Preakness Stakes post position draw 2023, betting odds; Kentucky Derby winner Mage favored

Note: The morning line was revised Friday after the scratch of First Mission.

Kentucky Derby winner Mage is the 4-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s $1.65 million, Grade 1 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

Post time for the Preakness is 7:01 p.m., and the race will be televised by NBC.

Mage, trained by Gustavo Delgado, did not race as a 2-year-old and is 2-1-0 in four starts this year after winning the Kentucky Derby by a length over Two Phil’s.

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Mage, who will be ridden by Javier Castellano, drew the No. 3 post position in the field of eight.

“It doesn’t make any difference," assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. said of the draw. "We can’t think too much about the things we can’t control. I think everybody has a fair amount of time to get their position. It’s an eight-horse field. All eight will have a shot to win the race, which is what you want.”

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Mage is the only horse in the Preakness who also competed in the Kentucky Derby. Trainer Steve Asmussen decided Monday not to enter the Preakness with Disarm, who finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby.

This will be the first Preakness since 1948 to include just one competitor from the Kentucky Derby. Citation won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness on the way to winning the Triple Crown.

Louisville trainer Brad Cox had the second choice in the morning line with First Mission at 5-2, but he scratched Friday morning.

Trainer Bob Baffert is back in a Triple Crown race for the first time since the 2021 Preakness. His horse, National Treasure, is now the second choice in the morning line at 3-1 odds.

The seven-horse field is the smallest for the Preakness since 1986, when Snow Chief won against six other horses.

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2023 Preakness post position, horse, trainer, jockey, morning-line odds

1. National Treasure, Bob Baffert, John Velazquez, 3-1

2. Chase the Chaos, Ed Moger Jr., Sheldon Russell, 30-1

3. Mage, Gustavo Delgado, Javier Castellano, 4-5

4. Coffeewithchris, John Salzman Jr., Jaime Rodriguez, 20-1

5. Red Route One, Steve Asmussen, Joel Rosario, 8-1

6. Perform, Shug McGaughey, Feargal Lynch, 12-1

7. Blazing Sevens, Chad Brown, Irad Ortiz Jr., 5-1

8. First Mission, Brad Cox, Luis Saez, 5-2 SCRATCHED

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @KentuckyDerbyCJ.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Preakness post position draw 2023: Kentucky Derby winner Mage favored