LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — With Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo skipping the race, the 151st Preakness Stakes suddenly looks a lot more open.
And a lot more crowded.
Saturday’s middle jewel of the Triple Crown drew a full field of 14 horses Monday night during the post-position draw at Laurel Park, the largest Preakness field since 2011.
The race will also be run without the Kentucky Derby winner for the third time in recent years, continuing a modern trend that has weakened the traditional chase for the Triple Crown. Golden Tempo’s connections elected to bypass the race and point toward a longer-term campaign.
That leaves Iron Honor, trained by two-time Preakness winner Chad Brown, as the 9-2 morning-line favorite after drawing Post 9 for the 1 3/16-mile race.
Morning-line odds and post positions for the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.
The Preakness is being run at Laurel Park for the first time while construction continues on a new Pimlico Race Course facility in Baltimore.
Iron Honor skipped the Kentucky Derby and comes into the Preakness off a seventh-place finish in the Wood Memorial, a race in which he was favored. Before that, the son of Nyquist had won consecutive races at Aqueduct, including the Gotham Stakes.
"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 said he had no concerns about the draw.
"Right in the middle, we should not have any excuse from there," he said.
Brown previously won the Preakness with Cloud Computing in 2017 and Early Voting in 2022. Flavien Prat will ride Iron Honor for the first time.
One late addition to the field was Incredibolt, who finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby after a troubled trip. Trainer Riley Mott confirmed Monday afternoon that the son of Bolt d’Oro would enter the Preakness after coming out of the Derby in good shape.
"The horse is doing extremely well," Mott said. "He came out of the Derby in good shape, and we have been clocking the field of horses and we thought it would be the right opportunity to try the horse back."
Incredibolt drew Post 12 and was listed at 5-1 on the morning line. He won the Virginia Derby prior to the Kentucky Derby and also captured the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs as a 2-year-old.
"I hope we run the way they like us in the odds," Mott said. "Anytime you are in a Triple Crown race and you have odds of 5-1, it is a great opportunity. We are going to look to try and get the job done."
Jaime Torres, who rode Seize the Grey to victory in last year’s Preakness, will again have the mount.
Joining Incredibolt at 5-1 are Taj Mahal and Chip Honcho.
Taj Mahal, trained by Brittany Russell and ridden by her husband Sheldon Russell, is unbeaten in three starts — all at Laurel Park. He drew the rail after earning an automatic Preakness berth with an 8 1/4-length victory in the Federico Tesio Stakes.
"It wasn’t what I was hoping for, but it is what it is," Brittany Russell said of drawing Post 1. "He’s a good gate horse and we’ll just have to play it as it unfolds."
Chip Honcho drew Post 6 for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who has previously won the Preakness with Curlin and Rachel Alexandra. Jose Ortiz, fresh off his Kentucky Derby victory aboard Golden Tempo, will ride.
Ocelli, who nearly shocked the racing world at 70-1 before finishing third in the Kentucky Derby, drew Post 2 and was listed at 6-1. The horse remains a maiden, and no maiden has won the Preakness since 1888.
Napoleon Solo, a Grade 1 winner at age 2, drew Post 10 and was listed at 8-1.
Talkin, who picked up Irad Ortiz Jr. after the defection of Silent Tactic, drew Post 5 and was listed at 20-1.
Copyright 2026 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
