History Will Be Made in 151st Preakness at Laurel Park

LAUREL, MD – The 151st running of the Preakness Stakes (G1) will be one for history.
For the first time, the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown will be contested at Laurel Park, not Pimlico Race Course, which will once again host the 1 3/16-mile Classic next year.
A full field of 14 3-year-olds has been assembled for the occasion, representing the largest Preakness field since Shackleford defeated 13 rivals in 2011.
Trainer Chad Brown will be seeking his third Preakness win when he saddles Iron Honor, the 9-2 morning-line favorite for the headliner on Saturday’s 14-race program that gets underway at 10.30 a.m. Despite the venue change, he is viewing the 2026 edition at Laurel no differently than previous runnings at Pimlico.
“It’s still obviously a very historic race. The Woodlawn Vase is one of the most valuable trophies in sports, so there’s a lot of tradition associated with the event,” said Brown, who visited the Preakness winner’s circle following victories by Cloud Computing in 2017 and Early Voting in 2022.
Although there will not be a Triple Crown champion this year, the absence of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Golden Tempo isn’t likely to have a bearing on the Preakness Stakes’ impact on the Thoroughbred industry, said Brown.
“It’s not clear that the absolute best horses ran in the Derby. There’s some really top horses that did but not everyone can time that right and make the Derby, so who knows? Maybe there’s another star who’s going to emerge from this race and perhaps we’re going to be looking back at the Preakness in a few months and say, ‘Wow, this was the start of this particular horse’s campaign that ended up being one of the top horses,’” the five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer said. “It’s just not clear yet until we run the race.”
St. Elias Stable, William Lawrence and Glassman Racing’s Iron. Honor, a late-developing son of Nyquist with only three career starts, is coming off a disappointing seventh-place finish following a troubled trip in the April 4 Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct. He earned morning-line favoritism for the Preakness on the strength of his first two starts, an off-the-pace debut victory at six furlongs Dec. 13 and a gutsy score in the one-turn mile Gotham (G3) despite bumping and being involved in a pressured pace.
Like Iron Honor, Cloud Computing and Early Voting brought only three-race experience into the Preakness.
Flavien Prat, who won the 2021 Preakness on Rombauer, has the call on Iron Honor.
Two weeks after Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to saddle a Kentucky Derby winner, Brittany Russell will seek to become the first woman trainer to win the Preakness when she saddles undefeated Taj Mahal for a start in the Preakness.
Maryland’s leading trainer’s focus has been fixed on bringing Taj Mahal into the Preakness in top form, not the prospect of making history as a woman.
“It’s the same job no matter who you are. We’re trying to get a horse to a horse race. That’s kind of how I look at it. Some are better horses and better races, but you’re just trying to do a job and you’re trying to do a good job for all the clients,” Russell said. “I’m just trying to keep focused on that.”
Taj Mahal, owned by a partnership headed by SF Racing, is 3-for-3 by winning a six-furlong maiden race Feb. 26, capturing the one-turn mile Miracle Wood Feb. 21 and earning an automatic entry into the Preakness while scoring by 8 ¼ -length in the 1 1/8-mile Federico Tessio April 18, all at Laurel.
While she is focused on the job at hand, Russell appreciates the impact women making history in the world of racing can have.
‘It’s more for all the little girls out there. Like [my daughter] Edy, she’s watching everything we do right now. She’s 6, and she’s not the only one out there,” Russell said.
Taj Mahal, who will be ridden by the trainer’s husband Sheldon Russell, is one of three horses priced at 5-1 on the morning line, along with Pin Oak Stud LLC’s Incredibolt and Leland Ackersley Racing LLC, James Sherwood, Jode Shupe and John Cilia’s Chip Honcho.
Incredibolt, a Grade 3 winner at 2, earned his way into the Kentucky Derby with a four-length victory in the March 14 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs. The Riley Mott-trained son of Bolt d’Oro experienced a troubled trip in the Derby but was beaten by Golden Tempo by only four lengths. Jaime Torres, who rode Seize the Grey to victory in the 2024 Preakness, has the return mount.
Chip Honcho is trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, who notched Preakness victories with Curlin (2007) and Rachel Alexandra (2009). The son of Connect, who won the Gun Runner and finished second in the Risen Star (G2), 5 ½ lengths ahead of third-place finisher Golden Tempo, was withheld from the Derby after a subpar showing in the Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds in favor of aiming for the Preakness.
Jose Ortiz, who won the Derby aboard Golden Tempo, will ride Chief Honcho in the Preakness in a quest to become only the third jockey to win the Derby and Preakness on different horses in the same year. Calvin Borel rode Rachel Alezandra to victory in the Preakness after guiding Mine that Bird to an upset score in the 2009 Derby. In 1898, Willie Simms won the Preakness aboard Sly Fox after winning the Derby on Plaudit.
Ashley Durr, Anthony Tate and Front Page Equestrian LLC’s Ocelli is highly regarded at 6-1 on the morning line after nearly pulling off a 70-1 upset in the Derby.
Ocelli, who is winless in seven career starts, closed from far back in the Derby to finish third after briefly taking the lead in the stretch. The Whit Beckman-trained son of Connect, who finished third in the Wood Memorial in his prior start, will seek to become the first maiden to win the Preakness since 1888. Tyler Gaffalione, who rode War of Will to a 2019 Preakness win, has the return mount on Ocelli.
Rounding out the 151st Preakness field are Gold Square LLC’s Napoleon Solo (8-1), Three Chimneys Farm and John Ennis’ Great White (15-1), Team Penny Racing, Echo Racing and Flower City Racing, Anthony Bruno and Christopher Meyer’s Pretty Boy Miah (15-1), Peacock Family Racing Stable LLC’s The Hell We Did (15-1), Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Pine Racing Stables, Legendary Thoroughbreds, Belmar Racing and Breeding, LLC and R. A. Hill Stable’s Talkin (20-1), Peachtree Stable and Mark Corrado’s Bull by the Horns (30-1), On Our Own Stable LLC, Commonwealth Racing and partners’ Corona de Oro (30-1), Robert Zoellner’s Crupper (30-1), and Calumet Farm’s Robusta (30-1).