The 151st running of the Preakness Stakes, the "middle jewel" of the Triple Crown, will go off at 7:01 p.m. ET this Saturday. This is the first Preakness to be run at Laurel Park, while its longtime home at Pimlico Race Course undergoes major renovations.
The Preakness, which will still be run at its usual 1 3⁄16 mile distance, will return to Pimlico in 2027. However, the race will go off without the Kentucky Derby winner for the second year in a row as Golden Tempo's trainer Cherie DeVaux elected to point him to the Belmont instead.
The $2 million race will have a full 14-horse field with mostly newcomers to the Triple Crown trail. Only Ocelli, Robusta and Incredibolt will make the two-week turnaround from the Derby.
Here are the major storylines, contenders and potential bets to make.
(Editor's note: Field is accurate as of the time of publish.)
What's the biggest storyline?
Golden Tempo's defection from the Preakness has caused a new round of speculation about whether the race will eventually be moved back from its longtime date of the third Saturday in May. Moving the Preakness back would give more rest to horses that ran in the Derby and potentially entice more trainers to enter their horses in both races. However, it would require the Belmont Stakes to be delayed a week if the goal is to allow for horses to run the three races in a six-week span.
Cherie DeVaux reacts to being the first woman to train the winner of the Kentucky Derby after Golden Tempo wins a thrilling race.
The current five-week span of the Triple Crown has been in place since 1969. All 13 of the Triple Crown winners have won the Preakness with no more than two weeks between the Derby and Preakness. Sir Barton won off four days of rest in 1919, while the most recent six Triple Crown winners had two weeks.
That hasn't been the case for the Belmont Stakes. Sir Barton, Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943) and Citation (1948) all had 28 days between the Preakness and Belmont before the modern spacing was put in place.
This question has come and gone over the years, particularly during the 37-year gap between Triple Crown winners Affirmed (1978) and American Pharoah (2015), which prompted questions as to whether modern thoroughbreds -- that don't race as often as they did 100 years ago -- can physically hold up on two weeks' rest.
It resurfaced last year when trainer Bill Mott elected to have Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty skip the Preakness. Journalism, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby, went on to win the Preakness before finishing second to Sovereignty again in the Belmont Stakes.
2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan finished second in the Preakness behind newcomer Seize the Grey, and Catching Freedom (who placed fourth in the Derby) finished third. While Seize the Grey had not run in the Kentucky Derby, he won the Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs on Derby Day.
A Triple Crown winner in 2025 or 2026 would have come with its own questions, as the Belmont is currently being run at 1 ¼ miles versus its traditional 1 ½ mile distance, due to a temporary move from Belmont Park (also undergoing renovations) to Saratoga.
The three races are all expected to return to their regular homes and distances when renovations are complete in 2027. However, with Churchill Downs Inc. entering an agreement to buy the Preakness intellectual property, the question of when to run the races will certainly come up again as early as next year.
Get to know the field
Horses are listed in order of post position alongside Morning Line odds.
1. Taj Mahal (5-1)
Undefeated in three lifetime starts at Laurel Park, he knows the track better than any of the contenders. Taj Mahal won his last race by eight lengths but will take a big step up in class in this race.
Taj Mahal's trainer Brittany Russell is attempting to become the first female trainer to win the Preakness, two weeks after DeVaux became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby.
Bet him if: You like a horse that knows the track well and should be near the front of the pack to start the race, and you want to see more history being made.
2. Ocelli (6-1)
Originally sold at auction for $12,000 as a yearling, Ocelli was an also-eligible contender who drew into the Kentucky Derby because of scratches. He pulled a shocker when he placed third, despite going off at odds of 70-1. He had the lead in the stretch before Golden Tempo and Renegade passed him.
The big question is how much that effort took out of him two weeks ago.
Ocelli has never won a race in seven lifetime starts, and the last maiden to win the Preakness was Refund in 1888. The last horse to finish third in the Derby and win the Preakness was Curlin in 2007.
Bet him if: You like a horse who has been battle tested (more starts than anyone in the field) and has hit the board in his past two races, proving he can hang around in a graded stakes race.
3. Crupper (30-1)
Crupper has never run in a graded stakes race, but fought to a win at Oaklawn Park in April. He's taking a step up in class, but he has shown he's game by not finishing worse than third in his past five starts.
Bet him if: You like his consistency. Crupper won his first race by three lengths in February after adding blinkers, and he dug in to hold off two horses after leading most of his last race.
4. Robusta (30-1)
Robusta finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby and never made a real run in that race. He'll be attempting to win his first stakes race and first race outside of California. His best race so far was a runner-up finish in the San Felipe on March 7.
Bet him if: You're willing to draw a line through a crowded Derby and focus on his two prior races. Robusta showed early speed in both races, fading to seventh in the Santa Anita Derby after being bumped at the start. He led down the stretch in the San Felipe but was run down by Potente just before the wire.
5. Talkin (20-1)
Irad Ortiz Jr. gets the mount on Talkin, who finished third in the Blue Grass Stakes. This will be Talkin's sixth lifetime start, all at separate tracks. However, he has only one win, in his debut as a 2-year-old in August.
