Napoleon Solo won the 151st Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Laurel Park, holding off late pressure from Iron Honor and finishing ahead of Chip Honcho in a field of 14. Taj Mahal led early but faded, leaving the race without a Triple Crown contender after Kentu
Napoleon Solo came in hot and didn’t let go, hustling to first place in the 151st Preakness Stakes on Saturday against 13 other horses in what was the race’s biggest field in 15 years.
The colt, entered with 8-1 morning odds, began the race tailing the favorite, Taj Mahal. He stayed close early, then moved into contention and pulled ahead near the top of the stretch, finishing the 1 3/16-mile race with a winning effort that earned him a $2 million purse.
Jockey Paco Lopez rode Napoleon Solo to the win for his second Preakness appearance and his first victory in the race.. Trainer Chad Summers also tasted his first Preakness win.. “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.”
Taj Mahal broke to the lead early and covered the first quarter-mile in 22.66 seconds.. But the unbeaten colt—trained by Brittany Russell—couldn’t hold the advantage.. At race time, Napoleon Solo was 7-1 when he passed Taj Mahal near the top of the stretch.. Iron Honor, a threat late, closed but finished 1 1/4 lengths behind.. Chip Honcho, at 1-1, finished third.
Iron Honor had been the morning line favorite at 9-2. but he went off as an 8-1 shot by the time the horses entered the starting gate.. The late order made their rematch feel sharper: Napoleon Solo had already finished ahead of Iron Honor earlier in the year. including the Wood Memorial. where the two were running two spots farther back.
Napoleon Solo had opened last year with two wins, including a six-and-a-half-length victory in the Champagne Stakes in October. This year, though, he couldn’t match that early-season momentum, finishing fifth in both the Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial.
The Preakness also featured the other horses that raced in both the Derby and Preakness this year: Ocelli (7-1), Incredibolt (5-1), and Robusta (25-1). They finished fourth, fifth, and ninth, respectively, reinforcing that the field had multiple storylines before the gate opened.
Their results came as the Preakness was held at Laurel Park in Maryland for the first time due to a major renovation project at Pimlico Race Course. with completion expected next year.. Even with the smaller venue. the event drew a full betting card with a field that hadn’t been seen since 2011. when Shackleford beat Derby winner Animal Kingdom by half a length.
Russell. meanwhile. was trying to make history as the first female trainer to win the Preakness—coming just two weeks after Cherie DeVaux achieved that milestone at the Derby.. Taj Mahal had run all three of his races at Laurel. which likely helped him draw support as bettors made him the slight favorite over Incredibolt.. Yet after leading much of the way, Taj Mahal faded to finish 10th.
This year’s Triple Crown remains without a contender going after the highly coveted achievement, because Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo skipped the Preakness Stakes. DeVaux said she wanted to give Golden Tempo “a little more time following such a tremendous effort.”
The race’s turning point followed the same thread from start to finish: Taj Mahal grabbed early control, covered the first quarter-mile in 22.66 seconds, then faded as Napoleon Solo moved up near the top of the stretch, while Iron Honor made a late push that ended 1 1/4 lengths short.
By the time the gate closed and the field sorted out, the winner’s season story was just as clear as the moment he hit the front—fifth-place finishes earlier this year gave way to a first Preakness win on Saturday, even as the bigger Triple Crown picture shifted again with Golden Tempo staying out.
Preakness Stakes Napoleon Solo Laurel Park Paco Lopez Chad Summers Taj Mahal Iron Honor Chip Honcho Triple Crown Golden Tempo