The 151st Preakness Stakes will be interesting in more ways than one.
First, there are 14 starters this year which is the maximum capacity, making it the largest field in 15 years. The last time the gates were filled for the second jewel of the Triple Crown was in 2011. In fact, since 2013, the Preakness has averaged only about 9-10 entrants.
Second, the venue for the Preakness is not at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore for the first time in 118 years. The 2026 version will be held at Laurel Park (about 20 miles south) while Pimlico undergoes a $400 million redevelopment.
It’s not much of a difference in geographic location, but Laurel’s venue is significantly smaller, capped at 4,800 spectators compared to 100,000+ attendees that Pimlico has historically hosted.
The configuration for Laurel Park also diverges from Pimlico in that it has a wider, longer track with sweeping turns and a longer stretch. In comparison, Pimlico has tighter more compact turns on a 1-mile oval.
What this means for the horses is that (a) Traffic trouble at the starting gate (which holds 14) should be minimized at Laurel because it’s so much wider than Pimlico (25 feet wider). But (b) Because the Preakness is run at 1 3/16 miles on Laurel’s larger 1 1/8m-track, the starting gate must sit right before the final turn. It gives the field less than 700 feet to run before the first turn, which could force a chaotic scramble for early position.
On that note, the third way this Preakness will be more interesting than usual is that there are about 10 contenders that like to be at or near the front… And most of the truly “speed” horses were posted at the extremes (along the far inside and far outside). This will likely create a high-speed showdown for early position resulting in a chaotic, fast-paced duel at the front. Some experts are even saying the speed of this race could be near “supersonic”.
Fourth, this year’s field for the Preakness is generally considered lacking in elite talent and star power that we usually see at Triple Crown races. For example, the winner and second-place finishers of the Kentucky Derby (GOLDEN TEMPO & RENEGADE) are skipping the Preakness and instead, are being pointed towards the Belmont Stakes.
Additionally, only 3 horses from the Kentucky Derby are set to compete in this year’s Preakness, including a “maiden” (0 wins) and, at least 2 other Preakness starters have not competed in a graded stakes race before.
The good news is that with kind of this wide-open and relatively weak field, it will present bettors with excellent opportunities to cash in. With no clear favorite, it may mean higher payouts. And there is potential to make money with different high-value longshots.
Fifth, there are several great storylines that could make the Preakness another historic Triple Crown race this year.
One of these includes the potential for the first woman trainer to win the Preakness Stakes. BRITTANY RUSSELL is widely recognized as one of the best horse trainers in Maryland, male or female. After competing as an amateur jockey & working as an assistant trainer for several years, she went out on her own in 2018. Since then, she has finished as Maryland’s top year-end trainer for 3 consecutive years (2023-25) and regularly ranks among the top trainers in the country. Her Preakness trainee #1 TAJ MAHAL is 3-3 at Laurel (Russell’s home track) and he is her first Triple Crown competitor. He gives Russell a good chance to follow in CHERIE DEVAUX’S footsteps who just became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner and JENNA ANTONUCCI who became the first woman to train a Belmont Stakes winner in 2023.
Another meaningful storyline that could unfurl at this year’s Preakness is if the #2 OCELLI wins, he will become the first victorious “maiden” (horse with no wins) since 1888. This 0-7 colt nearly pulled off a massive upset in this year’s Kentucky Derby when he (with 70-1 odds) briefly led the race near the finish line but was narrowly overtaken by RENEGADE & GOLDEN TEMPO… He also was only purchased for $12,000 as a yearling, making him one of the least expensive horses in the Preakness, yet he is the highest earner ($609,800) among all entrants. And with a pace projected to be lightning fast, as one of only 3 closers in the field, he has a great shot to pull off the improbable.
We also have to love the story about the #14 PRETTY BOY MIAH who has never gone two turns before, beyond a mile, never raced anywhere else but at Aqueduct in NY and has never appeared in a stakes race before. Yet, here is, entered in a $2 million race taking that leap in class for a trainer (JEREMIAH ENGLEHART) who has never had a Triple Crown starter before. While it all sounds a bit too ambitious for the horse (especially having never gone beyond a mile before), on paper this horse has the talent and speed to compete with this quality of field. His speed figures pass the test (last start was 92 BEYER) and his strong ThoroGraph numbers suggest this race is within his wheelhouse. More encouraging signs include the fact that he’s a gelding, has held his speed over 6.5 furlongs before, and has proven he can up his game after blinkers were added with his last 2 starts (which incidentally were won by a combine 10.25 lengths in gate-to-wire fashion).
With all that said, which horses do I like to win the 2026 Preakness?
This is not an easy answer. I haven’t come up with one horse I’ve keyed in on because the field is very wide open and intriguing, so my top choices are horses that have proven trajectories up. But, I also like a few others that don’t fit this profile yet have other qualities that turn my head.
One such horse that appeals to me is OCELLI. Yes, the odds are stacked against him historically but he’s one of the fastest horses in the field, the most accomplished, his closing style works with a fast pace, and his upward pattern is beautiful and on the rise. I also like trainer WHIT BECKMAN’S approach and confidence with him, which is to run the horse back in 2 weeks after the the colt finished third in the Kentucky Derby.
Beckman went to Saudi Arabia for a year as a head trainer before he became an assistant for Chad Brown & opened his own stable in 2021. There, he learned how to run his horses every week instead of training them as much. He has said this process is just as “effective”. “These are racehorses, not training horses. If they’re healthy, happy and sound, I don’t see any reason not to run them.” So, running Ocelli back in 2 weeks after the KD is not an unheard task for the trainer. Or the horse for that matter- Ocelli has raced once every month since November of last year leading up to the Preakness.
I also like Whitman’s strategy in the Kentucky Derby which was to keep Ocelli from the starting post “melee” that can occur with 20 across. He told jockey Tyler Gaffalione to come out “quietly” and then get him in a good spot. He was second last in the first turn and as they approached the far turn, he started to make his way up but was forced 5-6 wide then he started picking off horses in the stretch. He led the race briefly at the sixteenth pole until he was collared by the duo of RENEGADE (2nd) and GOLDEN TEMPO (1st).
After the Derby, Beckman said, “It was like he didn’t even run… He was bright and alert, cleaning his feed up, doing all the little things. When I put him back on the track, I thought, ‘There’s no way I can keep this horse from going to another start.’ It’s quick, but at the same time, it’s the Preakness. It’s the Triple Crown. I’ve always said if I had the horse, I would try to do as much of it as I could.”
Ultimately, the horse’s connections believe in him, keep running him in tough situations against quality horses. They’ve been patient with his development & think he could shine even more.
A stalking style horse that is getting a lot of buzz for this race is INCREDIBOLT. If a fast pace sets up in the Preakness, it could work in his favor, he has a nice forward pattern (outside of his Holy Bull performance), he’s one of the contenders that has a proven graded stakes record including a win around 2 turns & his sixth-place Kentucky Derby run was better to me than it appears on paper. Like his trainer Riley Mott said, “he ran a sneaky-good race [in the Derby]… he was pretty close to the quick pace [and] closer than the top three finishers He tipped out turning for home and ran for a sixteenth down the lane with Renegade, who leaned on him sightly in the stretch.”
Despite not having a perfect upward trajectory, another stalking type of horse that catches my eye is TALKIN, considered by some as a “sneaky contender”. He’s a $600,000 son of GOOD MAGIC who has been a late developer but his connections think the time may be right for him now.
One of his owners, DEAN REEVES has said that the goal was to bring Talkin around “slowly”. “He’s slowly grown into himself. He’s a real laid-back dude and nothing bothers him, which has been good. He has talent — we recognize that — but we needed to let him mature. By doing that, we’ve seen improvement. There’s always been a step forward. He’s good-looking, physically balanced and moves well on the track.”
Talkin is also a good breaker from the post. Another one of Talkin’s owners MARK PINE said Talkin’s “got a bit of an attitude” but is also easygoing. “He behaves really well. He’s chill — nothing upsets him. He generally breaks better than any horse in the field. He just sits and waits and when it’s time to go, he goes. He’s a very manageable horse, so he doesn’t burn up extra energy. His name could be Chill. He’s just chill.”
Trainer DANNY GARGAN deliberately skipped the Kentucky Derby with him so he could give the horse a “fresh” run into the Preakness. “It’s not that we don’t want to win the Derby. It’s just the Derby is kind of a tough situation with that many horses, and with where our horse was, we didn’t think it would be the right thing to do to the horse,” Gargan explained. “We’ve targeted the Preakness all year and this! We’ve made it there. We think we’re coming in there with the horse going in the right direction at the right time.”
Gargan also said Talkin is coming off the “best work of his life… He’s worked really well, went in [:47.80], galloped out nice. He’s acting good, eating good, looks good. We have him as good as we can get him right now. We just have to get lucky and hope he’s good enough to win the race now. I do love how my horse is doing.”
Yes, Talkin needs to improve more and take a step up. But I like the optimism of the connections. They’ve taken measures to ensure he matures slowly and skipped the Preakness to get him more fresh and fit.
As for Gargan, he grew up just outside Churchill Downs, his father was a talented jockey who won the 1973 Kentucky Oaks and he was also a jockey agent & assistant trainer for years before venturing out on his own in 2013. He’s won several graded stakes races and the Belmont Stakes with DORNOCH.
Looking at some of the more forwardly placed horses, there are a couple I like including TAJ MAHAL who will likely be one of the pace setters in this race (unless NAPOLEAN SOLO snatches the lead and torches the pace). He’s undefeated at Laurel (3-3), won his last race on the rail, the jockey is his trainer’s husband, has great connections, he’s been training beautifully, has a VERY good pedigree, his speed figures are on the rise, he’s a good gate horse, has gears, and he has shown the ability to relax in a race which is what he may have to do with so many other speed horses. And while Taj hasn’t faced upper tier horses like he’s going to face in this race, we know the field isn’t elite. Familiarity and comfort with the track should help him.
There’s also something about IRON HONOR (a $475,000 son of Nyquist) and his trainer CHAD BROWN’s confidence in him that sticks out. Brown has two prior Preakness wins (CLOUD COMPUTING and EARLY VOTING), both coming with horses who ran in the Wood Memorial and earned enough points to run in the Derby, but he skipped that race to run them both in the Preakness. He was obviously rewarded with this process and he’s using the same game plan with Iron Honor. Yes, the colt is lightly raced colt (3 lifetime starts), but I like that he put down Beyer Speed Figures in the 90s in his first two starts and he seems to have an excuse for not running well in this third start at the Wood. Brown said Iron Honor got bumped & bruised and got rank there which, “put the horse on the bit and he was pulling the jockey. He never relaxed on the backside and it wore him out.”
Going forward, Brown summed up the pros and cons for this horse’s Preakness hopes well: “He appears to be getting into a positive space the last few weeks. We like what we’re seeing. He’s very live in the [Preakness]… I see it as a reset. He has a lot of things to prove. His two wins were at one turn and his worst race was at two turns. He’s certainly bred to run the Preakness distance, being by Nyquist out of a Blame mare. And he trains like he wants to go long.”
Another interesting horse is THE HELL WE DID. His pedigree is very nice as the son of AUTHENTIC, the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner. And his dam is ROSE’S DESERT, making him the half-brother to SENIOR BUSCADOR, the sixth highest earning North American born Thoroughbred of all time ($12.9 million) and winner of the 2024 Saudi Cup (G1). For The Hell We Did, he’s been training well at Laurel Park for two weeks and has been impressive to trackside observers with how well he has worked in the mornings. Someone even referred to one work as a “monster”. I also like how confident his trainer is and how the horse is moving forward. Maybe he’s not fast enough but you have to like his chances if all goes well for him.
HOW TO WATCH THE 2026 PREAKNESS STAKES:
The live broadcast will be on NBC and streamed on Peacock. Live television coverage begins at 4:00 p.m. ET, with the main race (Race 13) post time scheduled for approximately 6:50 p.m. to 7:01 p.m. ET