Jockey Tyler Gaffalione made his Preakness Stakes debut in 2019 and achieved instant glory, riding War of Will to victory. He was unable to return to the winner’s circle, however, after finishing eighth with Thousand Words in 2020 and Happy Jack in 2022. Gaffalione will again attempt his second victory when guiding Tuscan Gold into the 2024 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. Baltimore Racecourse Saturday. The 29-year-old came close to winning his second Triple Crown race earlier this month, but Sierra Leone lost by a nose to Mystik Dan in the Kentucky Derby. Tuscan Gold, who finished third in the Louisiana Derby in March, is 9-2 and Mystik Dan is the 8-5 favorite in the 2024 Preakness Stakes odds. Catching Freedom (7-2) and Imagination (3-1 ) round out the top four horses in the 2024 Preakness Stakes.
Post time for the second leg of the Triple Crown is 7:01 p.m. ET. With an accomplished field ready to enter the starting gate Saturday, you’ll want to see what SportsLine writer Gene Menez has to say before making any Preakness Stakes picks or horse racing predictions, considering of the success he had in last year’s race.
A former Sports Illustrated reporter and editor, Menez covered a wide range of sports, including horse racing, for the magazine and its website for nearly 14 years. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as SI’s handicapper for the Triple Crown races and correctly predicted that Super Saver would win the 2010 Kentucky Derby.
In 2015, while writing for Sports on Earth, Menez accurately dealt the Kentucky Derby superfecta (American Pharoah, Firing Line, Dortmund and Frosted), which paid $1,268.20 for $2. Then, in 2017, he tweeted his Kentucky Derby picks, including Always Dreaming to win, and hit Pick 4, which paid almost $6,900 on a $1 bet.
In seven races last year for SportsLine, he won the winner of the Lecomte Stakes, the exacta of the Southwest Stakes, the winner of the Holy Bull Stakes, the winner of the Sam F. Davis Stakes and the trifecta in the Jenny Stakes Wiley. More importantly, he correctly called National Treasure to win last year’s Preakness.
For Saturday, Menez handicapped the 2024 Preakness Stakes field, made his picks and constructed his best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Best 2024 Preakness Stakes Predictions
A surprise: Menez completely throws out Mystik Dan, even though he is the Kentucky Derby winner and the 2024 Preakness favorite. There are several 2024 Preakness Stakes horses capable of giving Mystik Dan a strong challenge for victory, including Just Steel. Trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, Just Steel finished 17th in the Kentucky Derby, but finished second in his previous three starts and crossed the finish line ahead of Mystik Dan in two of them .
Lack of rest could also be a problem for Mystik Dan. The only other time the colt had just two weeks between starts occurred in November, when he scored his first career victory at Churchill Downs and finished a distant fifth at the same track 13 days later. “For me, it’s a wake-up call,” Menez told SportsLine. Menez will not use Mystik Dan in any of his bets. You can see all of Menez’s 2024 Preakness Stakes bets here.
How to make picks for the 2024 Preakness Stakes
Additionally, Menez’s top choice is a horse that is “ready to have a career-best race.” He’s also high on a double-digit longshot that should “arrive late.” He includes these horses in his bets, and you should too. He shares which horses to back at SportsLine.
So, who wins the 149 Preakness Stakes? Which double-digit longshot has a big chance, and how did Menez construct his bets? Visit SportsLine to see Menez’s Preakness Stakes picks, all from the expert who picked last year’s winner, and find out.
2024 Preakness Stakes odds, contenders, publication positions
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News Source : www.cbssports.com
