Laurel Park Launches Preakness Preview Day Handicapping Challenge This April

With a $500 buy-in, a $30,000 prize pool, and a spot in the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge on the line, Laurel Park's Preakness Preview Day Handicapping Challenge on Saturday, April 18 is angling to be the most consequential afternoon of spring racing in the Mid-Atlantic before the Triple Crown season hits full stride.

The structure is straightforward: pay $500, which breaks down as a $250 entry fee and a $250 bankroll pre-loaded onto a betting card for use at Laurel's self-service wagering machines. Contestants must play at least five races with a $50 minimum per race, choosing from Win, Place, Show, Exacta, and Daily Double bets across the full 12-race card. The contest runs both on-site and online through Xpressbet, TwinSpires, and TVG/4NJBETS, and any bankroll left after the final race transfers back into the player's personal account. All entry fees are returned as prizes.

Based on 120 entries, the prize pool reaches $30,000. The winner takes a full seat to the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, valued at $10,000, plus two reserved seats to the Preakness Stakes. The second- and third-place finishers each receive a National Handicapping Championship Prize Pack valued at $5,350, which includes a $400 flight voucher and hotel stay. The top three finishers choose their preferred prize seat in order of finish. Cash payouts extend through fifth place: $4,650 to the winner, $1,860 for second, $1,395 for third, $930 for fourth, and $465 for fifth.

Online players using TVG or 4NJBETS must pre-register with Brian Skirka at Monmouth Park by 3 p.m. ET on Friday, April 17. Xpressbet players can register directly through the platform until first post.

The handicapping challenge is embedded in a card built to draw serious attention. Five stakes worth $600,000 in purses anchor the day, headlined by two "Win Today, See You in May" qualifiers. The $150,000 Federico Tesio at 1 1/8 miles offers the winner an automatic berth into the Grade 1, $2,000,000 Preakness Stakes on May 16. The $150,000 Weber City Miss at 1 1/16 miles delivers an automatic entry into the Grade 2, $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico. Private Terms winner Pay Billy, trained by Michael Gorham for RKTN Racing, and Withers Stakes runner-up Surfside Moon headline the Federico Tesio field. Gorham, who watched Pay Billy win the Private Terms by 3½ lengths on March 22, is open about his expectations going into the race. "He's going as good into this race as he did his last race," Gorham said. "I'm expecting a big [effort]." Completing the stakes card are three turf races marking Maryland's first grass action of 2026: the $100,000 Henry Clark, the $100,000 King T. Leatherbury, and the $100,000 Dahlia.

The April 18 event carries extra weight this year because Laurel itself is hosting the Preakness Stakes while Pimlico undergoes reconstruction, but attendance at the May 16 classic is capped at 4,800 due to the venue's wet infield. That bottleneck makes Preakness Preview Day one of the few opportunities for the Maryland racing community to experience Preakness-season racing in a less restrictive setting, and the Maryland Jockey Club is counting on the contest format to convert that interest into on-track handle.

For contest veterans chasing NHC or BCBC qualification, this is a legitimate path and one of the final entry points before summer. For fans of the Preakness trail, the Federico Tesio is the sharpest local preview of what arrives at Laurel in six weeks. For newcomers, Laurel is offering brief on-site seminars covering how to read past performances and basic betting strategy, specifically intended to lower the barrier for first-time players who show up curious but unsure where to start. The $150 VIP hospitality package adds premium trackside box seating for those who want the full afternoon.