Napoleon Solo captured the 151st Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Laurel Park, beating favored Taj Mahal and late-running Iron Honor in a finish that reshaped the Triple Crown weekend. The race was staged at Laurel Park while Pimlico undergoes renovations, and it brought drama both on the track and off, including the tragic collapse of Hit Zero and questions about which Derby horses returned for Saturday’s running. Trainers, bettors and racing fans saw unexpected moves, shifting odds, and a reminder that big races can turn on a single stretch run.
Taj Mahal set the pace early and carried the lead deep into the final turn, but Napoleon Solo found room on the outside and surged to take command at the top of the stretch. As Taj Mahal faded, Iron Honor stormed from the back to challenge but came up short, and Chip Honcho closed well enough to grab third. The on-track action left bettors rethinking late money and jockey timing as the frontrunners and closers squared off in the final furlong.
Napoleon Solo opened at 8-1 and finished the betting at 7-1, a small but telling move that suggested serious support late in the pool. Iron Honor, listed at 8-1, wound up second, while Chip Honcho, which closed at 11-1, took third. Ocelli completed the top four at 8-1 and was one of just three starters back from the Kentucky Derby two weeks earlier, illustrating how the Preakness favored both fresh legs and horses trying to salvage a Triple Crown campaign.
Only three horses from the Kentucky Derby returned for the Preakness: Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt. Corona de Oro, who drew the 11 post on Saturday, had been scratched well ahead of the Derby and did not contest the first jewel. Great White, whose pre-Derby mishap made headlines when he reared and fell on his back after being startled before the Derby gate, pressed on with the 13 post for this running, a testament to connections who chose to keep campaigning despite the earlier scare.
The weekend carried a darker note: Hit Zero, trained by Brittany Russell, entered as a favorite but finished last, and then suffered a fatal collapse after the race. Another one of Russell’s horses, Bold Fact, won that same race, adding an odd contrast between triumph and tragedy for the stable. Reports say Hit Zero began coughing, dropped to his knees, then put his head down and died after crossing the finish line, a sequence that shocked those watching and has already sparked questions about equine safety and post-race protocols.
This year’s Preakness left its usual Baltimore home because Pimlico is under renovation, moving the event roughly 20 miles south to Laurel Park for the first time in the race’s long history. That shift changed the backdrop and some logistical rhythms, but the essence of the Preakness — a hard, fast-mile-and-an-eighth test between the Derby and Belmont — remained intact. For fans and trainers alike, the temporary venue was a reminder that tradition can be preserved even when the physical stage is altered.
Punting and pundit chatter will now turn quickly to the Belmont Stakes on June 6, which is set for Saratoga as Belmont Park continues its own renovations. With only a short turn between major stakes and a reshuffled pecking order after Laurel Park’s edition of the Preakness, connections will be weighing travel, recovery and whether their runners are suited to the longer Belmont distance. For some horses, a trip to Saratoga will be a chance at redemption; for others it will be an overdue test of staying power.
As the dust settled at Laurel, trainers and fans parsed the performances, odds shifts and what the weekend’s events mean for the sport going forward. The mix of a surprise winner, the fainting of a favorite and the temporary relocation of a historic race made this Preakness one to remember for reasons both uplifting and sobering. Follow sports coverage on X: https://twitter.com/FoxNewsSports_
