I plan to use my winnings from the prior races to bet on the 2024 Preakness Stakes Saturday, May 18th at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. With that in mind, there are four Graded stakes races on Preakness Day. I have action in three: Grade III Gallorette Stakes, Grade III Maryland Sprint Stakes, and the Grade III Dinner Party Stakes. 

For many people, including myself, betting on horse racing is intimidating. The past performances (PPs) are loaded with info, shorthand notes, and seemingly random numbers. It’s super fun, and you can make lifetime cashes on small bets. Here’s a quick crash course for horse race betting that I wrote for the 150th Kentucky Derby two weeks ago: 

You can bet a horse to Win (1st), “Place” (2nd), and “Show” (3rd) or “Across the Board”, which is betting all three. There are exotics such as “Exacta”, “Trifecta”, and “Superfecta” for those searching for massive paydays. In an exacta, you bet 2+ horses to finish 1st or 2nd. A trifecta includes 3+ horses for the Win-Place-Show. 

A superfecta is 4+ horses to finish 1-4. By “boxing” an exacta, bettors can win if at least two of their picks Win or Place. The same goes for trifecta and superfecta boxes. “Keying” an exotic allows you to put your winner “up top” with horses underneath to finish in any order … Understood, right? Probably not.

Let’s get into the fun stuff: Gambling. 

Preakness Stakes 2024 Undercard Picks

Race 7: Grade III Gallorette Stakes, 2:08 p.m. ET post time 

A six-horse, one-and-1/6th-mile race on the turf for fillies three years old and up with a $100,000 purse.   

3- Blissful

• Morning Line (ML) odds: 7-2
• Record (Starts-Win-Place-Show): 12-3-1-3
• Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
• Trainer: Cherie Devaux

The #3 horse finished second in her last time out, ran her fastest speed ever, 88, and had a lead entering the home stretch. However, that race was one-and-1/8th-mile, so the shorter distance should help Blissful. All three of her wins were at this distance and on turf, including two races ago. Blissful has hit the money in five consecutive races (1-1-3). She was the top betting choice in three of those and outrun her odds in the other two. 

7- Fluffy Socks 

• ML odds: 6-5
• Record: 25-5-9-4
• Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
• Trainer: Chad Brown

At first, I looked for ways to fade Fluffy Socks because of her price. Yet, I cannot and this filly is by far the best in the Gallorette. Fluffy Socks has an elite jockey-trainer combo. She made the exacta in 10 of her 17 career graded stakes races. Since I’m Saratoga-bred, I’m biased toward Fluffy Socks since she’s been successful in my hometown. Fluffy Socks has finished Placed in three of her last four Saratoga races. 

$5 Exacta Box: 3-7 for a $10 bet 

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Race 8: Grade III Maryland Sprint Stakes, 2:48 p.m. ET post time 

A six-horse, six-furlong race on dirt for three-year-olds and up with a $100,000 purse.   

1- Coastal Mission 

• ML odds: 3-1
• Record: 19-12-3-1
• Jockey: Arnaldo Bocachica
• Trainer: Jeff Runco

Coastal Mission will break at shorter odds, if not as the favorite. The only knock on his resume is a fifth-place finish by 10 lengths in his only stakes race, the Grade II Cigar Mile, at Aqueduct in December 2023. Otherwise, Coastal Mission has won seven of his last eight races. 

He ran his fastest career speed, a 100 Beyer, his last time out in a longer race at Laurel last month. Finally, this is a “good setup” for Coastal Mission. It’ll probably be a wet track because of early afternoon rain at Pimlico. Coastal Mission is 6-0-0 in eight career races on wet tracks and is 6-3-1 in 11 career races at this distance. 

3- Super Chow 

• ML odds: 4-1
• Record: 18-8-4-5
• Jockey: Javier Castellano
• Trainer: Jorge Delgado

He’s hit the money in three consecutive races (2-0-1), all graded stakes races. When Super Chow runs at this distance, he is 6-2-2 in 11 starts. The four-year-old is 2-1-0 in three starts on wet tracks. Super Chow is 1-0-0 in two career starts at Pimlico. But, his win was by six-and-1/4th lengths at six furlongs. 

4- Jaxon Traveler 

• ML odds: 6-1
• Record: 29-9-7-5
• Jockey: Flavien Prat
• Trainer: Steve Asmussen

A top-two jockey-trainer combo in the Maryland Sprint. Jaxon Traveler runs well at Pimlico: 3-2-0 in six career starts. One of those second-place finishes was Grade III Chick Lang Stakes on Preakness Day in 2021. Jaxon Traveler won the six-furlong Grade III Whitemore at Oaklawn in March. The six-year-old has three wins in his last five times out. 

PICK(s): 

• $2 Trifecta Key: 1/ 3-4 for a $4 bet
• $11 Win on 1- Coastal Mission

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Race 12: Grade III Dinner Party Stakes, 5:52 p.m. ET post time 

A nine-horse, one-and-1/8th-mile race on the turf for three-year-olds and up with a $500,000 purse.   

1- Highland Chief (Ireland) 

• ML odds: 12-1
• Record: 17-4-2-2
• Jockey: Jorge Ruiz
• Trainer: H. Graham Motion

I could’ve just stopped at the top of the Dinner Party PPs. Highland Chief has run well since coming to America in 2022. Five of his six American races have been Graded. He’s won two of those: Grade I Man O’ War Stakes at Belmont in May 2022 and Grade III Sycamore at Keeneland in October later that year. 

Highland Chief’s 105 Beyer in the Man O’ War win was the fastest speed of any horse in this field. Lastly, the Irishman is a “closer” and usually runs a longer distance. His last six races have been at least one-and-1/4th miles long. 

$10 Win-Place on 1-Highland Chief for a $20 bet 

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Follow me on X (or Twitter, whatever) @Geoffery-Clark and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants.