14 horses are confirmed for the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes – the second jewel of the US Triple Crown – but Kentucky Derby come-from-behind winner Golden Tempo is not on the entry list released on Monday.
A sizable field – the largest for the race in 15 years – will slug it out for the trophy in the horseracing showcase that will flag off on Saturday at 7:01 p.m. at Laurel Park.
Iron Honor emerges as favorite with four horses close behind
Without Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, a new horse has emerged as the top favorite in the race.
Owning a 9-2 odds in Monday’s draw, Iron Honor will try to hand trainer Chad Brown his third Preakness Stakes win.
Ridden by Flavien Prat, Iron Honor looks to bounce back from his Wood Memorial debacle where the horse placed seventh, two positions behind Preakness opponent Napoleon Solo.
According to Iron Honor’s trainer Chad Brown, the horse seemed to have moved on from the bad race he had on April 4.
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Brown said that Iron Honor was relaxed and consistent during training.
He added that the son of Nyquist out of the Blame mare Orencia seemed to be in a good place while training and hopes he will carry on during the race.
Brown noted that the horse’s seventh-place finish at the Wood Memorial was blamed on being bothered from the start and failing to recover in the rest of the race. It caused them to take the blinkers off the horse.
Taj Mahal, Chip Honcho, Incredibolt and Ocelli are the other top picks that could give Iron Honor a tough fight, so as Napoleon Solo and his trainer, Chad Summers, mentioned the Wood Memorial as his basis that his horse can beat the favorite.
He said that the Preakness Stakes was the right opportunity for Napoleon Solo to win given the right field.
Napoleon Solo finished fifth in the Wood Memorial two places ahead of Iron Honor, who won the Gotham Stakes in February.
Here are the entries for the 2026 Preakness Stakes (Post Position, Horse Name, Jockey)
1. Taj Mahal – Sheldon Russell
2. Ocelli – Tyler Gaffalione
3. Crupper – Junior Alvarado
4. Robusta – Rafael Bejarano
5. Talkin – Irad Ortiz Jr.
6. Chip Honcho – Jose Ortiz
7. The Hell We Did – Luis Saez
8. Bull By The Horns – Micah Husbands
9. Iron Honor – Flavien Prat
10. Napoleon Solo – Paco Lopez
11. Corona De Oro – John Velazquez
12. Incredibolt – Jaime Torres
13. Great White - Alex Achard
14. Pretty Boy Miah – Ricardo Santana Jr.
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No Preakness favorite has had odds of 9-2 or longer since at least 1940.
Often, it is the Derby winner going off at a short price, but now Golden Tempo is the third in the past five years to skip this race slated at Laurel, which is hosting the middle race of the Triple Crown this year as Pimlico in Baltimore is rebuilt.
Three horses from the Derby will attempt to secure a stakes win: Ocelli, Incredibolt and Robusta.
Great White is also back after being scratched from the Derby when he threw his jockey just before the race began.
Ocelli was third in the Derby. Incredibolt was sixth and Robusta was 14th.
Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Jose Ortiz will ride a different horse with Chip Honcho while his brother Irad Jr, who guided Renegade to second place, will also ride a different entry in Talkin.
Brittany Russell-trained Taj Mahal is considered a dark horse due to his success at Laurel. He will be on the inside after drawing the number one post on Monday.
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