One of the great things about betting the Triple Crown — and horse racing in general — is that no two races are ever going to be exactly the same. And that’s why your handicap and strategy has to change from the Kentucky Derby to the Preakness.

While the Derby featured a 20-horse field and a luke-warm favorite, only nine horses will make the trip to Pimlico for the Preakness and there is a clear favorite among them. 

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2022 Preakness Stakes preview and odds

No. 8 Epicenter, who is trained by Steve Asmussen and is coming off a runner-up finish at Churchill Downs, is the 6-5 morning-line favorite and could go off even shorter than that.

Since this race should be more straight-forward than what we saw at Churchill Downs a fortnight ago, punters can base their handicap around an essential question: Are you trying to beat the favorite? 

If you’re going to use Epicenter, you must be prepared to pay a pretty steep price. With morning-line odds of 6-5, there’s a good chance that the Kentucky Derby runner-up is an odds-on favorite by Saturday evening. That means, in order to add value to your ticket, you’ll need to find the right price horses to include in exotics.

If you’re going to try and beat Epicenter, you run the risk of watching him run rampant and ruin your bet before it even had a chance. 

Betting on the Preakness Stakes?

Another thing to keep in mind is that we could see a lot of casual money come in on outsiders like No. 6 Happy Jack (30-1) and No. 3 Fenwick (50-1). That’s because two weeks ago we witnessed Rich Strike, an 80-1 longshot, win the Kentucky Derby. It’s very, very unlikely we see something similar play out here, but that isn’t going to stop people from trying to capture the magic by playing the longest odds on the board at Pimlico. 

2022 Preakness Stakes picks

Win Bet: No. 4 Secret Oath (9-2)

Coming off a victory in the Kentucky Oaks, D. Wayne Lukas will now send Secret Oath to take on the boys at Pimlico on Saturday. This isn’t the first time that Secret Oath has gone up against the gents, either, as she overcame a horrendous trip to finish third at the Arkansas Derby. Ignore this filly at your own risk.

Longshot to use in exotics: No. 9 Skippylongstocking (20-1)

Coming off a third-place finish at the Wood Memorial to trendy Derby pick Mo Donegal and Early Voting, Skippylongstocking is an interesting flyer for anyone looking to add some punch to their tickets. Sure, he’s unlikely to win but this field isn’t deep enough where you’d expect the consistently-improving Skippylongstocking to be completely left in the dust. With a lot of pace in the field, Skippylongstocking can close late, pick up the pieces and hit the board.