Field for Saturday's Preakness Stakes came together in unusual ways

After the bigger-name defections, Incredibolt became the third to take up the challenge, following third-place finisher Ocelli and Robusta, who beat four Derby rivals.

Great White, whose only wins have come on the Turfway Park all-weather course, made it into the Preakness field after a prolonged assessment of his health and well-being after he flipped behind the Churchill Downs starting gate and was scratched from the Derby.

Most of the runners shipped in to Laurel within the past week for the Preakness, but Taj Mahal and The Hell We Did have been there for a while.

Taj Mahal, in fact, has made all three career starts at Laurel and won them all for the jockey-trainer, husband-wife team of Sheldon and Brittany Russell.

The Hell We Did is a different story. He arrived in Maryland on April 28, shortly after finishing second in the Grade III Lexington at Keeneland. That was his fourth track in as many starts, also including Remington Park in Oklahoma and Zia Park and Sunland Park in New Mexico, where the owner-breeder Peacock family is based.

The Hell We Did is a half-brother to Senor Buscador, winner of the $20 million Group 1 Saudi Cup in 2024.

When the wheel stopped spinning, Iron Honor was pegged morning-line Preakness favorite at odds of 9-2, despite finishing seventh in the Grade II Wood Memorial in his last start. Incredibolt, Taj Mahal and Chip Honcho all were set at 5-1.

Laurel Park also offers up most of the rest of the weekend schedule.

Saturday brings a mixed bag of turf and dirt events at a variety of distances.

Three-year-olds not up to the Preakness tackle 1 1/16 miles in the $100,000 Sir Barton. The $150,000 Chick Lang for 3-year-olds, the $150,000 Grade III Maryland Sprint for older steeds and the $125,000 Skipat for fillies and mares are all at 6 furlongs on the main track.

On the grass, the $250,000 Grade III Dinner Party is 1 1/8 miles and the $150,000 Grade III Gallorette for fillies and mares is a sixteenth shorter. Three-year-olds go 1 mile in the $100,000 James W. Murphy and the $125,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint is 5 1/2 furlongs.

Friday's program at Laurel Park has six stakes events, all be one for fillies and mares. The exception is the $250,000 Grade III Pimlico Special at the Preakness distance of 1 3/16 miles but for older horses.

The $300,000 Grade II George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan for 3-year-old fillies fills the role played by the Kentucky Oaks on Derby weekend.

The first four finishers in the local prep return but looking tougher are Holly's Holliday, winner of the Valley of the Vapors at Oaklawn Park in her last start, and Braken Pappa, off a four-race win streak against fellow Louisiana-breds at Fair Grounds.

Older distaffers tackle the 1 1/8-mile Allaire du Pont Distaff and 3-year-old filly spinters contest the $150,000 Grade III Miss Preakness.

On the turf, the $125,000 Hilltop is a 1-mile excursion for 3-year-old fillies with odds-on favorite Ultimate Love, who was undefeated until finishing fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies turf. Fillies and mares go 5 1/2 furlongs in the $100,000 The Very One.

Elsewhere around the ovals:

Churchill Downs' Saturday feature is the $250,000 Grade III Louisville Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on the grass.

Gulfstream Parks' stakes program is on the green course all weekend. Saturday it's the Mr. Steele Stakes and the Monroe Stakes for fillies and mares, both for $100,000 at 1 mile. The 3-year-olds sprinters take over the turf Sunday in the $100,000, 5-furlong Roar Stakes.

Monmouth Park offers Saturday's $100,000 Serena's Song for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt.

And Santa Anita also sticks with the salad-course course for the $100,000 Mizdirection for fillies and mares Saturday and the $100,000, 1-mile Cinema Stakes for 3-year-olds on Sunday.

Woodbine turns to the all-weather strip with Sunday's $100,000 (Canadian) King Corrie Stakes for 3-year-olds and Saturday's $100,000 (Canadian) Ruling Angel for 3-year-old fillies, both at 7 furlongs.

Around the world, around the clock

England

Coolmore and Aidan O'Brien had been cruising through the Derby and Oaks trials quite nicely until the train pulled into the station this week at York and Juddmonte suddenly took charge.

They won Wednesday's Oaks prep, the Group 2 Tattersalls Musidora, with Legacy Link, then doubling up as Item relegated the O'Brien team of Action and Christmas Day to second and third by 2 1/4 and 1 1/4 lengths in the Group 2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes. Godolphin's trio trailed in fourth, sixth and seventh of eight.

Item, a Frankel colt trained by Andrew Balding, remains undefeated after three starts and Juddmonte racing manager Barry Mahon said, "We'll talk to the owners and see what they want to do but hopefully they'll want to roll the dice at Epsom {the Derby, June 6}."

Derby sponsor Betfred dropped Item's Derby odds from 33-1 to 6-1, but no tears for O'Brien and the Coolmore lads as the second- and third-favorites -- Benvenutto Cellini (at 9-4) and Constitution River (at 11-2) are both from their Ballydoyle operation.

Elsewhere around England, Saturday's Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury finds Wathnan Racing's Damysus putting a three-race win streak on the line as favorite against the likes of Zeus Olympios, Notable Speech and The Lion in Winter.

Cicero's Gift is also in this field with trainer Charlie Hills no doubt looking for another effort like his 100-1 thrashing of the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes last October. And why not? Lion in Winter was second in that heat with other major talents finishing up the course.

Japan

Last weekend, it was 3-year-old fillies going 1 mile in the NHK Mile Cup. This weekend, their elders face the same Tokyo Racecourse distance in the Grade 1 Victoria Mile.

The likely favorite is Embroidery, an Admire Mars filly who won two of the three Japanese filly Classics last year, missing only the Japanese Oaks, in which she reported ninth.

She went to hibernation after a disappointing effort in the Hong Kong Mile in December but won her 4-year-old debut in April in the Grade 2 Hanshin Himba.

Those looking past the likely favorite might focus on Kamunyak or Queen's Walk.

Kamunyak, a 4-year-old Black Tide filly, won the only 2025 Oaks and finished second to Embroidery in April at Hanshin. Queen's Walk has yet to win a Grade 1 race, but just missed in this event last year, finishing second by a neck after some bumping in the final 50 meters.