Kentucky Derby winner skips Preakness, leaving Triple Crown bid off the table for 2026

The 151st Preakness Stakes will run Saturday with out the one horse able to chasing historical past.

Golden Tempothe longshot winner of this year’s Kentucky Derbyis not going to compete in the second leg of the Triple Crown at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland, with coach Cherie DeVaux as an alternative pointing the colt towards the Belmont Stakes on June 6 at Saratoga Race Course. Post time Saturday is roughly 6:50 pm ET.

“We are incredibly excited for what lies ahead with this very special horse,” Ms. DeVaux stated in asserting the resolution.

The transfer ends any chance of a Triple Crown run in 2026 and marks the second consecutive yr the Kentucky Derby winner has bypassed the Preakness. Last yr, Sovereignty skipped the race earlier than successful the Belmont Stakes underneath coach Bill Mott. The final Triple Crown winner was Justify in 2018.

Ms. DeVaux, the first lady to coach a Kentucky Derby winner, cited the horse’s long-term well being and the tough two-week turnaround between the Derby and Preakness as components. She can also be from Saratoga Springs, New York, the place the Belmont is being held for the third and last time whereas Belmont Park undergoes renovations.

All however considered one of the horses that ran at Churchill Downs on May 2 will likely be absent at Laurel Park on Saturday. The exception is Ocelliwho completed third in the Kentucky Derby at 70-1 odds as a maiden and enters the Preakness at 6-1 from publish No. 2.

The race is operating at a brand new venue. The Preakness is being held at Laurel Park For the first time in the race’s historical past whereas its conventional residence, Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, undergoes an entire reconstruction. The race is predicted to return to Pimlico in 2027.

With Golden Tempo absent, a 14-horse discipline will contest the $2 million race, led by Iron Honor (9-2) as the morning-line favourite. Taj Mahal (5-1) and Chip Honcho (5-1) are co-favorites alongside Iron Honor, with Incredibolt (5-1) and Ocelli (6-1) additionally amongst the frontrunners. Napoleon Solo enters at 8-1.

Taj Mahal carries native attraction as the undefeated winner of the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park — a race that earned him an automated bid to the Preakness — skilled by the husband-and-wife workforce of Sheldon and Brittany Russell. Chip Honcho will break from gate No. 6, traditionally the most profitable publish place at the Preakness with 17 winners since the beginning gate was launched in 1909. Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Jose Ortiz has picked up the mount on Chip Honcho for Saturday’s race.

The final three Preakness winners have began from gate No. 5 or decrease. Last yr’s winner, Journalism, broke from gate No. 2.