Preakness 2026: Iron Honor, Incredibolt, And Gap-Year Betting

Ocelli Blazes In Show: From right, Golden Tempo #19, crosses the finish line just a neck ahead of Renegade, No. 1, and Ocelli, #22 on May 02, 2026 at Churchill. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

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The $2-million 151st Preakness run later this evening (post time, approximately 7:01 p.m. EDT) represents a sort of tunaround for the storied middle jewel of the Triple Crown that compares with a sort of university gap year. The race will be run, and heartily so, but at Laurel. As we know, Pimlico itself has been demolished and will be rebuilt, with the state of Maryland taking over as Pimlico’s landlord from Belinda Stronach’s 1/ST. Churchill Downs has bought the “intellectual rights” to the race from 1/ST, which deal will be finalized at some point after today’s race, and for the second year in a row, the Derby winner has opted to skip the race and point to the Belmont.

As far as Derby veterans go, this leaves us with Whitworth Beckman-trained Ocelli, the game Kentucky Derby 70-1 longshot show horse pictured far right, above, battling to within a length of the winner at the line two weeks ago, and Riley Mott’s Incredibolt, who finished a sixth that day behind Danon Bourbon in fifth and Chief Wallabee in fourth.

Iron Honor, Taj Mahal, Chip Honcho, Ocelli and Incredibolt are the obvious class of this evening’s 14-strong 151st Preakness field, with Iron Honor the very narrow morning line favorite. That noted, it’s becoming rather a habit among trainers and owners of Derby winners that they choose to skip the Preakness, and the trackside chatter to move the race further into the summer — effectively lengthening the Triple Crown season so as to give the athletes more recovery time between the three races — is only increasing in volume.

But before we dive into what Iron Honor, Chip Honcho, Ocelli or Incredibolt must do to beat each other and everybody else, herewith, a refresher on the 151st Preakness field and its tight minefield of odds.

(Post Position, Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Morning Line Odds)

1. Taj Mahal, Sheldon Russell, Brittany Russell, (5-1)

2. Ocelli, Tyler Gaffalione, Whitworth Beckman, (6-1)

3. Crupper, Junior Alvarado, Donnie K. Von Hemel, (30-1)