How to Bet on the Preakness in 2023 (Horse Race Betting Explained)

While the Kentucky Derby is already behind us, horse racing fans and sports bettors have another big day of races to look forward to with the Preakness Stakes coming up this weekend.

As the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness is a great opportunity to bet on horse racing for the first time or get back into it after the two-week layoff following the Derby.

If you're unfamiliar with how betting on horse racing works, here is The Duel's complete guide on how to bet on horse racing, specifically the 2023 Preakness Stakes.

How and Where to Bet on the Preakness Stakes 2023

The No. 1 place to wager on the 2023 Preakness Stakes is FanDuel, whether you're in a state that allows FanDuel to offer horse racing in the FanDuel Sportsbook app or if you're using FanDuel Racing and TVG.

There are several good reasons why FanDuel is the best place for betting on horse racing, especially its exclusive promotions for the Preakness Stakes. FanDuel Racing and FanDuel Sportsbook will give you $20 back on your bet, while new TVG users get up to $200 back if their first bet loses. That way, you can bet on the Preakness without the stress of potentially losing money.

Beyond its great promotions, FanDuel also offers a tremendous variety of wagers, convenient deposit options and excellent customer service.

Claiming your offer and placing bets is easy and only takes a few minutes:

1. Click here to check out FanDuel's Preakness Stakes betting page, which will direct you to the correct place to bet in your state
2. Sign up to automatically claim your bonus offer
3. Place a wager on whichever horse you'd like
4. Enjoy the fun of watching the Preakness with some money at stake!

If you're betting on horse racing for the first time, some of the options may appear confusing and perhaps even a little intimidating. Fortunately, we're here to help with a guide on what you need to know about horse race wagering.

Horse Racing Betting FAQ

How do horse racing odds work?

The biggest difference between betting on horse racing and other sports is what happens to the odds after you place your wager. In horse racing, you get whatever odds are posted for your horse when the race begins, so essentially the final odds.

That means if you bet on a horse with 10/1 odds in the morning but they move to 5/1 before the race, the odds of your bet will become 5/1 as well. This is different than typical sports betting, where the odds of your bet stay frozen no matter how much they change afterward.

What are win/place/show bets in horse racing?

Win, place and show mean first-place, top-two and top-three finishes, respectively. If you bet on a horse to win, they need to finish in first place for your bet to win. If you wager on your horse to "place", you win if they finish first or second. And if you bet on a horse to "show", you win if they finish first, second or third.

What is an exacta bet in horse racing?

An exacta bet is correctly picking which horse finishes in first place and which horse finishes in second place in the correct order. In other words, it's kind of like a two-horse parlay where you bet on one to finish first and another to finish second.

What is a trifecta bet in horse racing?

A trifecta bet is just like an exacta, but you pick the exact order of the top three finishers rather than the top two. Also like a parlay, this wager typically has long odds because you're combining three specific picks into one bet.

What is a superfecta bet in horse racing?

A superfecta bet is going one step beyond a trifecta by picking the exact order of the top four finishers.

What does it mean to box a horse racing bet?

To "box" an exotic horse racing bet (an exacta, trifecta or superfecta) means that you are betting every possible combination of that bet for the horses you select.

In other words, if you "box" an exacta between the No. 1 and No. 5 horse, that gives you the two possible combinations of 1-5 and 5-1 finishes. If you box a trifecta of No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5, that means you bet all the combinations of 1-3-5, 1-5-3, 3-1-5, 3-5-1 and 5-3-1.

Check out more Preakness coverage from The Duel: