The 151st running of the $2 million, Grade 1 Preakness Stakes drew a full field of 14 as the second leg of the Triple Crown will be held for the first time in history at Laurel Park this Saturday. The 1 3/16-mile Preakness, held as usual two weeks after the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, moved to Laurel this year while its traditional track, Pimlico, continues with reconstruction. While this year’s Preakness field includes just three Kentucky Derby contenders, there have been nine winners of the Preakness since 1991, including five consecutive years from 2020 through 2024, that did not make a bid in the run for the roses. The 2026 Preakness offers tremendous value as a highly competitive and lucrative wagering event.
Here’s a look at the field from the inside (rail) post position out:
Taj Mahal, an undefeated Nyquist colt, has won all three starts by a combined winning margin of 12 ¾ lengths and will be making his first appearance at the graded stakes level. This will be trainer Brittany Russell’s first career start in the Preakness and jockey Sheldon Russell’s fourth Preakness mount. Ocelli, who finished third by a length in the Kentucky Derby, is seeking to become the first maiden (horse without a career win) to win the Preakness since 1888. The Connect colt is trained by Whit Beckman and will have Tyler Gaffalione back aboard. Crupper earned his way into the Preakness with a win in the Bathhouse Row Stakes at Oaklawn Park in April for trainer Donnie Von Hemel, who will be making his first start in the Preakness since 1995. Junior Alvarado stays in the saddle. Kentucky Derby contender Robusta will be making his fifth consecutive graded stakes appearance for trainer Doug O’Neill, who won the Preakness in 2012 with I’ll Have Another. Robusta will have Rafael Bejarano in the irons for the first time. Talkin finished third in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes last time out on April 4 at Keeneland. Trainer Danny Gargan will be making his first Preakness start with the Good Magic colt and Irad Ortiz Jr. will be aboard for the first time for his eighth career Preakness mount. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen withdrew Chip Honcho from consideration for the Kentucky Derby to start in the Preakness. The speedy Connect colt finished fifth last time out in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby March 21 and will have a rider switch to recent Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Jose Ortiz.
The Hell We Did finished runner-up in the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes at Keeneland last time out with Luis Saez aboard, who retains the mount. He shipped to Laurel Park after that race, and has made two recorded workouts since. This will be trainer Todd Fincher’s first career start in the Preakness. Bull by the Horns won the Rushaway Stakes on an all-weather track at Turfway Park in his most recent start March 21 for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Micah Husbands, who has ridden the Essential Quality colt three times but did not ride in the Rushaway, gets back aboard. Iron Honor, the slight 9-2 morning-line Preakness favorite, finished seventh in the Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino in his most recent start for trainer Chad Brown, who has two career Preakness Stakes victories. Flavien Prat will ride for the first time. Napoleon Solo, winner of the Champagne Stakes last fall, seeks his first win at age 3 following fifth-place finishes in the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes and Wood Memorial Stakes for trainer Chad Summers. Paco Lopez, who was aboard for the Wood, retains the mount. Corona de Oro finished third last time out in the Lexington Stakes and was scratched from the Kentucky Derby as an also-eligible. The Dallas Stewart trainee will have Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in the irons for the first time. Virginia Derby Presented by New Kent County winner Incredibolt finished sixth by four lengths in the Kentucky Derby for trainer Riley Mott. Regular rider Jaime Torres stays aboard as he seeks his second Preakness victory with just his second mount in the race. Great White was a late scratch at the gate in the Kentucky Derby for trainer John Ennis, who breezed Great White himself on May 9 ahead of his first Preakness start as a trainer. The massive Volatile gelding won the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes on an all-weather track at Turfway Park in February before making his first start on the dirt in the Blue Grass Stakes last time out, where he finished a distant fifth, with Alex Achard aboard in both races and set to ride Saturday. Pretty Boy Miah, who has won his last two starts by 10 ¼ lengths, rounds out the field for trainer Jeremiah Englehart’s first Preakness start. Ricardo Santana Jr., who was aboard the Beau Liam gelding in those two wins at Aqueduct, will make his fourth Preakness appearance.
