2024 Preakness Stakes predictions, horses, contenders, odds: Expert who nailed last 2 exactas unveils picks

Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan is in the 2024 Preakness Stakes field and will run on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Mystik Dan was an 18-1 longshot entering Churchill Downs and originally was not expected to run in the Preakness Stakes 2024. However, trainer Kenneth McPeak liked his post-Derby workouts and has cleared him to make a run at the second leg of the 2024 Triple Crown. He’ll have to hold off eight other 2024 Preakness Stakes horses, including the Bob Baffert-trained Muth, who enters off back-to-back wins at the Arkansas Derby and San Vicente Stakes. Muth is the 8-5 favorite in the 2024 Preakness Stakes odds, while Mystik Dan is 5-2. 

Post time for the second leg of the Triple Crown is 7:01 p.m. ET. With several accomplished horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you’ll want to see what Santa Anita Park-based racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2024 Preakness Stakes picks, considering the success she’s had picking the Preakness the last two years.

Few people in racing are as well-connected as Yu. An on-air host and reporter who has provided racing analysis for TVG, HRTV and the Breeders’ Cup, Yu has spent a lifetime in racing. Prior to her television career, she worked for trainers Steve Asmussen and Ron Moquett. She also is married to Santa Anita-based trainer Ryan Hanson.

Yu also has tremendous handicapping chops. In a wide-open Kentucky Derby in 2021, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1. In Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager two years ago, she suggested a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at a whopping 18-1 when Rich Strike won the Derby.

Last year she crushed the Saudi Cup, riding 15-1 winner Panthalassa. She also smashed the Haskell Stakes for a $663 score, hitting 12-1 winner Geaux Rocket Ride as well as the exacta. Those were just two of her scores in 2023.

She enters this year’s Preakness Stakes on a roll. She correctly called National Treasure to win the Pegasus World Cup. In the last two months, she predicted Stronghold’s upset win in the Santa Anita Derby, en route to a $219.50 payday, and smashed the exacta in the Apple Blossom Handicap as part of a $410 score.

Most importantly, she has had a read on the Preakness the last two years. She hit the exacta in both 2022 (Early Voting over Epicenter) and last year (National Treasure over Blazing Sevens).

For the second leg of the Triple Crown, Yu has handicapped the 2024 Preakness Stakes lineup, made her picks and constructed her best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.

Top 2024 Preakness Stakes predictions

One surprise: Yu is high on the chances of double-digit longshot Just Steel. This D. Wayne Lukas-trained horse is getting longer Preakness odds primarily because of his poor run at the Kentucky Derby. He got too close to the early speed and fell out of contention late, finishing a disappointing 17th.

However, Just Steel has hit the board seven times in his career and had previously never finished worse than sixth, so perhaps his Churchill Downs run was an anomaly. Furthermore, he’s already finished ahead of Mystik Dan once at the Arkansas Derby. Yu sees Just Steel getting “a better trip” this time around and is using him in her 2024 Preakness Stakes bets. You can see all of Yu’s 2024 Preakness Stakes bets here.

How to make 2024 Preakness Stakes picks

Moreover, Yu’s top pick is a longshot who “should get a cozy trip.” She is including this horse in her 2024 Preakness Stakes bets, and so should you. She’s also sharing her shocking prediction for Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan. She’s sharing which 2024 Preakness Stakes horses to back at SportsLine.

So who wins the 2024 Preakness Stakes? Where does Mystik Dan finish? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? Visit SportsLine to see Yu’s picks for the Preakness Stakes, all from the Santa Anita Park-based racing insider who has hit the exacta in the Preakness Stakes the last two years, and find out. 

2024 Preakness Stakes odds, contenders