Napoleon Solo Wins 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park

Napoleon Solo surged to victory in the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, capturing the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown at Laurel Park in Maryland. The colt, ridden by jockey Paco Lopez, outpaced a field of 14 horses—the largest in 15 years—to claim the $1.2 million winner’s share of the $2 million purse.

Despite finishing fifth in his two starts earlier this year, Napoleon Solo entered the race as a 7-to-1 favorite. Early in the race, he trailed the front-runner Taj Mahal, who led through the first quarter-mile in 22.66 seconds. However, near the top of the stretch, Napoleon Solo, guided by Lopez, pulled ahead and maintained his lead as the main grandstand came into view. Iron Honor, another pre-race favorite, challenged late but finished 1 1/4 lengths behind the winner. Chip Honcho secured third place.

Trainer Chad Summers, who claimed his first Preakness victory, credited jockey Lopez for urging them to enter the race despite initial doubts. “Paco told Chad after the Wood to go to this race,” said owner Al Gold during the NBC Sports broadcast. “I didn’t want to come here, I didn’t think this horse could go this far.”

Summers acknowledged the challenges faced throughout the year, noting, “All year long, fifth place, fifth place. Everyone said he wasn’t as good as he was in the Champagne. This was a win here. People will say it wasn’t against the best of the best. We’ll find out the rest of the year.”

Napoleon Solo had shown early promise with two wins last year, including a 6 1/2-length victory in the Champagne Stakes. However, his form dipped this year with fifth-place finishes in the Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial races. The Preakness marked a significant turnaround.

The race was held at Laurel Park for the first time due to renovations at Pimlico Race Course, the Preakness’s traditional venue. The 1 3/16-mile distance raised concerns for the connections, but the colt exceeded expectations. “The last few days we were worried about, can he go the distance? Are we gonna get loose?” Gold said.

Jockey Paco Lopez, who rode five races on Saturday and earned his second first-place finish of the day, now boasts 4,434 career wins in over 21,000 starts. “Paco, it’s you, baby,” Gold said. “You did this, it’s awesome.”

Notably absent from the Preakness was Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, who skipped the race to allow more recovery time after his Derby effort, according to trainer Cherie DeVaux. This decision ended any possibility of a Triple Crown contender this year.

Other horses that competed in both the Derby and Preakness—Ocelli, Incredibolt, and Robusta—finished fourth, fifth, and ninth respectively. Taj Mahal, trained by Brittany Russell who sought to become the first female Preakness-winning trainer, led early but faded to 10th.

Summers, who has worked in various roles within horse racing before becoming a trainer, reflected on his journey: “We’ve had everything go wrong this 3-year-old year, and we just kind of stayed the course and stayed the course. You know, we had a lot of critics out there that told us to just shut up, and we just kept with it, and it worked out today.”

Following the Preakness, Summers quickly returned to prepare another horse for its race, underscoring the relentless pace of the sport.