Preakness Preview Day at Laurel Park this Saturday, April 18, will offer an interesting advance sneak peek into next month’s Preakness Stakes and supporting races. Saturday’s 12-race Laurel program beginning at noon Eastern time will feature five stakes races that will have an impact on next month’s races over Preakness weekend, which this year will be contested right back at Laurel as Pimlico undergoes reconstruction.

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Preakness Preview Day at Laurel will be headlined by the running of the Federico Tesio Stakes, which will offer an automatic berth into the Preakness Stakes to the winner.

Laurel’s Preakness Preview Day races will be broadcast live on FanDuel TV and will also be featured on a livestream by the team at America’s Best Racing. ABR’s “Preakness Preview Day LIVE!” show will stream Saturday from 2:30-5 p.m. ET focusing on Laurel’s five Saturday stakes races culminating with the Federico Tesio.

Hosted by ABR’s Dan Tordjman and Alexa Zepp along with Tim Littau, the show will feature special guests and handicapping insights. “Preakness Preview Day LIVE!” is sponsored by the National Thoroughbred League and will be streamed on America’s Best Racing’s Facebook, X, and YouTube channels.

Let’s take a closer look at the five stakes races included on Saturday’s Preakness Preview Day card at Laurel Park.

Race 7: $100,000 Dahlia Stakes

Distance and conditions: One mile on turf for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up

Post time: 2:52 p.m. ET

Wagering Menu: Win/place/show, exacta, trifecta, superfecta, super hi-5, double, pick 3, pick 6

Background: The Dahlia Stakes is a prep race for the $150,000, Grade 3 Gallorette Stakes to be run at 1 1/16 miles on the May 16 Preakness undercard at Laurel.

Dahlia Stakes Analysis: The Dahlia Stakes has drawn a field of nine fillies and mares set to run a mile on the grass. The two horses to beat in the race, #4 Ribaltagaia and #5 Summerintahoe are both making their seasonal debut coming off long layoffs. They’ll be tough to beat if they return from the sidelines in mid-season form, but otherwise they could be vulnerable favorites. Ribaltagaia is trained by Graham Motion and was last seen finishing second in Monmouth Park’s $100,000 Violet Stakes last August, while Summerintahoe won her most recent outing late last summer in a seven-furlong allowance optional claiming race at Kentucky Downs. If you are seeking an upset candidate, the best place to look is with #9 Amie’s Symphony, who won a Laurel turf race at this distance last fall and exits a third-place finish in a tough Gulfstream Park turf event in her last start.

Race 8: $100,000 King T. Leatherbury Stakes

Doncho (Coady Media)

Distance and conditions: 5 ½ furlongs on turf for 3-year-olds and up

Post time: 3:22 p.m. ET

Wagering menu: Win/place/show, exacta, trifecta, superfecta, super hi-5, double, pick 3, Value Pick 5 (12% takeout)

Background: Named for the recently deceased legendary Maryland-based trainer King Leatherbury, this race is a prep for the $125,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint to be run on the May 16 Preakness undercard at Laurel. This race starts Laurel’s late Value Pick 5 which offers bettors an industry-low 12% takeout.

Leatherbury Stakes Analysis: The Leatherbury Stakes has drawn a full field of turf sprinters ready to dash 5 ½ furlongs. The big name in this field is #5 Doncho, who won last summer’s $151,000 Da Hoss Stakes at Colonial Downs but is most well known as the horse that broke the 5 ½ furlong turf world record by running :59.75 in a victory at Ellis Park on Aug. 8, 2025. Obviously if Doncho shows up and does that again he will not be beat, but this will be his 2026 debut outing following a six-month layoff and a top effort like that might be unrealistic. Other top contenders include defending Leatherbury Stakes champion #9 Fore Harp, and local turf sprint hero #4 Had to Have Him, who begins his 2026 season after finishing his 2025 campaign with back-to-back 5 ½-furlong Laurel turf sprint wins in the $100,000 Laurel Dash and the $100,000 Maryland Million Turf Sprint.

Race 9: $150,000 Weber City Miss Stakes

Distance and conditions: 1 1/16 miles on dirt for 3-year-old fillies

Post Time: 3:51 p.m. ET

Wagering menu: Win/place/show, exacta, trifecta, superfecta, super hi-5, double, pick 3, pick 4

Background: The Weber City Miss Stakes is the local prep race for the $300,000, Grade 2 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyes Susan Stakes to be run at Laurel on Friday, May 15.

