With the 2023 Kentucky Derby over and done, it’s time to look forward to the upcoming 2023 Preakness Stakes. Horses like Mage, First Mission, and Disarm are surely garnering much attention, but don’t ignore the other horses with longer odds to win the Preakness Stakes, but could be making massive noises this weekend at Pimlico Race Course. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the top sleepers for the 2023 Preakness Stakes.
Mage came out on top of the 2023 Kentucky Derby, so it’s a no-brainer that it will be among the favorites to win this coming weekend at Pimlico Race Course. Now that it’s finally tasted success in a graded stakes event, Mage will look for that winning feeling again in the second leg of the Triple Crown.
First Mission did not take part at the 2023 Kentucky Derby, but this is a horse that bettors should really keep a close eye on. This 3-year-old colt trained by Brad Cox is coming off back-to-back victories, as it won the Lexington (Grade 3) which came after First Mission won its first-ever race on its second try.
Trained by Steven Asmussen, Disarm will enter the 2023 Preakness Stakes in search of its first victory in a grade stakes race. The last time it galloped, Disarm finished fourth at the 2023 Kentucky Derby, which was not really a bad performance at all. It has shown in each of the other graded stakes races it participated in, including a second at the Lousiana Derby (Grade 2).
Here’s what we said about Kingsbarns in our complete preview of the 2023 Preakness Stakes:
Blazing Sevens was not among the horses that raced at Churchill Downs in the first leg of this year’s Triple Crown. However, it looked good in its most recent race, finishing third at the 2023 Blue Grass Stakes (Grade 1). After winning in its very first race in July 2022, Blazing Sevens took part in the 2022 Hopeful (Grade 1) and placed third.
Also trained by Steven Asmussen, Red Route One is a well-raced horse, having seen a total of nine events to date. It has won twice overall, including in its last race at the 2023 Bath House Row (LS) in April.
