The Preakness Stakes field took another hit Monday morning. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse ruled out Silent Tactic on May 11, pulling the plug on any chance the colt makes it to Laurel Park. The prospective field is now down to 13 horses, and the Preakness Stakes odds board has reshuffled completely. Taj Mahal steps into the role of morning-line favorite at 7/2, with Ocelli at 5/1 and Chip Honcho at 11/2 the next names in line.
This was not a surprise scratch, but it still stings for anyone who had Silent Tactic anchoring a futures ticket or a Triple Crown bonus play. The persistent right-foot bruise and wall separation that kept him out of the Kentucky Derby never fully resolved. He breezed a half-mile in :48 4/5 at Churchill Downs on May 8, which looked encouraging, but Casse saw enough in that work and in the follow-up evaluation to make the call. Irad Ortiz had already been confirmed aboard. When Ortiz is confirmed, and the trainer still scratches, you know the foot was not right.
| Horse | Market Odds | Trainer | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taj Mahal | 7/2 | Brittany Russell | ML Favorite, unbeaten at Laurel Park |
| Ocelli | 5/1 | Withworth Beckman | Derby third-place finisher |
| Chip Honcho | 11/2 | Steven Assmussen | Pace factor, watch early |
| Field (remaining 10) | 8/1 and up | Various | Wide-open overlay opportunities |
For a full look at who is still in, check the official Preakness Stakes entries and cross-reference with BUSR for the most current field status and scratches.
The pace scenario shifts meaningfully here. Silent Tactic was a tactical horse, capable of sitting just off the lead and turning the race into a stamina test in the final sixteenth. Without him, you want to look hard at who controls the early fractions and whether Chip Honcho gets a soft lead or has to fight for it.
If Chip Honcho gets unchallenged to the front, he becomes more dangerous than his 11/2 morning line suggests. A contested pace sets up the closers, and that is where Ocelli comes in. The Derby third-place finish tells you this horse can run all day. The question is whether Laurel Park's one-turn mile and three-sixteenths plays to his style. It typically favors horses with a mid-pack stalking trip who can flatten out in the stretch.
Taj Mahal is the chalk for a reason. Unbeaten at Laurel Park, comfortable on this surface, and with the kind of tactical versatility that lets a good jock put him wherever the race sets up. At 7/2, he is not a massive overlay, but he is the right horse to build a ticket around rather than throw out.
This is a Preakness Stakes betting situation where spreading makes sense. There is no dominant single horse. The last time this many scratches reshuffled a Preakness Stakes morning line this close to race day, the exotics paid very well, and the public underbet the third horse in the trifecta.
Here is how to think about ticket construction:
Check the Preakness Stakes contenders page for the full breakdown, and keep an eye on how the Kentucky Derby odds graded out for the horses who ran back here. Derby form, particularly horses who finished third through sixth with troubled trips, has a strong conversion rate in the Preakness historically.
Also worth noting: horses who showed strong early form in preps like the Fair Grounds Stakes and the Tampa Bay Stakes have pointed horses toward this race for years. If any of those form lines are in this field, they deserve a closer look now that the top two early eliminations are gone.
The chatter on X around the Silent Tactic scratch has been loud all morning. The consensus among sharp bettors is that this field is genuinely wide open in a way we have not seen in the Preakness for several years. Between the Golden Tempo, Crude Velocity, and now Silent Tactic scratches, three horses who figured to shape the race in very different ways are all gone. That changes pace dynamics, class comparisons, and how you build a ticket from scratch.
Over on Reddit's r/horseracing, the discussion is focused on whether Taj Mahal's 7/2 morning line holds or drifts outward as money flows in all directions. Several posters are pointing to Ocelli's Derby third-place finish as the most underrated form line in the race. The general feeling is that anyone who can build a trifecta around three legitimate 6/1-or-shorter horses in this field is going to find real value in the payouts, because the public money is going to be scattered across a board with no obvious anchor.
Trainer Mark Casse cited a persistent right-foot bruise and wall separation. Silent Tactic had already missed the Kentucky Derby with the same issue and breezed a half-mile in :48 4/5 on May 8 at Churchill Downs, which looked solid on paper. But Casse evaluated the colt after that work, found the foot had not resolved sufficiently, and made the call to scratch on May 11. When Irad Ortiz is confirmed and the trainer still pulls the horse, the foot was not right.
Taj Mahal is the morning-line favorite at 7/2, with Ocelli at 5/1 and Chip Honcho at 11/2 among the top contenders. The field is down to 13 horses following the scratches of both Crude Velocity and Silent Tactic, and Taj Mahal's track record at Laurel Park gives him a legitimate edge as the chalk in a wide-open race. Check the current Preakness Stakes odds for the latest board.
With no dominant single chalk to anchor a ticket, the scratch opens up the exotics considerably. Sharp bettors are using Taj Mahal as a top key while spreading underneath to Ocelli, Chip Honcho, and at least one double-digit morning line horse in exactas and trifectas. The field is thin enough at 13 horses to keep ticket costs manageable, and the payout potential on a scrambled trifecta or superfecta is real. Visit the Preakness Stakes betting page for full wagering options and current pool information.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
