Turf

5/16/2026 Skipat $100,000 Listed 3YO & UpFillies and Mares 6 fur. Dirt

OffTrackBetting.com - US Legal Preakness Stakes OTB is a great way to bet the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Available to customers across the United States, OTB features both Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing from major racing venues in the US as well as top international racing from Europe, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong.

About the Preakness Stakes

Traditionally the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, is held on the third Saturday each May at Baltimore, Maryland's Pimlico Race Course. Sandwiched between the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in the Triple Crown, the Preakness is contested at a distance of 1 3/16 miles, and regularly attracts a field of the best three-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses in North America. A staple on Pimlico's stakes schedule since 1873, the Preakness is often a handicapping challenge for bettors as all of North America's best jockeys and trainers are in action at Pimlico that day. Other key stakes races held Preakness weekend at Pimlico include the Pimlico Special, the Dixie Stakes, the Gallorette Handicap and the Maryland Sprint Handicap.

Predating the Kentucky Derby by two years, the Preakness Stakes was first run in 1873. It got its name from then Maryland Governor Oden Bowie, who dubbed it `The Preakness' in honor of a horse of the same name that won the Dinner Party Stakes on the opening day of the Pimlico track in 1870. The race was originally a mile and a half in length, and the inaugural event saw 7 horses go to the starting gate. The first Preakness was won by My Sheba, who trounced the rest of the field by 10 lengths. That would remain the largest margin of victory in the race until 2004 when Smarty Jones won the event by 11 lengths. To date, Smarty Jones' triumph is the biggest margin of victory in Preakness history.

The Preakness race wasn't an immediate success and moved several times during its early years. In 1890, the Morris Race Course in the Bronx, New York held the race after which there was no race run for the next three years. In 1894, the Preakness was revived at the Gravesend Race Track on Coney Island and remained there for the next 15 years. In 1909 it returned to the Pimlico track in Baltimore where it has been run ever since. In 2009, the parent company of the Pimlico track, Magna Entertainment, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and moving the Preakness was once again considered. The Maryland Legislature quickly approved a plan to buy the track if Magna was unable to find a buyer so for now it looks like the Preakness will remain in Baltimore for the foreseeable future.

Just like the Kentucky Derby is preceded by the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, and the Preakness has a similar tradition with Black-Eyed Susan day. The Black-Eyed Susan was first run in 1919 as the Pimlico Oaks; but the name was changed in 1952 to pay homage to the Maryland state flower. The mile and one-eighth race for three-year-old fillies has been a Grade II event since 1976. Gates for the Black-Eyed Susan day open at 10 AM on Friday, May 17th with a full day of racing action.

Can't make it to the track? Watch and wager on the Preakness Stakes with OffTrackBetting.com. All wagers made through OffTrackBetting.com are directly commingled into track pools, so you can play all of your favorite bet types with confidence, knowing that you'll receive full track odds on all wagers made with us. And with free, high-quality video, you can watch the races online or with your mobile device. OffTrackBetting.com is US-based and legal and licensed, and we promise you superior customer service and the best online wagering experience in the industry.