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Brittany Russell, alongside her husband Sheldon, aims to make history with Taj Mahal in the Preakness Stakes. If successful, she would be the third female trainer to complete a Triple Crown sweep.
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Brittany Russell is poised to become the third female trainer to complete a Triple Crown sweep if her horse, Taj Mahal, wins the Preakness Stakes.
Cherie DeVaux won the Kentucky Derby with Golden Tempo, and Jenna Antonucci won the Belmont Stakes with Arcangelo.
The Preakness Stakes is being held at Laurel Park, which is Brittany Russell's home track.
Brittany Russell acknowledges the pressure but expresses hope, stating that winning would mean a lot to her.
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In this image provided by the The Maryland Jockey Club, husband and wife, jockey Sheldon Russell and trainer Brittany Russell, pose for a photo in the winner's circle with son Rye and daughter Edy, after Point Dume won the third race, Dec. 31, 2023, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. (Jim McCue/The Maryland Jockey Club via AP)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
In this image provided by the The Maryland Jockey Club, husband and wife, jockey Sheldon Russell and trainer Brittany Russell, pose for a photo in the winner's circle with son Rye and daughter Edy, after Point Dume won the third race, Dec. 31, 2023, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. (Jim McCue/The Maryland Jockey Club via AP)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Horses work out at Laurel Park during sunrise, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Laurel, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Jockeys ride horses out of the paddock during Laurel Park's Preakness Meet, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Laurel, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Horses work out at Laurel Park during sunrise, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Laurel, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Laurel Park, set to become a training facility, spruced things up for a chance to relive its glory days by hosting its first and probably only Preakness Stakes. \\ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Brittany Russell is the latest woman with a chance to etch her name into horse racing history. Two weeks after Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner with Golden Tempo and after Jenna Antonucci won the 2023 Belmont with Arcangelo, Russell has the chance to complete the Triple Crown sweep of female trainers when she saddles Taj Mahal in the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday. âIt would sort of feel probably a little fairytale-like," Russell said. "Jena opened the door just a couple years ago with Arcangelo, and Cherie got it done in the Kentucky Derby. The fact that I feel like I have a live one in the Preakness here, look, thereâs some pressure and I certainly hope we can do it, but it would mean an awful lot.â Where the race is taking place and who will be aboard could make it mean even more. The Preakness is being run at Russell's home track, Laurel Park, for the first time, and husband Sheldon is the jockey. They would be the first married couple, at least as trainer and jockey, to win a Triple Crown race. âThe dream, the goal was always to get one that would take us to one of the big races, and heâs sort of taken us there,â Sheldon Russell told The Associated Press. âJust like a normal day, really.â Most weekends, the Russells take their children to Laurel Park, which is just off I-95 between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and 6-year-old daughter Edy and 4-year-old son Rye are expected to be in attendance. They were a little younger when they went to the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar in Southern California, in the fall of 2024 when Post Time, trained by their mother and ridden by their father, finished second in a world championship mile-long dirt race. It was a cross-country introduction to the sport. âThat was a big event for them,â Sheldon Russell said. âThey didnât really understand what we were doing there until we sort of got there. (This time) itâs not like we have to travel.â And, unlike the usual Maryland-based horses who go into the Preakness as long shots, Taj Mahal is right in the mix of contenders in the wide-open field of 14 that does not include Golden Tempo. He opened at odds of 5-1, just behind morning line favorite Iron Honor. Taj Mahal is unbeaten in three races, all at Laurel Park, including going wire to wire to win the Federico Tesio Stakes on April 18 by more then eight lengths. âImmediately everybody started talking, just the way that horse won it,â Maryland Jockey Club president and CEO Bill Knauf said. âTo have Brittany as our leading trainer for many years now here, sheâs obviously one of the best in the country, and Sheldon has done an unbelievable job.â Brittany Russell called it a dominant effort, and she hopes the home track advantage could be a major one. Her husband rides most of her horses, and that's another relationship edge they have over everyone else as they watch replays together and discuss strategy. âMost of the time, itâs great,â Brittany said. "Now, look, does everything go to plan? Is everything always perfect? No, and it can be a little tricky. But at the end of the day, itâs horse racing and some things are out of our control. In this particular instance, I think itâs great. He knows the horse. Heâs won on it three times. He knows the racetrack better than anybody. I think itâs a good thing.â This is Brittany Russell's first Preakness horse in her eighth year of training. It's her husband's fourth chance to ride in the middle leg of the Triple Crown after finishing fifth aboard Chase the Chaos in 2023, sixth aboard Excession in 2020 and 10th aboard Concealed Identity in 2011. This is different, though Sheldon Russell said he has not pondered the big-picture ramifications. His thoughts keep coming back to the little things, like, âWe have a chance.â âI guess if it happened, itâs going to be something,â he said. "We both know that he has a decent chance of showing up on the big day.â \\\_ AP horse racing: