2025 Preakness Stakes live updates, start time, TV channel and odds

BALTIMORE — Golden Gate Fields may be gone, but one its horses made a little history at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday.

Charlene’s Dream went gate to wire to win the Grade 3 Gallorette Stakes, a 1 1/16 mile turf race for fillies and mares 3-year-old and up. She is trained by Ed Moger, Jr., long a staple at Golden Gate.

“We couldn’t get her in any graded stakes because she had never been in a graded stakes,” Moger said. “We entered her in, like three of them, the races didn’t go or we didn’t get in. We weren’t qualified. That’s why we came here. I’ve always thought she could run like that.”

She was ridden by Umberto Rispoli, who will ride Journalism in the Preakness.

“She broke really well out of the gate,” Rispoli said. “I was happy to let her go to the lead. Ed was very confident before the race, that’s why I want to give him credit for this. … She was happy on the fence in the lead and she never gave up. The more ground there was to cover, she kept taking me to the wire.”

The 4-year-old filly started her career at Golden Gate, winning three races and finishing second once. Her last race at the now shuttered track was Nov. 25, 2023 when she won the Golden Gate Debutante Stakes. Looking for a place to run, she left Northern California and finished fourth in the Leslie’s Lady Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs. From there she won the Horseshoe Indianapolis Handicap at the track that the race was named four. Her last race was a seventh in the Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational at Kentucky Downs. She hasn’t raced since Sept. 11, 2024.

On Saturday, she was 30-1 on the morning line but the betting public was a little smarter sending her off at 8-1. She paid $18.20 to win.

With the Stronach Group shutting down Golden Gate Fields and the death of fair racing in Northern California, Moger has moved most of his stable to the Midwest. His last race at Santa Anita was on March 23.

Trainer: Mark Casse

Jockey: John Velazquez

Owners: D.J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables

Purchase price: $1,200,000

Sire: Tapit

Lifetime record: 9-3-1-2

Winnings: $1,254,595

Last race: Seventh in the Kentucky Derby

Morning line: 4-1

Horse Racing Nation fair odds: 8-1

Comment: The betting public really likes this horse, even sending him off at around 6-1 in the Kentucky Derby. He’ll be the horse that’s easy to spot as he’s a gray. His big win was in the Arkansas Derby, which set up perfectly for him. In the Derby he closed from 13th to seventh, but is that good enough? The fact he was a $1.2 million Tapit colt may be the reason behind him running in the Preakness. He’s probably better suited for the 1 ¼-mile Belmont at Saratoga, but the connections might have noticed the soft field in the Preakness and thought this was easier money. It’s expected to be a wet track on Saturday and Sandman did not do that well on a wet Churchill Downs track for the Kentucky Derby. He needs a very fast early pace that could possibly compromise Journalism. If that doesn’t happen, he might be among the also rans.

BALTIMORE — Trainer Bob Baffert loves to come to the Preakness. He loves the fact that all the top horses are in the same barn, so he can kibitz with his fellow trainers, such as an extended conversation with Mark Casse about the best crabcakes in town. He loves the casual atmosphere, in contrast to the high stakes, high pressure feeling at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.

Or maybe it’s because he’s won the second leg of the Triple Crown eight times, more than any other trainer in history.

So, he was asked why he was bringing Goal Oriented, an undefeated two-time starter who has never run in a stakes race, to the Preakness.

“FOMO,” Baffert said with a laugh, referring to the acronym for “fear of missing out.”

Make no mistake, Baffert doesn’t run a horse in a race this big just because he likes the crabcakes.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Owners: Winstar Farm, Pantofel Stable and Wachtel Stable

Purchase price: $200,000

Sire: Maclean’s Music

Lifetime record: 4-2-1-1

Winnings: $261,900

Last race: Third in the Blue Grass Stakes

Morning line: 9-2

Horse Racing Nation fair odds: 12-1

Comment: This is a horse not to be overlooked. He has faced tough competition in the Blue Grass (third) and Fountain of Youth (second). He was not pointed to the Derby, likely because of questions about his ability to go 1 ¼ miles. But the Preakness is 1/16 of a mile shorter. River Thames has a great trainer in Todd Pletcher, even though Pletcher has never won the Preakness in 10 tries. In fact, Pletcher really does not like to come to the Preakness on only two weeks rest. River Thames is the third pick in the race. John Velazquez jumped off this horse, opting to ride Sandman. River Thames hasn’t run since April, so he should be very fresh.

Horses compete in the Donald Butler Memorial undercard race ahead of the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

(Nick Wass / Associated Press)

BALTIMORE — The odds for the Preakness Stakes remained mostly unchanged, although Sandman dropped down to 5-1, tying him with Clever Again, although the latter has about a $23,000 lead in the betting totals.

The advance betting has been a bit anemic in the middle of the Preakness card with $2.428 million in the win pool. In fact, no horse has crossed the $1 million threshold. Journalism has about $900,000 bet on him.

In the exacta pool, about $1.411 has been bet.

Betting will certainly pick up as the race gets closer.

Here are the odds with four hours to go.

1 — Goal Oriented 7-1

2 — Journalism 6-5

3 — American Promise 10-1

4 — Heart of Honor 20-1

5 — Pay Billy 12-1

6 — River Thames 9-1

7 — Sandman 5-1

8 — Clever Again 5-1

9 — Gosger 19-1

A frequent criticism of horse racing is its reliance on jargon. For example, for races less than a mile, they are measured in furlongs. So, what’s a furlong? Well, an eighth of a mile.

