Following a disappointing performance in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct, trainer Chad Brown took his colt Iron Honor out of the Kentucky Derby and instead targeted the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes.
The hope was that the extra time would help the talented son of Nyquist out of the mare Orencia find the form he showed earlier in the year in the Grade 3 Gotham, a Derby prep he won by a length.
In a 14-horse field that’s without the top two Derby finishers and a Bob Baffert trainee who was expected to be a top contender, Iron Honor is now seen as the favorite — well, something of a favorite. His assigned morning-line odds of 9-2 demonstrate that the 151st Preakness is up for the taking, and it’s anyone’s guess who might jump up and grab it.
Two of the horses making the two-week turnaround from Churchill Downs, third-place finisher Ocelli and sixth-place finisher Incredibolt, received odds of 6-1 and 5-1, respectively.
Then there’s hometown colt Taj Mahal, trained by three-time Maryland trainer of the year Brittany Russell and ridden by her husband Sheldon. He, too, is at 5-1, and he’ll certainly be the sentimental favorite among the 4,800 fans at Laurel Park, where he’s a perfect 3-for-3 in his career.
Chip Honcho, another horse who was also pulled from the Derby field to focus on the Preakness, is also right there at 5-1.
The only other horse to receive single-digit odds is Napoleon Solo, the winner of last year’s Grade 1 Champagne Stakes for 2-year-olds, who has yet to find his form at age 3. He’s at 8-1.
Next are three runners at 15-1: The Hell We Did, Great White (who was scratched from the Derby after he flipped over before loading into the starting gate) and Pretty Boy Miah.
Talkin, who was runner up to Napoleon Solo in the Champagne and has similarly struggled to put it all together in 2026, is at 20-1.
Rounding out the field are four horses at 30-1: Robusta (14th in the Derby), Crupper, Corona De Oro and Bull By the Horns.
Post time is Saturday at 7:01 p.m. The race is being held at Laurel Park this year while construction of a new Pimlico Race Course is underway.
The race is expected to return to Northwest Baltimore in 2027 with temporary seating in place. A new grandstand is scheduled to be in open for the following year.
The 14 entrants represent the largest field since 2011, when Shackleford beat Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and 12 other runners with a final time of 1:56.47.
Here’s the full field:
No. 1 Taj Mahal, trainer Brittany Russell, jockey Sheldon Russell, 5-1
No. 2 Ocelli, trainer D. Whitworth Beckman, jockey Tyler Gaffalione, 6-1
No. 3 Crupper, trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel, jockey Junior Alvarado, 30-1
No. 4 Robusta, trainer Doug O’Neill, jockey Rafael Bejarano, 30-1
No. 5 Talkin, trainer Danny Gargan, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., 20-1
No. 6 Chip Honcho, trainer Steven Asmussen, jockey Jose Ortiz, 5-1
No. 7 The Hell We Did, trainer Todd Fincher, jockey Luis Saez, 15-1
No. 8 Bull By the Horns, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., jockey Micah Husbands
No. 9 Iron Honor, trainer Chad Brown, jockey Flavien Prat, 9-2
No. 10 Napoleon Solo, trainer Chad Summer, jockey Paco Lopez, 8-1
No. 11 Corona De Oro, trainer Dallas Stewart, jockey John Velazquez, 30-1
No. 12 Incredibolt, trainer Riley Mott, jockey Jaime Torres, 5-1
No. 13 Great White, trainer John Ennis, jockey Alex Achard, 15-1
No. 14 Pretty Boy Miah, trainer Jeremiah Englehart, jockey Ricardo Santana Jr., 15-1
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