National Treasure defeats Mage, wins 148th Preakness Stakes

After a thrilling race in 148th running of the Preakness Stakes, National Treasure won the day as a 5/2 odds pick. The final stretch came down to a duel between National Treasure and Blazing Sevens, with Mage coming third behind them.

The final betting payouts for the day reflected the favorites taking the top spots as well. A $2 bet on National Treasure to win paid out $7.80, while a show bet for any of the three paid out between $2.40 and $2.80 depending on which you had chosen.

Two weeks prior, Mage took the Kentucky Derby as a 15-1 pick and set the stage in Baltimore for another thrilling race. The Derby delivered another memorable moment as sports fans around the world watched the final stretch end with Mage overtaking Two Phil’s for the first trophy in horse racing’s Triple Crown.

Coming into the Preakness, Mage was the odds-on favorite with bettors after winning the Kentucky Derby. Following close behind was National Treasure, and Blazing Sevens as the top-three picks. All three delivered down the stretch. Sharing similar odds with less than an hour to post time, Chase The Chaos, Red Route One, Perform and Coffee With Chris all were outside chances winning the prestigious race.

National Treasure won the race, with Blazing Sevens coming in second and Derby-winner Mage finishing third.

National Treasure wins Preakness Stakes

The biggest story coming into Saturday’s legendary race in Maryland was whether or not Mage could repeat his performance from two weeks ago. Despite the show being Mage’s for most of the day, National Treasure drew plenty of attention coming into the race as well — being trained by Bob Baffert.

A legendary trainer, Baffert returned to Triple Crown racing for the first time in two years as a ban he received recently expired. Baffert-trained horses had won the Preakness seven times prior, and National Treasure gave him his 8th win to put him atop all other trainers in history at the race.

Baffert hasn’t been allowed to run a horse in a Triple Crown event because of what happened with Medina Spirit in 2021. Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby that year and finished third at the Preakness. However, the horse tested positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid used to treat inflammation. It’s also a banned substance when it’s used the day of a race. Medina Spirit died of a possible heart attack in December, 2021. Weeks later, race officials stripped Medina Spirit of his Kentucky Derby title.

Adding to the day’s emotions, another horse trained by Bob Baffert was euthanized Saturday after suffering a leg injury during an undercard race. Havnameltdown stumbled forward and tossed jockey Luis Saez off his back. Havnameltdown continued running, but reports from the track suggested the horse was in distress.

The colt was three years old. Dr. Dionne Benson, the chief vet at the track, found that Havnameltdown’s injury to its front leg was inoperable. The decision was made to put down the horse.

On3’s Suzanne Halliburton contributed to this article.