Preakness 2022 Lineup: Full Race Guide for All Horses and Jockeys

As we inch closer to the 2022 Preakness Stakes, Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath is trending as one of the favorites. While we've only seen six fillies win the Run for the Black-Eyed Susans (most recently Swiss Skydiver in 2020), the D. Wayne Lukas-trained filly has a legitimate chance.

Lukas being part of the race team has a lot to do with it, as he has six Preakness wins on his resume. It also helps that Secret Oath will be piloted by seasoned jockey Luis Saez. While Saez has never won the Preakness, he's won multiple major events, including the 2020 Saudi Cup and the 2019 Kentucky Derby (later disqualified for interference), both atop Maximum Security.

Every aspect of a horse's team comes into play at Pimlico, where a smaller field makes strategy, pacing and positioning critical.

Secret Oath has a lot going for her on all fronts heading into Saturday's race, but she's far from the only horse who can pull out the win. Here's a look at the lineup—including trainers, jockeys and the latest odds—for the 147th running of the Preakness Stakes.

Where: Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore

When: Saturday, May 21

Post Time: 6:50 p.m. ET

TV Coverage Start Time: 2 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports App and Peacock  (pre-race coverage on CNBC from 2-4 p.m. ET)

Prize Pool: $1.5 million ($900,000 to the winner)

1. Simplification  6-1

Trainer: Antonio Sano

Jockey: John Velazquez

2. Creative Minister 10-1

Trainer: Kenneth McPeek

Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.

3. Fenwick 50-1

Trainer: Kevin McKathan

Jockey: Florent Geroux

4. Secret Oath 9-2

Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas

Jockey: Luis Saez

5. Early Voting 7-2

Trainer: Chad Brown

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

6. Happy Jack 30-1

Trainer: Doug O'Neill

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

7. Armagnac 12-1

Trainer: Tim Yakteen

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

8. Epicenter 6-5

Trainer: Steven Asmussen

Jockey: Joel Rosario

9. Skippylongstocking 20-1

Trainer: Saffie A. Joseph Jr.

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

*Odds via Preakness.com

While trainers and jockeys play obvious roles in any big-stakes race, Lukas and Saez aren't the only reasons why Secret Oath has a shot at claiming back-to-back victories. She's a terrific runner with the speed to overtake a talented field on the 1 ⅛-mile course.

"When she gets to a horse, if you ask her, she gets past them quick," Lukas said of Secret Oath, per Shawn Stepner of WMAR Baltimore. "She accelerates. That makes her very, very tough to beat."

However, Secret Oath isn't the late-week favorite. That would be Kentucky Derby runner-up Epicenter. The Steve Asmussen-trained colt came close to winning the Derby before being overtaken in the final seconds by 80-1 long shot Rich Strike.

Rich Strike, if you weren't already aware, won't be at Pimlico. Owner Rick Dawson decided not to run his champion this week in order to focus on next month's Belmont Stakes. On the slightly shorter Pimlico course, Epicenter might have outlasted Rich Strike anyway, so his position as the favorite isn't a shock.

Riding Epicenter will be veteran jockey Joel Rosario, who has won both the Kentucky Derby (2013) and the Belmont (2014, 2019).

The only real question about Epicenter is whether he's ready to run again mere weeks after a fast-paced run at Churchill Downs. Epicenter has also run seven races in a span of eight months, though Asmussen believes the horse is just getting warmed up.

"We expect this is just the beginning of his racing career," Asmussen said in a Maryland Jockey Club news release.

Early Voting is another favorite. He's trained by Chad Brown, whose Cloud Computing won the 2017 Preakness. Jockey Jose Ortiz won the 2017 Belmont Stakes atop Tapwrit. Early Voting didn't participate in the Derby, but he has won two of three starts.

Simplification is another horse generating some buzz. The Antonio Sano-trained colt will be jockeyed by John Velazquez, who has three Kentucky Derby wins and two Belmont wins on his resume.

As Neil Greenberg of the Washington Post recently pointed out, Simplification ran faster—in feet-per-second after accounting for distance—than Epicenter at the Derby.

The jockey switch from Ortiz to Velazquez might make a notable difference. However, it's worth noting that Simplification has finished outside the top two in four of his eight races. My guess is that it happens again at Pimlico.

Prediction

1. Secret Oath

2. Epicenter

3. Early Voting