GI Preakness Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Michael McCarthy would like nothing more than to have the wildly popular Journalism (Curlin) return to Saratoga Race Course this summer. "It would be awfully nice if he could," McCarthy said just outside Journalism's stall at the Oklahoma Training Track Thursday morning. "Saratoga, as I keep on saying, is a magical place for horses and people alike. We would be more than happy to bring him back here if the opportunity presented itself." First things first. Journalism, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don...

It's just like Wayne Lukas used to tell him. "One of these days you're going to get smart," Lukas would say. "And you'll quit that. And come over to the Thoroughbred business." This was when Bill Childs was still in the Quarter Horse game, and Lukas had already made the switch that transformed our sport. "Well, you're right," Childs told Lukas. "I'd love to. But man, it just takes so much money to be able to withstand it." "Well," Lukas shrugged. "You'll figure it out." And here he is, all...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - As a most memorable May gives way to June, trainer Cherie DeVaux believes that Golden Tempo (Curlin) is ready for his next challenge, the GI Belmont Stakes Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. Four weeks and three works after his dramatic victory in the GI Kentucky Derby, which secured DeVaux a forever place in racing history, Golden Tempo breezed Saturday and shipped Sunday from central Kentucky to upstate New York for the third and final Belmont Stakes at Saratoga. Just before his victory by a neck at...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Post positions will be assigned for the 158th running of the GI Belmont Stakes on Monday at Universal Preservation Hall. The morning line for the final leg of the 2026 Triple Crown will also be announced. Even though he finished second to Golden Tempo (Curlin) in the GI Kentucky Derby, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher thinks his Renegade (Into Mischief) could very well vie for favoritism on the morning line, which is put together by David Aragona of the New York Racing Association. "I think...

Maryland State Steward Adam Campola said Saturday that the Laurel stewards took a close look at Paco Lopez's winning ride aboard Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map) in the GI Preakness Stakes, but decided not to take action because they did not believe that the jockey violated any of HISA's rules related to misuse of the whip. PETA called on Maryland officials to strip Lopez of his race winnings and suspend him. It contended that he violated HISA Rule 2280(c)(1), which reads, "A Jockey shall not: raise the crop with the Jockey's...

In the morning after his GI Preakness Stakes triumph, Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map) was in good form, according to trainer Chad Summers, and will target the GI Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park as his next start. "He's good today," Summers told the TDN. "He's been very playful. I came back last night at about midnight just to have a quiet moment with him after all the hoopla. He ate all his food, so I gave him another scoop and he ate all that right away." "He's full of spunk and...

Because he doesn't ride regularly in Kentucky, New York or California, Paco Lopez will never get the acclaim that flows so easily when it comes to the likes of the Ortiz brothers, John Velazquez, Flavien Prat. Nor does it help that he has made far too many headlines for the suspensions he has received because he has a problem with overuse of the whip. He can be his own worst enemy. That's why few would rate him a Top Five rider. That's too bad because he's, well, really good. That...

LAUREL, MD--Napoleon Bonaparte was reputed as saying "Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools." Never was a phrase more appropriate aprospos than the lead up to Saturday's GI Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park. Given the absence of both the Kentucky Derby winner and runner-up, it seemed like everyone and his brother emerged on the scene to take a shot at the second leg in the Triple Crown. While several contenders may have seemed like they may have been stretching to get the distance or...

LAUREL, MD--Annually, the third Saturday in May draws all eyes to Maryland for the second jewel in the U.S. Triple Crown, the GI Preakness Stakes. This season is no different, however, a major adjustment brings the Classic to Laurel Park while Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore gets a complete overhaul. Like the now defunct original structure of its sister track 30 miles north, Laurel exhibits the wear and tear of the years. Several areas of the venue have been renovated while others are now cordoned off or boarded up. However, one...

Drawn into post nine, the honor of being the morning line favorite for Preakness 151 went to GIII Gotham Stakes hero Iron Honor (Nyquist) as a competitive, wide-open cast came together Monday evening during the post-position draw. A full field of 14 contenders, the largest since 2011 when Shackleford won, are set to go for this year's running of the middle jewel of the Triple Crown contested at Laurel Park. The race was moved as renovations continue at Pimlico downstate. Iron Honor will carry the colors of St. Elias Stable,...

The sixth-place finisher in the GI Kentucky Derby will be heading to Maryland this week as trainer Riley Mott revealed that Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) will be entered into the GI Preakness Stakes. "The horse is doing extremely well," Mott said by phone from Louisville Monday afternoon. "He came out of the Derby in good shape, and we have been clocking the field of [Preakness] horses and we thought it would be the right opportunity to try the horse back." He also added that Incredibolt would train at Churchill Tuesday morning...

After finishing a respectable ninth last weekend in the GI Kentucky Derby, So Happy (Runhappy) has returned to his homebase in California as his connections decide what races are in his future after definitively ruling out the GI Preakness Stakes. The GI Santa Anita Derby hero was out on track Friday morning for a light jog. Trainer Mark Glatt reported that the Preakness had been ruled out for his first Kentucky Derby starter, but did not go as far as to rule out a start in the GI Belmont Stakes...