Preakness Stakes Moves to Laurel Park with 14-Horse Field

The 151st Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, will take place Saturday at Laurel Park in Maryland, marking a temporary relocation from its traditional venue at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course, which is undergoing renovations. The race features 14 three-year-old horses competing over a distance of 1 3/16 miles for a $2 million purse, with $1.2 million awarded to the winner.

Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo will not participate in the Preakness, as trainer Cherie DeVaux decided the horse needed nearly a month of rest before the Belmont Stakes on June 6. This marks the third time in five years that the Derby winner has skipped the Preakness. Instead, Golden Tempo’s jockey, Jose Ortiz, will ride Chip Honcho, a colt who did not run in the Derby.

Iron Honor enters the race as the morning-line favorite with 9-2 odds. The bay colt, trained by Chad Brown, did not run in the Derby but won the Gotham Stakes in February and placed seventh in the Wood Memorial Stakes last month. Jockey Flavien Prat, who has previously ridden in the Preakness, will be aboard Iron Honor. Brown is seeking his third Preakness victory, having won with Early Voting in 2022 and Cloud Computing in 2017.

Three horses share 5-1 odds: Chip Honcho, Incredibolt, and Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal, trained by Brittany Russell, is undefeated with three wins at Laurel Park, including the Miracle Wood Stakes and Federico Tesio Stakes. Russell aims to become the 17th woman to train a Preakness horse and the first since 2019. Taj Mahal will start from the No. 1 post position, a spot trainer Russell had hoped to avoid due to the risk of being boxed in early in the race. Sheldon Russell, her husband, will ride Taj Mahal in his fourth Preakness appearance.

Chip Honcho, trained by Steve Asmussen, skipped the Derby after finishing fifth in the Louisiana Derby. Ortiz, who rode Golden Tempo to Derby victory, will ride Chip Honcho in the Preakness. Asmussen is seeking a third Preakness win, having previously won with Rachel Alexandra in 2009 and Curlin in 2007.

Incredibolt, who finished sixth in the Derby, is trained by Riley Mott and will be ridden by Jaime Torres. Torres won the Preakness last year aboard Seize the Grey. Incredibolt also won the Virginia Derby in March and the Street Sense Stakes in October.

Other notable entrants include Ocelli, who finished third in the Derby and has 6-1 odds, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione and trained by D. Whitworth Beckman; Napoleon Solo, with 8-1 odds, trained by Chad Summers and ridden by Paco Lopez; and Talkin, at 20-1 odds.

The Preakness post time is approximately 6:50 p.m. ET, with live coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Peacock and continuing on NBC and Peacock at 4 p.m. This year’s field of 14 horses is the largest in 15 years, matching the 2011 race when Shackleford defeated Derby winner Animal Kingdom. The Preakness is expected to return to Pimlico Race Course next year after redevelopment is complete.

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