2021 Preakness Stakes date, horses, predictions, odds: Expert who nailed prep races releases bets, picks

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May 2, 2019; Louisville, KY, USA; An exercise rider works Kentucky Derby entry Game Winner during morning workouts at Churchill Downs.

Horse racing's Triple Crown makes its second stop on Saturday when 10 three-year-olds leave the starting gate in the 2021 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. The first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, was won by Medina Spirit, but that victory is under question after the horse tested positive for a corticosteroid in a post race exam. Maryland racing officials are allowing Medina Spirit to race in the Preakness Stakes 2021, but the horse will undergo additional testing and monitoring. 

Despite the controversy, Medina Spirit is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the 2021 Preakness Stakes odds. Concert Tour, who like Medina Spirit is trained by Bob Baffert, is right behind him at 5-2 in the 2021 Preakness Stakes field. Post time is set for 6:52 p.m. ET. With a talented 10-horse field entering the Pimlico starting gate, you'll want to see what racing insider Bob Weir has to say before making any 2021 Preakness Stakes picks.

Based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Weir has been handicapping and following horse racing since reading Andy Beyer's landmark handicapping book "Picking Winners" in the late 1980s. Weir is highly invested in the Beyer Speed Figure, a number assigned to every race run by a horse that measures how fast the horse ran. He uses the figure as the backbone of his handicapping. In fact, thanks to his proficiency with speed figures and top-tier handicapping, he landed one of just eight spots on Beyer's figure-making team in 2017, a position he holds to this day.

Weir's methodology has produced multiple five-figure days. In 2014, he hit a $60,000 Pick 6 at Del Mar. The following year, he nailed a $31,000 Pick 6 at Gulfstream Park. In 2016 and 2017, Weir qualified for the prestigious National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas.

Last year, his first for SportsLine, Weir was on fire. On June 13, Weir hit a $2 superfecta in the Ogden Phipps Stakes that paid a whopping $1,039. He crushed the exacta and trifecta in the Forego Stakes in August for $1,134.50. He hit the late Pick 4 at Belmont Park on June 18, June 19, June 25, July 2 and July 5, with the June 25 score returning a whopping $2,159.50.

This year, he has hit the exacta in the Sam F. Davis Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby and the trifecta in the Risen Star Stakes and Blue Grass Stakes, with the Tampa Bay Derby score returning $1,414. Anyone who has followed him is way up.

Now, Weir has handicapped the 2021 Preakness Stakes contenders, made his picks and constructed his bets. You can only see them here.

Top 2021 Preakness Stakes predictions

After studying the results of every horse, Weir is almost completely fading Medina Spirit, even though he won the Kentucky Derby and is the 9-5 morning-line favorite. A son of unheralded sire Protonico, Medina Spirit is looking for his fourth win in seven career starts. In the Kentucky Derby, he set a moderate pace and held off the challengers to win by a half-length.

But Weir doesn't like that the connections of the horse were pointing to the Belmont Stakes before winning the Derby. "I'm still hesitant to back Medina Spirit, as I can't get over the fact that the connections seemed legitimately surprised by the Derby win, and this seems like a spot they are forced into," Weir told SportsLine. 

Another curveball: Weir is high on Risk Taking, even though he's a huge long shot at 15-1 on the morning line. Trained by Chad Brown, Risk Taking has two wins in five career starts. He is coming off a seventh-place finish in the Wood Memorial on April 3.

Two starts ago, he won the Grade 3 Withers Stakes at nine furlongs. "A bounce-back makes him a contender," Weir said.

How to make 2021 Preakness Stakes picks, bets

Weir is also high on a double-digit long shot who is "the one to fear late." Weir is including this horse in his 2021 Preakness Stakes bets, and so should you. He's sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.

So who wins the Preakness 2021? And which double-digit long shot will shock horse racing? Check out the latest Preakness Stakes odds 2021 below, then visit SportsLine to see Weir's picks for the Preakness Stakes.

2021 Preakness Stakes horses, odds