Just three horses from the Kentucky Derby will run in the 2022 Preakness Stakes on Saturday. Two others who ran in different races at Churchill Downs on Derby Day will also compete, while one entry in the nine-horse 2022 Preakness Stakes field will have less rest than anyone else. Armagnac ran an allowance race on Sunday, May 8 at Santa Anita, so he won’t have a full two weeks of rest for Saturday’s Preakness 2022. Still, he won that race and his connections feel strongly enough about his chances to recover quickly ahead of the 2022 Preakness Stakes. Armagnac, formerly trained by Bob Baffert before being transferred to Tim Yakteen, is 12-1 in the latest 2022 Preakness Stakes odds. The 2022 Preakness Stakes favorites include Epicenter (6-5), Early Voting (7-2) and filly Secret Oath (9-2). Post time for the $1.65 million Preakness Stakes 2022 is 7:01 p.m. ET. Given the shocking results of the Kentucky Derby, you’ll want to see what astute racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2022 Preakness Stakes picks.
Few people in racing are as 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.
She also has tremendous handicapping chops. In the 2011 Kentucky Derby, she correctly tabbed Animal Kingdom to win at a hefty 21-1. In the 2017 Breeders’ Cup, she nailed 11-1 long shot Wuheida to win the Filly and Mare Turf. Last year, in a wide-open Kentucky Derby, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1. And in Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager this year, she suggested a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at 18-1 when Rich Strike won the Derby.
Since joining SportsLine in November, her picks have cashed in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, Sham Stakes, El Camino Real Derby, San Felipe Stakes, Santa Anita Handicap and Kentucky Oaks. Anyone who has followed her is way up.
Now, Yu has handicapped the 2022 Preakness Stakes field, made her picks and constructed her bets. Go to SportsLine to see them.
Top 2022 Preakness Stakes predictions
One surprise: Yu isn’t high on Simplification, even though he is one of the 2022 Preakness Stakes favorites. Simplification drew the No. 1 post position and, while not as detrimental a position as in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness also hasn’t seen many winners emerge from the rail. In fact, just three entries since 1961 have won the Preakness from the No. 1 post.
Simplification finished fourth at the Kentucky Derby with jockey Jose Ortiz aboard, but Ortiz will ride Early Voting in the Preakness 2022. Now, the horse will be ridden by John Velazquez. He is one of the top jockeys of all-time and a Hall of Famer, but of Velazquez’s 6,400-plus career wins, none has come at the Preakness. He’s 0-for-11 at The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans and has never ridden Simplification before in a race, which doesn’t indicate success at Pimlico.
How to make 2022 Preakness Stakes picks, bets
Yu’s top pick is a horse who “looks like a winner.” Yu is also high on a long shot whose “running style suits how the Preakness pace should develop.” She is including these horses in her 2022 Preakness Stakes bets, and so should you. She’s sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2022 Preakness Stakes? What long shot is a must-back? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? Check out the Preakness Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Yu’s picks for the Preakness Stakes 2022, all from the expert who nailed Medina Spirit and this year’s Kentucky Derby futures wager.