Weber City Miss Stakes Analysis: A field of nine 3-year-old fillies takes to the track hoping to earn a trip to next month’s Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. The standout in the field is #8 Jumping the Gun, who returns to the track off a four-month layoff for her sophomore debut after a 2-year-old campaign where she never finished out of the exacta in five starts including winning two Delaware Park stakes races and finishing second behind Zany in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes going 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct on Dec. 6. If for any reason Jumping the Gun is not ready for her best effort off the layoff, or if she doesn’t handle the two-turf route distance of this race, the top challenger in the field will be #7 A. P.’s Girl trained by Peter Eurton. A. P.’s Girl comes into this on a two-race winning streak at this distance at Fair Grounds including her maiden victory and a 5 ¼-length allowance win last time out.

Race 10: $100,000 Henry S. Clark Stakes

Cruise the Nile (Coglianese Photos/Gulfstream Park)

Distance: One mile on turf for 3-year-olds and up

Post Time: 4:20 p.m. ET

Wagering menu: Win/place/show, exacta, trifecta, superfecta, super hi-5, double, pick 3

Background: The Henry Clark Stakes serves as the local prep race for the $250,000, Grade 3 Dinner Party Stakes to be run at 1 1/8 miles at Laurel on the May 16 Preakness Stakes undercard.

Clark Stakes Analysis: The Henry Clark Stakes has drawn a deep and talented 11-horse field set to run a mile on the turf and there are several interesting contenders in the field. The key will be to find the horse(s) that do their best running on the grass, which could narrow down the field quite a bit since horses like #5 Horsepower and #11 Baby Max may be better on all-weather tracks, and #4 Bartlett may be better on the dirt. The horse to beat will be the red-hot #7 Cruise the Nile, who makes his stakes debut for trainer Graham Motion coming off three straight wins this past season at Gulfstream Park including an allowance optional claiming win last time over a stacked, stakes-caliber field that included Burnham Square and Chapman’s Peak. There’s plenty of options in this race for the exactas and trifectas, the best of which include #2 Naptown, who owns two wins and a third in three prior outings on the Laurel turf course and was not embarrassed last year when fourth against Grade 1 competition in the Rogers Woodbine Mile, and #10 Mischievous Angel, who finished a game second in this same race last year.

Race 11: $150,000 Federico Tesio Stakes

Taj Mahal (Jeffrey Snyder/Maryland Jockey Club)

Distance: 1 1/8 miles on dirt for 3-year-olds

Post Time: 4:49 p.m. ET

Wagering menu: Win/place/show, exacta, trifecta, superfecta, super hi-5, daily double

Background: The Federico Tesio Stakes is Maryland’s longstanding prep race for the Preakness Stakes, and the 2026 winner receives an automatic Preakness berth. The Tesio was a Grade 3 stakes from 1986-1997. The last horse to win both this race and the Preakness was Deputed Testimony in 1983; however, several Tesio graduates have made an impact on the Triple Crown since then including, most recently, Icabad Crane in 2008 who won the Tesio and then finished third in the Preakness. In 2011, Tesio runner-up Ruler On Ice went on to win the Belmont Stakes. The 2025 Tesio Sakes winner Pay Billy accepted his Preakness invite and finished seventh.

Federico Tesio Analysis: A 10-horse field of 3-year-olds has been assembled for Saturday’s Tesio. This is actually Laurel’s third major stakes race of the season on the road to the Preakness along with February’s Miracle Wood Stakes and March’s Private Terms Stakes, so it’s no surprise that the top contenders in Saturday’s field will be exiting one of those prior preps. On paper and based on speed figures, it was the Miracle Wood that was the much stronger of those two previous races, and therefore the top finishers from the Miracle Wood have to be considered highly on your win tickets this Saturday. #10 Taj Mahal has begun his career 2-for-2 after gutting-out the Miracle Wood win by a neck over #5 Let’s Go Lando, but this 1 1/8-mile distance from post 10 might be a tough assignment at low odds. Let’s Go Lando, who subsequently finished third by a length in the Private Terms Stakes, picks up jockey Paco Lopez and might actually be a better bet at this distance. Perhaps an even better option in the Tesio is Private Terms winner #4 Wild Warrior, who lacks a big speed figure so far in his career but does own three wins and appears to have Let’s Go Lando’s number after beating that rival in all three of his victories. If you want to go even deeper on your tickets than Wild Warrior, Let’s Go Lando, and Taj Mahal, one additional contender to consider in this wide-open race is #6 Close the Gate, who finished second in the local Spectacular Bid Stakes, third in the Miracle Wood, and then went to Colonial Downs last time and finished third by a half a length in a tough allowance field that included unbeaten Code Review and I Did I Did, who returned to run fourth in last weekend’s Grade 3 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes.