Title: "Sovereignty Withdraws from 2025 Preakness Stakes, Betting Favorites Emerge"
Sovereignty began his quest for the Triple Crown with a Kentucky Derby victory, but his next stop won’t be the 2025 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 17. His connections announced on Tuesday that Sovereignty will not be among the 2025 Preakness Stakes horses, leaving Justify as the last Triple Crown winner in 2018. Sovereignty was one of the three horses with single-digit 2025 Preakness Stakes odds leading up to the Derby and was the 8-5 favorite in the 2025 Preakness Stakes odds. Now, Journalism (5-2), Rodriguez (5-1), and Sandman (8-1) are the 2025 Preakness Stakes favorites.
The 2025 Preakness Stakes field will be confirmed following Monday’s 2025 Preakness Stakes post draw, which will move the odds for the race at Pimlico Race Course. Which horses should you back with your 2025 Preakness Stakes bets? Before making any 2025 Preakness Stakes picks, be sure to see the horse racing predictions and futures bets from SportsLine’s elite horse racing expert Jody Demling.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about, and betting on races for years, Demling hit the top three finishers in the 2025 Kentucky Derby in the correct order. He has also called 10 of the last 20 Preakness winners, including 2023 when he hit the winner, exacta, trifecta, and superfecta. He hit the trifecta again in the 2024 Preakness Stakes and has predicted the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last seven years. Anyone who has followed him on those picks on betting sites like FanDuel Racing and TwinSpires is up huge.
Now, with the 2025 Preakness Stakes odds on the board, Demling is sharing his 2025 Preakness Stakes betting picks and 2025 Preakness Stakes predictions over at SportsLine.
Top 2025 Preakness Stakes predictions
One of Demling’s surprising 2025 Preakness Stakes picks: He’s high on Clever Again, even though he’s a 12-1 longshot in the early 2025 Preakness Stakes odds. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Preakness contender with better bloodlines than Clever Again, who was sired by 2015 Triple Crown champion American Pharoah. But his impressive pedigree doesn’t stop there as Clever Again’s dam was a graded stakes winner, while his damsire won multiple G1 races back in the day.
While trainer Steve Asmussen is infamously 0 for 28 with Kentucky Derby starters, he’s had more success at Pimlico. He’s won the Preakness twice, across 16 starters, and had a horse finish in the top five in seven straight years (2017-23). That includes runners-up in both 2021 and 2022, and Clever Again has his own merits. After a second place in his first career start, he’s then won his last two races. The horse will be well-rested, having last run on March 30, and his notable 101 speed figure will make him a contender at the 2025 Preakness Stakes.
How to make 2025 Preakness Stakes picks, bets
Demling is especially high on a double-digit longshot who "could be a factor" and spice up your exotics. Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected 2025 Preakness Stakes leaderboard, over at SportsLine.
Which horse wins the Preakness Stakes 2025, and which huge double-digit longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2025 Preakness Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling’s picks for the Preakness Stakes, all from the expert who nailed the top three Kentucky Derby finishers in the correct order.
2025 Preakness Stakes horses, odds