The field is officially set for Saturday’s 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) at Laurel Park, and while there’s no Kentucky Derby winner in sight, the Middle Jewel still came up loaded with storylines, big names, and a full field of 14 runners for the first time since 2011.
Chad Brown’s Iron Honor was installed as the 9-2 morning-line favorite after drawing Post 9, despite coming off a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Wood Memorial (G2). Before that effort, the son of Nyquist looked like one of the better 3-year-olds in the crop after wins in the Gotham (G3) and at first asking sprinting at Aqueduct.
“I like the horse, I like the spot for him, but based on his last start, I was surprised he was made the morning-line favorite,” Brown said. “But I am not surprised that he fits in this race.”
Brown also had no complaints about landing right in the middle of the gate.
“Right in the middle, we should not have any excuse from there,” he said.
Flavien Prat takes over aboard Iron Honor as Brown looks for his third career Preakness victory following Cloud Computing and Early Voting.
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One of the most intriguing runners in the field is undefeated Taj Majal, who drew the rail and was pegged at 5-1 on the morning line after dominating the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park. The Brittany Russell trainee has been perfect in three starts and already owns two wins over the Laurel surface.
“It wasn’t what I was hoping for, but it is what it is. He’s a good gate horse and we’ll just have to play it as it unfolds,” Brittany Russell said of Post 1. “You know, it’s funny. I said to myself the only spot I was hoping not to be was the rail. It’s OK. It’s all good.
“When I saw that [5-1 odds] I thought, ‘Cool, he’s getting some respect,’” she added. “That’s nice to see.”
Another major player is Incredibolt, who exits a sneaky-good sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby after a rough trip throughout. The Riley Mott trainee drew Post 12 and was also listed at 5-1.
“I hope we run the way they like us in the odds. Anytime you are in a Triple Crown race and you have odds of 5-1, it is a great opportunity,” Mott said. “We are going to look to try and get the job done.”
Mott didn’t seem worried about the outside draw either.
“I would imagine it will be fine,” he said. “The horse has shown he can be fairly tactical at times.”
Meanwhile, Steve Asmussen’s Chip Honcho landed what his connections viewed as an ideal draw in Post 6. The Louisiana Derby (G2) fifth-place finisher has consistently danced in top prep races this season and reunites with Jose Ortiz.
“When the 13 was like first and the 14 went away, I [thought] ‘I can live with any of the rest.’ It was 6, 10, 11 the last three. But 6 is perfect. [Assistant trainers] Darren [Fleming], Scott [Blasi] and I had talked about it today, with it being at Laurel, where would you want? I said, ‘5 through 7.’ So got the 6. That’s perfect,’” Asmussen said.
One of the biggest wildcards in the race is Ocelli, who nearly shocked the world at 70-1 in the Kentucky Derby before hanging on for third. The maiden son of Connect drew Post 2 as he looks to become the first maiden to win the Preakness since 1888.
“I’m perfect with that,” Beckman said. “I think our most effective running style dictates sitting back off the pace. So being in the [inside], we can just kind of break and save some ground going into that first turn, and kind of let the race develop in front of us. In the Derby, we had to cut over quite a bit [from post position No. 17] just to get to the first turn.”
Elsewhere in the field, Napoleon Solo returns after fading in the Wood Memorial, while Blue Grass (G1) runner-up Talkin gets Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard after the defection of Silent Tactic earlier Monday.
“I’m pleased with the post-position draw. Obviously, you never want the one-hole, and you never want to be in the 13 or 14 or 12,” Gargan said. “I’m real pleased. I wanted to be somewhere in that realm. I like that Jose Ortiz and Irad are next to each other, so I think they’ll get a good break.”
The rest of the field includes Great White, Pretty Boy Miah, The Hell We Did, Corona de Oro, Crupper, and Robusta as the Preakness heads to Laurel Park for a historic running while construction continues at Pimlico.
And yes — for all the talk about the Triple Crown losing momentum, the Preakness still managed to deliver a deep, fascinating betting race with proven stakes horses, Derby alumni, undefeated newcomers, and more than enough pace and chaos to make Saturday must-watch racing.
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