The opening leg of the 2026 Triple Crown delivered an unforgettable finish and a historic moment as 23-1 longshot Golden Tempo surged to victory in the closing strides of the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, making trainer Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Derby winner.

Focus now shifts to the $2 million Preakness Stakes, which will be held for the first time at Laurel Park May 16 while Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore is rebuilt from the ground up to create a venue viable to host the middle jewel of the Triple Crown for generations to come.

Golden Tempo will bypass the Preakness Stakes and target the third jewel of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets June 6 at Saratoga Race Course. That leaves this year’s race as an absolutely wide-open affair. For an early overview of this year’s Preakness, let’s group the probable runners into tiers.

Tier 1. Rising Stars and Renegade’s Vanquished

Crude Velocity (Eclipse Sportswire)

Crude Velocity, Ocelli, Silent Tactic, Taj Mahal

Crude Velocity improved to 3-for-3 while overwhelming highly regarded Englishman to win the Pat Day Mile Stakes Presented by SAP on the Kentucky Derby undercard May at Churchill Downs. He’ll be the steam horse everyone is hyping should he be entered in the Preakness by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who has won the Preakness a record eight times. I loved Silent Tactic earlier in the year as a Derby contender, but he lost some luster when he finished a well-defeated second by four lengths to Renegade in the Arkansas Derby. The fact that Renegade subsequently ran his eyeballs out when second in the Kentucky Derby and Silent Tactic has never been worse than second in six starts is not lost on me. Local runner Taj Mahal is unbeaten in three starts and crushed the competition by 9 ¼ lengths when winning the 1 1/8-mile Federico Tesio Stakes on this track. I’m an absolute sucker for the local horse in the Preakness, and this Nyquist colt looks more legit than most. Ocelli, the 70-1 third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby behind Golden Tempo and Renegade, came up a length short of becoming the first maiden (a horse who has never won a race) to win the Kentucky Derby since Brokers Tip in 1933. Six maidens won the Preakness in the 19^th century but none since Refund in 1888. Crude Velocity probably will be the Preakness favorite if Baffert opts to ship him to Laurel, but Taj Mahal could be the one to bet.

Tier 2. They’re Much Better Than That!

Iron Honor (Joe Labozzetta/NYRA)

Chip Honcho, Iron Honor

This next tier consists of a pair that showed significant promise on the 2026 Kentucky Derby trail but stumbled in their final starts before the first jewel of the Triple Crown. Gun Runner Stakes winner Chip Honcho finished fourth behind Golden Tempo in the Lecomte Stakes and second to Paladin in the Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes after leading in deep stretch. He faded badly in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby when fifth behind Emerging Market, but that’s the lone bad start of his career. I thought Iron Honor would handle the additional distance in the 1/8-mile Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino after winning the one-mile Gotham Stakes by a length in February for trainer Chad Brown, but he ran out of gas in the stretch as the favorite and finished seventh. Expect a better effort in his second try around two turns. Chip Honcho has battled some of the top 3-year-olds this year for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, but Brown’s Iron Honor boasts the most upside from this duo.

Tier 3. In it But Can They Win it

Crupper (Coady Media)

Corona de Oro, Crupper, Express Kid, Napoleon Solo, The Hell We Did

Champagne Stakes winner Napoleon Solo is the most recognizable name from this tier but he has not been good in two starts since winning that Grade 1 last October in New York. He could improve in his third start of the year. Crupper needed four starts to bank his first win and two starts later punched his ticket to the Preakness with a front-running, half-length win in the Bathhouse Row Stakes at Oaklawn Park after setting an easy pace. Stonestreet Lexington Stakes third-place finisher Corona de Oro, who failed to draw in off the also-eligible list for the Kentucky Derby, is a speedy type who has improved with added distance. Express Kid is another runner with early speed. He was much the best when leading from start to finish in the Remington Springboard Mile, but he was caught late by Pavlovian in the 1 1/16-mile Sunland Park Derby and 1 3/16 miles might be beyond Express Kid's comfort zone. Lexington Stakes runner-up The Hell We Did has two wins and two runner-up finishes (both in stakes races) in four career starts. The Authentic colt looks like the 3-year-old in this tier with the most upside in his second try around two turns.

Tier 4. Squinting to See It

Bull by the Horns , Great White, Pretty Boy Miah, Robusta, Talkin

John Battaglia Stakes winner Great White shockingly set the pace in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes in his first try on dirt and was beaten by 22 ¼ lengths. He was scratched from the Derby after a mishap approaching the starting gate and should have a better shot against this field with different tactics. San Felipe Stakes Presented by DK Horse runner-up Robusta was not competitive in the Santa Anita Derby and then never factored in the Kentucky Derby when 14^th of 18 starters. Maybe he’s better than his last two races, but is he good enough to win the Preakness on short rest? I’m skeptical. After running seventh at 88-1 odds in the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes, Bull by the Horns won the Rushaway Stakes on the all-weather surface at Turfway Park. He was entered in the Peter Pan Stakes May 9, but will instead be pointed to the Preakness. Talkin has been soundly defeated in all four stakes tries, most recently finishing 12 ¾ length behind Further Ado in the Blue Grass. Pretty Boy Miah faces a stern test in his stakes debut after back-to-back dominant wins against much easier competition at Aqueduct, but the speed figures are trending in the right direction.