Mage draws post 3 as 8-5 favorite in Preakness

Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage was installed the 8-5 morning line favorite for Saturday's $1.65 million Preakness (G1) at Pimlico and will face seven rivals in the 1 3/16-mile test.

The only Derby starter returning on two weeks' rest for the Preakness, Mage drew post 3 and will be ridden again by Javier Castellano, who previously won the Preakness in 2006 with Bernardini and 2017 with Cloud Computing.

First Mission, the Lexington (G3) winner who will be making his fourth lifetime start, will break from post 8 for trainer Brad Cox and jockey Luis Saez. He is the second choice at 5-2 on the morning line.

National Treasure, the 4-1 third choice, drew post 1 for trainer Bob Baffert, who seeks a record-breaking eighth win in the Baltimore classic. He is currently tied for most Preakness wins by a trainer with 19th century Hall of Famer R. Wyndham Walden. Jockey John Velazquez, meanwhile, is looking to win the Preakness for the first time in his Hall of Fame career.

Blazing Sevens, most recently third in the Blue Grass (G1), was pegged at 6-1 for trainer Chad Brown, who previously captured the Preakness with Cloud Computing and Early Voting (2022).

Completing the field are Red Route One, Perform, Coffeewithchris, and Chase the Chaos.