Total betting on Saturday’s Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, dropped 16.4 percent compared to last year, according to charts of the races, as the short field in the race took its toll on all pools.
This year’s Preakness had seven runners, compared to nine last year, causing steep declines in nearly all pools held on the race. In addition, nearly all multi-race bets that were linked to the Preakness suffered double-digit drops, with the traditional pick 5 linking the Preakness and its four preceding races cratering 75.4 percent.
Betting on the races preceding the Preakness was running 13.7 percent ahead of last year’s card going into the race, in part because the track added three pick 5 bets to the menu and linked another two pick 5 bets from Friday’s card into Saturday’s card.
