Napoleon Solo returned to form to win the Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park, holding off Iron Honor in a wide-open 14-horse race after Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo was kept out. Trainer Chad Summers credited the comeback to a more promising run, while Iron
LAUREL, Md. — Napoleon Solo finally found the winner’s circle again at Laurel Park, fending off Iron Honor through the stretch in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes.
The victory wasn’t just a relief for trainer Chad Summers; it also came with a clear message about the race’s biggest missing name.. Summers said the barn was watching Golden Tempo’s situation closely and even admitted the Kentucky Derby winner’s absence left the Preakness field “underwhelming.” “We wish he was here in the Preakness.. We were rooting for them when they were thinking about it,” Summers said.. “Unfortunately they didn’t make it here.. That’s fine.. Hopefully we can see him down the road somewhere.”
Instead, the race turned into a wide-open contest with 14 horses competing for the middle jewel of the Triple Crown at Laurel. Golden Tempo’s absence helped set that number, and the Preakness itself was held at Laurel this year because Pimlico in Baltimore is being rebuilt.
Taj Mahal entered as the betting choice at 9-2. the longest odds for a Preakness favorite since the race moved to its current distance of 1 3/16 miles in 1925.. Iron Honor had also been listed at 9-2 on the morning line. but by the time the horses entered the starting gate. his odds had drifted to 8-1.
From early on, Taj Mahal grabbed the lead quickly.. He broke to the front and covered the first quarter-mile in 22.66 seconds. but the pace slowed and he couldn’t keep the momentum.. Napoleon Solo (7-1) took over near the top of the stretch. and while Iron Honor made a push late. he came up 1 1/4 lengths short.
Chad Brown, Iron Honor’s trainer, offered a blunt explanation for why the finish didn’t come together: “He was a bit wide on both turns and it probably took the starch out of him a little bit when it mattered late.”
Chip Honcho, going off at 11-1, finished third.
The Preakness atmosphere also felt different.. A crowd that once filled the infield with throngs of fans and live music found a subdued scene this year at Laurel. where attendance was capped at 4. 800.. The track’s future remains uncertain, with the possibility that Laurel could be converted into a training facility.
Summers didn’t hide his frustration at the broader trend hurting tracks like these. pointing to Aqueduct and Laurel as examples of places that have helped define the sport.. “It’s a shame and it’s a tragedy that racetracks like Aqueduct and Laurel are no longer going to be around. because they’re foundation racetracks. ” Summers said.. “I would just hope that we get the opportunity as an industry to rally and save some of these tracks.. We can’t allow this to keep happening. and there’s only going to be three or four tracks left at the end of the day.”
The race also carried familiar stakes beyond the Triple Crown requirement.. The Preakness has long acted as a second chance for horses that didn’t reach the Derby. and this year that mattered because only three Derby runners showed up.. That setup set the stage for Napoleon Solo and Iron Honor. who returned to face one another after both finished outside the top spots in the Wood Memorial in early April. placing fifth and seventh.
Chip Honcho’s path into Saturday looked similar in its own way, coming off a fifth-place finish in the Louisiana Derby in March.
Napoleon Solo finished in 1 minute, 58.69 seconds and paid $17.80 on a $2 bet. It was the first victory in a Triple Crown race for both Summers and jockey Paco Lopez.
The win did not come in a straight line, either.. Napoleon Solo’s start to the year included two fifth-place efforts. part of a season that had tested his reputation after early promise.. Last year, he opened strong with two impressive wins, taking the Champagne Stakes by 6 1/2 lengths in October.. This year. however. he couldn’t carry that form forward. finishing fifth in both the Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial.
Summers leaned on that history after Saturday’s outcome. “All year long, fifth place, fifth place. Everyone said he wasn’t as good as he was in the Champagne,” Summers said. “This was a win here. People will say it wasn’t against the best of the best. We’ll find out the rest of the year.”
After the Preakness, Napoleon Solo is being pointed toward the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park in July.
Taj Mahal. meanwhile. was trying to become the first female trainer to win the Preakness. a milestone made two weeks earlier at the Derby by Cherie DeVaux.. Taj Mahal had already run all three of his races at Laurel. a factor that likely helped him remain a slight favorite over Incredibolt.. Still, after leading much of the way, Russell’s unbeaten colt faded to finish 10th.
“He got away good, and they were moving along fine, but the winner also sat right on his flank,” Russell said. “He did what we thought he would do. He just didn’t kick on.”
The three horses that ran in both the Derby and Preakness finished a range of outcomes on Saturday: Ocelli (7-1) finished fourth, Incredibolt (5-1) finished fifth, and Robusta (25-1) finished ninth.
The field itself matched the maximum number of runners, with 14 horses lining up—its largest crowd since 14 also ran in the 2011 edition.
The day’s story hinged on absence and momentum: Golden Tempo was kept out, only three Derby runners showed up, and that left Napoleon Solo and Iron Honor—both coming off fifth and seventh-place finishes in the Wood Memorial—to settle a wide-open Preakness at Laurel.
For Summers, the race also delivered a clearer direction after a season of near-misses: a first Triple Crown win with Napoleon Solo now pointing to the Haskell Stakes in July.
Preakness Stakes Napoleon Solo Iron Honor Golden Tempo Taj Mahal Chad Summers Paco Lopez Laurel Park Triple Crown