Bet him if: You like his experience. He has raced in four graded stakes, at distances of 7 furlongs to 1 ⅛ miles and against tough competition. He's a long shot but has shown ability to hit the board against top-tier opponents.
6. Chip Honcho (5-1)
Jose Ortiz will ride Chip Honcho two weeks after winning the Kentucky Derby on Golden Tempo. Chip Honcho is coming off a long layoff, having last raced in the Louisiana Derby on March 21, a race in which he finished fifth.
Bet him if: You like the long layoff and the route through the Louisiana races, which also produced Golden Tempo. Chip Honcho had a respectable runner-up finish in the Risen Star ahead of Golden Tempo, and has three graded stakes races on his résumé.
7. The Hell We Did (15-1)
The Hell We Did finished second in the Lexington Stakes, ahead of Corona de Oro. The 1 1⁄16 mile race is his only effort beyond six furlongs in four lifetime starts. The winner of that race, Trendsetter, later finished third in the Peter Pan Stakes.
Bet him if: You think he'll continue to improve at longer distances and that his pedigree (his sire is 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic) is suited for it.
8. Bull by the Horns (30-1)
Bull by the Horns will come off the longest layoff in the field, as his last start was a win in the Rushaway Stakes on March 21. Bull by the Horns came from last place and went wide around horses before holding off others down the stretch. He was originally pointed to the Peter Pan Stakes but scratched.
Bet him if: You like his last-to-first finish in the Rushaway Stakes and think there's enough pace in this race for him to be picking off tiring horses at the end.
9. Iron Honor (9-2)
Iron Honor is the least tested horse in the field, as he has raced only three times and didn't make his 2-year-old debut until Dec. 13. That makes him somewhat of a wild card. He won the Grade I Gotham Stakes but finished seventh in the Wood Memorial. He's trained by Chad Brown, and will be ridden by Flavien Prat.
Bet him if: You think he's following the same path as Chad Brown's previous Preakness winners Cloud Computing (2017) and Early Voting (2022). Cloud Computing had three lifetime starts going into the Preakness and hit the board in both of the New York races. Early Voting had three lifetime starts before the Preakness, won the Withers Stakes and finished second in the Wood Memorial.
10. Napoleon Solo (8-1)
He has finished fifth in both of his starts at 3 years old after fading down the stretch and his best race was a win in the 1-mile Champagne Stakes as a 2-year-old. He will likely try to go to the front early, but ultimately the big question will be whether he's best suited for shorter distances.
Bet him if: You like his speed and think he can get to the front and hold it, and if you think he's still a step above his competition as the only Grade I winner in the field.
11. Corona de Oro (30-1)
Corona de Oro didn't draw into the Kentucky Derby off his third-place effort in the Lexington Stakes, but he has shown good effort in races behind a mile, breaking his maiden at the Fair Grounds on March 7 with a four-length win in a 1 1⁄16 mile race. He'll have a new jockey in John Velazquez.
Bet him if: You like Dallas Stewart long shots. Stewart finished second in the 2015 Preakness behind American Pharoah with Tale of Verve (28-1), second in the 2014 Kentucky Derby behind California Chrome with Commanding Curve (37-1) and second behind Orb in the 2013 Kentucky Derby with Golden Soul (34-1).
12. Incredibolt (5-1)
Incredibolt comes off a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby after he was quickly taken to the rail from the outside post and then jostled in a crowd of horses coming down the stretch. His entry into the Preakness is somewhat of a surprise considering his trainer is Riley Mott, whose father Bill Mott skipped the Preakness with the Kentucky Derby winner last year, and also chose to bypass it this year.
Bet him if: You think he's the most well-rounded horse in the field who didn't get a perfect trip in the Kentucky Derby.
13. Great White (15-1)
Great White was last seen rearing and flipping over prior to the start of the Kentucky Derby. The big grey gelding might still have some growing up to do, as he is both a May foal (while every thoroughbred racehorse has an "official" birthday of Jan. 1, many are actually much younger), and stands over 17 hands.
Bet him if: You chalk the Derby up to a learning experience and think he'll improve from his last actual start, which was five weeks ago.
14. Pretty Boy Miah (15-1)
Pretty Boy Miah's best races have come when he's placed near the front and he won his past two by six lengths and three lengths, respectively. While he might be improving, he'll be asked to do a lot of new things in this race: He has never raced more than a mile, has never been in a post this far outside, and has never raced against this level of competition.
Bet him if: You think he has shown himself capable of stretching out more after winning at both 6.5 furlongs and a mile, and think he's ready for a class jump.
Take me to the window
A two-dollar exacta boxing Golden Tempo and Renegade would have returned $278.86 in the Kentucky Derby. Let's try for a similar bet in the Preakness.
Box Ocelli and Incredibolt for an exacta bet, use Great White, Talkin, Chip Honcho and Taj Mahal in trifecta bets. For a long shot: bet Crupper across the board (win/place/show).
