Except for the Kentucky Derby winner going for the Triple Crown, the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes has a little bit of everything.
The Preakness features a venue change to a 115-year-old track that has never hosted the event, a field of some of the best 3-year-old colts in the country and a couple of chances to make horse racing history.
“This is a great race,” Maryland Jockey Club president and general manager Bill Knauf said. “It’s 14 horses: a great betting race. Incredibly hard handicapping race. And you don’t always have those.”
After Cherie DeVaux decided not to enter Golden Tempo two weeks after his thrilling last-to-first charge in the Derby, there is — just like that day — no obvious horse to beat. Six horses opened at odds of 8-1 or shorter.
First and likely last Preakness at Laurel Park
The second leg of the Triple Crown moved down the road to Laurel Park for a one-time performance while Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore gets rebuilt from the ground up. The plan is for the Preakness to return to its traditional home next year, mid-construction, with the full Pimlico back in 2028.
Many of the top trainers have limited experience at Laurel, which will host the Preakness at the same 1 3/16-mile length.
“I’ve run horses there sparingly,” said Chad Brown, who has the slight morning line favorite Iron Honor. “The change for this year isn’t going to stop me from going and kind of seeing what happens.”
Tactically, the stretch run at Laurel is shorter than many tracks. The finish line comes 1,089 feet after the final turn, compared to 1,152 feet at Pimlico and 1,234 feet at Churchill Downs. It could be an edge for hometown horse Taj Mahal, who is unbeaten in all three of his races on the dirt course there.
“I’d like to think it’s beneficial that he’s had a good two-turn run over it,” trainer Brittany Russell said. “That’s definitely in our favor.”
Chances at history in the Preakness
DeVaux two weeks ago became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner, following Jena Antonnuci’s 2023 Belmont victory with Archangelo, Russell has the chance to complete the Triple Crown sweep in the Preakness.
In the aftermath of losing a horse to a cardiac event following his debut race Friday, Russell is saddling Taj Mahal in the Preakness at her home track, where she started her business eight years ago and is stabled full time. Husband Sheldon is the jockey.
“We’re just trying to keep it pretty simple,” said Sheldon Russell, who’s set to take part in his fourth Preakness. “We both do our homework. We watch replays together. It’s nice because I know him. That’s a huge advantage, I would say. I’m happy, and I’m happy it’s one of Brittany’s horses that we get to have a ride in the race with.”
Ocelli is one of three Derby horses in the field, coming off finishing third as a 70-1 long shot, and could accomplish something not done in more than a century: No horse has broken his maiden — picked up his first win — in the Preakness since 1888.
Looking to join 19th-century champions like Refund, Saunterer, Cloverbrook, Shirley and Culpepper, Ocelli is 0 for 7 but he did win a 2-furlong trial race in Aiken, South Carolina, that doesn’t count on his record.
“At an unrecognized racetrack and race meet, he is indeed a winner,” trainer Whit Beckman said. “He knows how to put his head across the line first.”
