While horse racing favorites often get the headlines, longshots capture the attention of casual and diehard fans. At 8-5, Journalism is the favorite in the 2025 Preakness Stakes odds, while there are 2025 Preakness Stakes longshots up to 20-1. That includes Pay Billy and American Promise, who each have their own strengths that could make them attractive for 2025 Preakness Stakes bets. Pay Billy is coming off back-to-back victories down the street from Pimlico Race Course, while American Promise is saddled by legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas. The Hall of Fame trainer is going for his record-tying eighth Preakness win. His seventh win came just last year with a 15-1 longshot, so every horse that lines up at Pimlico on Saturday deserves consideration for your 2025 Preakness Stakes predictions. Before making any 2025 Preakness Stakes picks, you'll want to see what SportsLine horse racing expert Gene Menez has to say before making any 2025 Preakness Stakes picks or horse racing predictions.
A former reporter and editor at Sports Illustrated, Menez covered an array of sports, including horse racing, for the magazine and its website for almost 14 years. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as SI's handicapper for the Triple Crown races and correctly predicted Super Saver to win the Kentucky Derby in 2010.
In 2015, Menez accurately gave out the Kentucky Derby superfecta, which paid $1,268.20 for $2. In 2017, he tweeted out his Kentucky Derby picks, including Always Dreaming to win, and hit the Pick 4, which paid almost $6,900 on a $1 bet.
In May of last year, Menez nailed 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby. In November, he crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders' Cup Saturday for a $5,303 jackpot. This year, he hit the winner and exacta in the Holy Bull Stakes and the winner, trifecta and superfecta in the Florida Derby. At the Kentucky Derby earlier this month, Menez hammered the exacta and trifecta for a $1,045 payout. Anyone who has followed him on betting apps like FanDuel Racing and TwinSpires could have been way up, especially if they used the latest FanDuel Racing promo code and TwinSpires offer code.
For the Preakness Stakes, Menez has handicapped the 2025 Preakness Stakes field, made his picks, and constructed his best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2025 Preakness Stakes predictions
One of Menez's surprising 2025 Preakness Stakes picks: He is fading Journalism, even though he is the 8-5 favorite. The horse will have to defy recent history to prevail at the Preakness after his Kentucky Derby second-place finish. Of the last 10 Derby runners-up in the Preakness, only Exaggerator (2016) went on to prevail. In fact, of those 10 horses, more finished fourth or worse (six) in the Preakness than finished in the money (four).
In addition, the Derby took place on a sloppy track, so horses likely exerted more energy in those conditions than they would normally. Menez has concerns about this quick turnaround since 16 of the 19 starters in the 2025 Derby are not running in the Preakness. In fading Journalism, Menez says, "Modern horses aren't bred or trained to run back in two weeks," Menez told SportsLine, making Journalism a horse to fade when finalizing how to bet the Preakness Stakes 2025. See which horses to back here.
How to make 2025 Preakness Stakes bets, picks
Menez's top pick is a longshot who is "fast, sharp, in form and looks to be training well." Menez is sharing who he likes, along with his top 2025 Preakness Stakes picks, over at SportsLine.
Which horse wins the Preakness Stakes 2025, and which longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2025 Preakness Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Menez's picks for the Preakness Stakes, all from the expert who hammered the exacta and trifecta for a $1,045 payout at the Kentucky Derby.
2025 Preakness Stakes horses, odds
2025 Preakness Stakes horses, contenders, profiles
Preakness Stakes profiles 1 Goal Oriented | 2 Journalism | 3 American Promise | 4 Heart of Honor | 5 Pay Billy | 6 River Thames | 7 Sandman | 8 Clever Again | 9 Gosger
