The 151st Preakness Stakes goes Saturday at Laurel Park, and the honest truth is this is one of the most genuinely open Preakness fields we have seen in years. Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo is not here. The favorite is a horse who finished seventh in the Wood Memorial. You have four horses within a point of each other on the morning line. If you are building tickets for the exotic bets or just trying to figure out who to key in a win bet, you need to slow down and work through this properly. Let's do that.
Full entries and official odds are available at BUSR. Here is where the key players stand heading into post time.
| 2026 Preakness Stakes Odds and Post Positions | ||
| PP | Horse / Jockey | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taj MahalSheldon Russell | 5/1 |
| 2 | OcelliTyler Gaffalione | 6/1 |
| 3 | CrupperJunior Alvarado | 30/1 |
| 4 | RobustaRafael Bejarano | 30/1 |
| 5 | TalkinIrad Ortiz Jr. | 20/1 |
| 6 | Chip HonchoJose Ortiz | 5/1 |
| 7 | The Hell We DidLuis Saez | 15/1 |
| 8 | Bull by the HornsMicah Husbands | 30/1 |
| 9 | Iron HonorFlavien Prat | 9/2 |
| 10 | Napoleon SoloPaco Lopez | 8/1 |
| 11 | Corona de OroJohn Velazquez | 30/1 |
| 12 | IncrediboltJaime Torres | 5/1 |
| 13 | Great WhiteAlex Achard | 15/1 |
| 14 | Pretty Boy MiahRicardo Santana Jr. | 15/1 |
Last Updated on 05/16/2026
Iron Honor at 9-2 is your morning-line favorite, and that is about the softest chalk you are going to find in a Grade I stakes race. When the public installs a favorite at 9-2 in a field of 14, they are basically telling you they are not sure either. The Wood Memorial finish is the number that keeps coming up, and it should. Seventh place. Not a troubled trip, not a wide trip, just seventh. Now you are asking this horse to stretch out to 1 3/16 miles on a track he has no form at. That is a lot of assumptions to make at 9-2. Smart money is fading him.
Taj Mahal is the play that makes sense at 5-1. Three starts at Laurel Park, three wins. That is not a coincidence. Trainer Brittany Russell knows this horse and knows this track, and there is a legitimate historic angle here if she becomes the first woman to saddle a Preakness winner. But you are not betting the storyline, you are betting the form, and the form at this venue is perfect. If you are looking for how to think through handicapping stakes races at this level, the course-form angle on Taj Mahal is exactly the kind of edge you are looking for in a wide-open spot like this.
With 14 horses in the gate, the pace scenario is going to be contested early. There is enough speed in this field that the fractions should be honest, which historically sets up your stalkers and closers to fire late at 1 3/16 miles. That is where Napoleon Solo at 8-1 comes in.
Napoleon Solo has the class credentials and the ability to sit just off a hot pace and pounce. Jody Demling, who has called 11 Preakness winners, is on him at 8-1 while fading Chip Honcho at 5-1. That is a meaningful endorsement from someone who has watched this race long enough to know the difference between a horse who looks good on paper and one who actually fits the pace profile. At 8-1, Napoleon Solo is your best straight win bet in this race.
Incredibolt at 5-1 is worth a look as a sleeper at that price. If the pace collapses up front the way it sometimes does when multiple horses break fast from a big field, a horse with Incredibolt's running style could be sitting on a big number. Keep him in your trifecta and superfecta tickets, but do not single him on a Pick 4 without knowing more about the pace flow closer to post time. For stakes-race ticket construction at this level, the same logic you would apply to the Jim Dandy or the Rachel Alexandra applies here: build around the pace scenario, not just the morning line.
Here is where the ticket gets interesting. The Hell We Did at 15-1 has Luis Saez in the irons from post seven. That is a workable setup. Saez is one of the sharpest tactical riders in the game, and post seven in a 14-horse field gives him options. Gene Menez has been beating the drum on this horse, citing improved fitness and the favorable draw. If Saez can get him into a comfortable stalking spot through the first turn, he will be live in the stretch. Use him as a single in exacta part-wheels under Taj Mahal and Napoleon Solo.
Corona de Oro at 30-1 is your deep ticket play. Multiple handicappers have flagged this horse as the top longshot sleeper for exotics, and at 30-1, you do not need him to win to get paid. He only needs to sneak into the superfecta. A $1 superfecta box with Taj Mahal, Napoleon Solo, The Hell We Did, and Corona de Oro costs $24. If that ticket fires with any combination of those four, you are looking at a serious payout in a field this open. For bettors who like this kind of construction, the same disciplined approach applies to races like the Del Mar Handicap or the Franklin Stakes. Build around value, not chalk.
On the Triple Crown bonus front, with Golden Tempo already carrying the Derby, any horse who wins the Preakness sets up a massive Belmont story. Keep that in mind when you are thinking about which horse you want rooting for in the stretch.
Here is how to structure your exotics for the 151st Preakness without overcomplicating it.
Exacta wheel: Key Taj Mahal on top, use Napoleon Solo and The Hell We Did underneath. A $2 exacta wheel with one on top and two underneath costs $4. Add Iron Honor as a throwback underneath if you are worried about getting beaten by the public choice.
Trifecta box: Taj Mahal, Napoleon Solo, The Hell We Did in a $1 trifecta box costs $6. If you want to add Incredibolt as a fourth horse, that $1 box goes to $24. Worth it in a 14-horse field at these odds.
Superfecta: Taj Mahal, Napoleon Solo, The Hell We Did, Corona de Oro in a $1 superfecta box costs $24. If you want to go deeper and include Incredibolt, spread to a 5-horse $0.10 superfecta box for $12. That is your lottery ticket, play at a responsible price.
Also, check out the BC free bet offers at US Racing. Winning horses from the Preakness often pop up in the Breeders' Cup prep cycle, so staying active through the summer pays off.
Let's make your winning ticket for today
The consensus seems to be fading Iron Honor given the Wood Memorial flop and distance questions. Taj Mahal's 3-for-3 record at Laurel is getting a lot of attention, and The Hell We Did is drawing exotic action at 15-1.
The broader conversation on X and Reddit is heavily focused on two things: fading Iron Honor and finding the right longshot to bury in the exotics. The historic angle of Brittany Russell potentially becoming the first female trainer to win the Preakness with Taj Mahal is also generating real interest beyond the pure handicapping community. That kind of story draws casual money, which could push Taj Mahal's price down from 5-1 by post time. Get in early if that is your horse.
Iron Honor opened as the morning-line favorite at 9-2, but he is drawing significant fade action from sharp bettors due to his seventh-place finish in the Wood Memorial and unproven stamina at 1 3/16 miles. Taj Mahal and Chip Honcho are both listed at 5-1 and attracting heavy support going into post time.
The Hell We Did at 15-1 and Corona de Oro at 30-1 are the two most discussed longshot plays heading into the 151st Preakness. The Hell We Did draws post position No. 7 and has Luis Saez in the saddle, which helps with early positioning in a 14-horse field. Corona de Oro has been flagged as the top sleeper for exotic tickets by multiple handicappers who see value at that price in a genuinely open field.
The 151st Preakness Stakes is being run at Laurel Park in Maryland. The move to Laurel creates a genuine course-form angle that you cannot ignore when handicapping this race. Taj Mahal's undefeated 3-for-3 record at the track makes him particularly compelling from a trip and form cycle standpoint.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
