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The 151st Preakness Stakes will take place on Saturday, but it won’t be held at its usual track.
For the first time, the Preakness Stakes will be run on a track other than Pimlico Race Course. The racetrack, located in Baltimore, is under construction with the hope that it will be ready next season.
This year’s Preakness Stakes will be held at Laurel Park, which is just outside Washington, D.C., and about 20 miles south of Pimlico Race Course.
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Riders compete with horses during the Preakness Meet at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland, on May 8, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
The Preakness Stakes will also not feature Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, meaning there will be no opportunity to witness a potential Triple Crown this year.
Fourteen 3-year-old horses will race 1 3/16 miles, competing for a purse of $2 million.
Who is competing and what are the betting odds?
- Taj Mahal (Sheldon Russell) 5-1
- Ocelli (Tyler Gaffalione) 8-1
- Crupper (Junior Alvarado) 25-1
- Robusta (Rafael Bejarno) 29-1
- Speaking (Irad Ortiz Jr.) 9-1
- Chip Honcho (José L. Ortiz) 11-1
- The hell we made (Luis Saez) 9-1
- Bull by the horns (Micah J. Husbands) 17-1
- Iron Honor (Flavien Prat) 8-1
- Napoleon Solo (Paco López) 9-1
- Golden Crown (John R. Velázquez) 16-1
- Incredibolt (Jaime A. Torres) 5-1
- Great White (Alex Achard) 7-1
- Pretty Boy Miah (Ricardo Santana Jr.) 31-1
Who are the favorites?
Taj Mahal, trained by Brittany Russell, and Incredibolt, trained by Riley Mott, are 5-1.
Great White, trained by John Ennis, is 7-1. Ocelli, trained by D. Whitworth Beckman, and Iron Honor, trained by Chad Brown, are 8-1.
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A horse trains at the Laurel Park racetrack during sunrise in Laurel, Maryland, on May 8, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
What everyone is talking about before the Preakness Stakes
The weekend got off to a tragic start, as on Friday Hit Zero collapsed and died after crossing the finish line in the first race of his career.
Hit Zero, who was trained by Russell, came in last place after being favorite to win. After crossing the finish line, Hit Zero began coughing, knelt down, hung his head, and died.
Horse racing fans hope to avoid more tragedies during the second leg of the Triple Crown.
Fourteen horses are competing, the most that has been seen in the race in 15 years. This is the second time in the last 40 years that the first or second finisher of the Kentucky Derby has not run in the Preakness Stakes.
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Riders compete with horses during the Laurel Park Preakness meet in Laurel, Maryland, on May 8, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
Only three of the Preakness Stakes horses ran in the Kentucky Derby: Ocelli (finished third), Robusta (finished 14th) and Incredibolt (finished sixth). Great White was scheduled to run in the Kentucky Derby, but was eliminated.
On the heels of Cherie DeVaux becoming the first trainer to have her horse win the Kentucky Derby, Russell is looking to become the first trainer to win the Preakness Stakes.
Taj Mahal, Russell’s horse, won all three races he competed in at Laurel.
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Trainer Brittany Russell talks to people in her barn before the 102nd running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland, on May 15, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
How to watch?
Where: Laurel (Maryland)
When: May 16, 2026
Projected publication time: 6:50 pm Eastern Time
TV: NBC
Briefcase: $2 million