Analysis and Main Contenders:
While Ocelli is still a maiden, he leads this year's Preakness field by average stride length (25.06 ft.), fastest average final furlong time (13.12 seconds) and highest Equibase Speed Figure (99) achieved when looking at the field's GPS data in graded stakes races. At odds of 70.50-1, the Connect colt led in the Kentucky Derby inside the sixteenth pole and was narrowly passed by Golden Tempo and Renegade to finish third by just a length. Ocelli is just one of three horses in this field to come out of the Derby and does so off of the best finish in that group. Since 1991 there have been 26 Preakness winners who made a bid in the run for the roses, and 17 of those finished “in the money” (in one of the top three spots) in the Kentucky Derby. Of the 14 colts and geldings entered in this year’s Preakness, only three are true closers, and Ocelli is one of them. The pace in Saturday’s race is projected to be incredibly fast, creating a perfect scenario for Ocelli to sit behind a wall of speed and rally late like his performance in the Derby. Ocelli will be making his sixth start at a different track and is seemingly unbothered by new surfaces. He started his career at Churchill Downs in a dirt sprint as 2-year-old and followed that up with a second-place finish at Fair Grounds in December in his two-turn route debut. As a 3-year-old, he finished third in a maiden race back at Fair Grounds to Reagan’s Honor, who went on to beat older horses in a final time that was just 0.01 seconds off the track record in his next start. Ocelli shipped to Tampa Bay Downs in February for his stakes debut in the Sam F. Davis Stakes and finished sixth before shipping to Colonial Downs in March and again finished sixth in the Virginia Derby to fellow Derby and Preakness contender Incredibolt. Things changed for Ocelli when taking blinkers off in the Wood Memorial, where he rallied from 10th to finish third by 1 ¼ lengths, improving from an 85 Equibase Speed Figure to a 87 Equibase Speed Figure. He again improved in the Kentucky Derby, earning a 99 Equibase Speed Figure, which is the highest last-out figure of any horse in this field. Over the past year, horses in dirt route graded stakes races with this attribute win at 31% and finish 60% in the money. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione will be back aboard, which is a considerable positive considering their clear affinity together in the Derby. It is also positive that trainer Whit Beckman has the confidence to run back Ocelli in just two weeks, a move that he rarely makes. Over the last five years, Beckman has only done this turnaround five times, with a win and a second-place finish. Along with his outstanding GPS data, Ocelli is also ranked third by late pace with a 101.5 rating, which is 15.5 points higher than the morning-line favorite Iron Honor, for example. This colt has a perfect scenario to find the winner’s circle for the first time and earn his first career win in the Preakness Stakes.
Chip Honcho is up against a tough pace scenario since he’s a true front-runner; however, the fact Steve Asmussen opted to skip the Derby to target the Preakness is a notable sign of confidence that this colt is ready for a career-best effort. Chip Honcho, who is also a Connect colt, posted his first win in his second career start as a 2-year-old when he prevailed by 1 ¼ lengths in a one-turn mile race last fall on a muddy track. He improved upon that performance in his stakes debut, the Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds in December, pressing the pace and going on to win by three quarters of a length and earning an 87 Equibase figure. While that was Chip Honcho’s last career victory to date, he put on solid performances in his next two graded stakes starts. In the Lecomte Stakes, Chip Honcho finished fourth by just 1 ¾ lengths to eventual Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo after breaking slow from the gate. He then summoned a career best performance in his next start in the Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes, setting a brisk pace and digging in and finishing second by just a half-length to Paladin. Chip Honcho earned a 98 Equibase figure in his first start at the 1 1/8-mile distance. In his most recent start, the Louisiana Derby held at the Preakness’ 1 3/16-mile distance, Chip Honcho regressed and finished a distant fifth, earning an 80 Equibase figure. If you cross that race off, this colt has made good efforts in every start against tough company. Chip Honcho’s GPS data suggests he is much more talented than his race record suggest, as he’s ranked second behind Ocelli by average stride length of 24.52 feet and average final-furlong time of 13.42 seconds. Jose Ortiz will be reunited with Chip Honcho for the first time since their maiden win together at Churchill. Ortiz and Steve Asmussen win at a tremendous 31% in stakes races together and finish 60% in the top three from 89 starts over the last three years. While Chip Honcho faces a tough task in a race with an expected hot pace, this colt has a big opportunity to improve upon his last start and return to winning form, especially given his connections.
Carrying a morning line of 20-1, Talkin provides a lot of value for a $600,000 yearling purchase making his fifth consecutive graded stakes appearance. While Talkin finished third in the Blue Grass Stakes last time out and was outshined by Further Ado – a horse he defeated on career debut – Talkin finished well and continued an upward trend while under the radar this spring, earning a Equibase Speed Figure of 88 at Keeneland. In his most recent breeze at the Lexington, Ky., track on May 9, Talkin worked a bullet four furlongs in 47.80 and was first of 104 horses that day, suggesting he could be in peak form going into the Preakness. A meaningful positive is Irad Ortiz Jr. hopping aboard for the first time, as Ortiz is one of the best dirt route riders in the country who wins at 26% in graded stakes races going 1 1/8 miles or more on dirt over the past year. Trainer Danny Gargan and Ortiz Jr. have been able to find success together as well, winning at 27% in all races together over the last three years. Talkin is also a horse that will benefit from the hot pace, as he projects to sit behind the wall of horses going to the lead and pounce when the time is right. While it will be tough for him to find the winner’s circle, Talkin could provide a tremendous amount of value underneath and certainly has the capability of completing the trifecta or exacta.
The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures in similar races, is Taj Mahal (97), Crupper (91), Robusta (93), The Hell We Did (95), Bull by the Horns (83), Iron Honor (91), Napoleon Solo (99), Corona de Oro (91), Incredibolt (95), Great White (91) and Pretty Boy Miah (96).
Win Contenders in Preference Order:
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