2023 Preakness Stakes odds: Kentucky Derby winner Mage officially will run in second Triple Crown race May 20 at Pimlico

It's very rare for a winner of the Kentucky Derby to skip the second leg of the Triple Crown -- the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in Baltimore -- if the horse is healthy, but it happened as recently as last year with Rich Strike. That will not be a worry for 2023 Derby winner Mage, as his handlers officially announced today the colt will run in the 148th Preakness next Saturday. He is the +200 favorite.

With jockey Javier Castellano aboard, Mage rallied from the back of the pack, went six-wide off the final turn and passed Two Phil's down the stretch to win the Kentucky Derby. Mage went off at 15/1 to win, finished the 1¼ miles in 2:01.57 and paid $32.42 on a $2 win bet. It was the first Derby win for Castellano and trainer and fellow Venezuelan Gustavo Delgado.

Gustavo Delgado Jr., the trainer's son and Mage's assistant trainer, said his father was inspired by Canonero II, a Venezuelan horse who won the first two legs of the 1971 Triple Crown before finishing fourth in the Belmont.

"He always told me, 'One day we should go to the States and try and win one of those races,'" Delgado Jr. said. "Now we're here."

Mage, who didn't race as a 2-year-old, had only one win in three previous races. The son of Good Magic and Puca by 2008 Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown joined Justify (2018), Big Brown (2008) and Regret (2015) as Derby winners with just three previous starts. Mage ran for about 1½ miles with exercise rider J.J. Delgado aboard at Churchill Downs on Friday morning. Co-owner Ramiro Restrepo said the chestnut colt was "thriving." Mage is expected to get another short run in Louisville on Saturday morning before boarding a trailer for the 600-mile ride to Baltimore.

There have been 36 horses that have won the first two legs of the Triple Crown. The last two to do it, American Pharoah and Justify, went on to win the Triple Crown. The last horse to win the Derby and the Preakness without completing the Triple Crown was California Chrome in 2014. That Mage wins the Triple Crown this year is currently +600 with No at -1000. 

Pre-Derby favorite Forte is not expected to run in the Preakness. He was scratched the morning of the Derby following a soundness check because of concerns about a bruised right foot. Kentucky racing officials placed Forte on a mandatory 14-day veterinary list that requires the colt to pass a soundness test in Maryland, but the Maryland Department of Labor said due to Forte being on the vet's list that he would not be eligible for the Preakness. The draw is Monday and Forte wouldn't be off the list by then. 

Current Preakness Stakes Odds

• Mage +200
• First Mission +240
• Disarm +800
• National Treasure +900
• Blazing Sevens +1200
• Confidence Game +1200
• Red Route One +1400
• Perform +1600
• Chase The Chaos +4000

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