It’s difficult to believe that racing has held on to a measurement that was established in the ninth century. It was said to be the length of a furrow over an acre of land that has been ploughed. Around 1300, the measurement was standardized to 660 feet or 220 yards.

The Kentucky Derby is 1 ¼ miles or 10 furlongs. The Preakness is 1 3/16 miles or 9.5 furlongs.

But it hasn’t always been that way.

From 1873 to 1888, the Preakness was 1 ½ miles. Then in 1889, it was moved to 1 ¼ miles before going back to 1 ½ miles in 1890. In 1894 to 1900 it was 1 1/16 miles followed by 1 mile and 70 yards from 1901 to 1907, when the race was held on Coney Island in New York.

In 1909 and 1910, it was a mile, the race’s shortest distance. From 1911 to 1924, the race was 1 1/8 miles, the standard distance for the last Kentucky Derby points race. Then in 1925, it found its permanent distance of 1 3/16 miles.

One of the reasons for changing the distance is based on the configuration of the track.

Trainer: Michael Gorham

Jockey: Raul Mena

Owners: RKTN Racing

Purchase price: $60,000

Sire: Improbable

Lifetime record: 8-4-1-1

Winnings: $234,475

Last race: Won the Federico Tesio

Morning line: 20-1

Horse Racing Nation fair odds: 55-1

Comment: This horse got a free pass into the race by winning the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park in Maryland. And, the Tesio is a great predictor on who won’t win the Preakness. Only one horse, Deputed Testamony, has ever won both the Tesio and the Preakness. And that was back in 1983. Pay Billy was tearing it up at Laurel, winning four of his six races. But it’s Laurel. You can compare the quality to that of Los Alamitos, outside of the 2-year-old races that have seen some fantastic horses run such as Journalism. It took Pay Billy four tries to break his maiden. If you are looking for a sign that he can win, remember that Rombauer won the Preakness in 2021 after qualifying by winning the little regarded El Camino Real Derby at the now-shuttered Golden Gate Fields. As they say in Dumb and Dumber: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.”

BALTIMORE — The win oddsboard did not change in the past hour with Journalism still the solid 6-5 favorite to win the Preakness. A total of $2.412 million is in the win pool.

Looking at the exacta, there is some money to be made even with Journalism winning. Here are the exacta odds with Journalism on top: (2-1) 13-1, (2-3) 30-1, (2-4) 48-1, (2-5) 64-1, (2-6) 10-1, (2-7) 12-1, (2-8) 7-1, (2-9) 43-1.

Remember to figure out the payoff, double the odds and add 2. For example, the Journlaism-Clever Again exacta would pay $16. The longest exacta, Journalism-Pay Billy would pay $130.

Most exactas with either Heart of Honor or Gosger winning would pay more than $200.

Here are the odds with five hours to go:

1 — Goal Oriented 7-1

2 — Journalism 6-5

3 — American Promise 10-1

4 — Heart of Honor 20-1

5 — Pay Billy 12-1

6 — River Thames 9-1

7 — Sandman 6-1

8 — Clever Again 5-1

9 — Gosger 19-1

Trainer: Jaime Osborne

Jockey: Saffie Osborne

Owners: Jim and Claire Limited

Purchase price: Homebred

Sire: Honor A.P.

Lifetime record: 6-2-4-0

Winnings: $340,949

Last race: Second in the UAE Derby

Morning line: 12-1

Horse Racing Nation fair odds: 37-1

Comment: The best part of this horse is that the trainer and jockey are father and daughter. Jaime Osborne, who trains in Britain, selected his daughter Saffie to ride the colt. According to the Racing Post, which covers European racing, Saffie has a 5% win percentage as a rider. That’s not great. Heart of Honor finished second in the UAE Derby by a nose to Admire Daytona, who went on to finish last in the Kentucky Derby. In addition, he has never run on a wet track. We’re still searching for a reason that the horse will win the Preakness. Haven’t found it yet. Seems like a toss, but could always sneak into fourth in the superfecta. The real question might be what’s the end game with this horse? Shipping to the U.S. to run in the Preakness doesn’t make sense unless there is an alternate plan.

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Editor’s note: Former Times columnist Jim Murray loved horse racing. So, it was not unusual to see him at Triple Crown races. Here’s a column he wrote that was published on June 20, 1986 about the Preakness. As always with the Pulitzer Prize winning Murray, his words often overshadowed the story he was telling. And where else can you find Gabby Hayes in the first paragraph of a horse racing story?

The Preakness has been held up here as a satellite tournament of the race track. A basker in reflected glory. The Avis of horse racing. The Kentucky Derby’s best friend. If it were human, it’d be Gabby Hayes.

To win the Preakness while mucking up the Kentucky Derby always seemed to stamp you as one who would settle for hand-me-downs, eat leftovers, fly tourist. Second-hand, second-class, second-banana. The Vice President.

No one knows for sure how the Kentucky Derby became The Star and the other two races in the Triple Crown, the Preakness and the Belmont, lesser lights that had to hitch their wagons to it.

The term, Triple Crown, itself derived from a similar series of races in 19th-Century England and did not come into common usage here until 1940s.

L.A. Times Sports on June 20, 1986.

(Los Angeles Times)

The Preakness then became a sequel and seemed to have no importance in and of itself.

It was therefore a source of some dismay to California racing this year when a homebred horse seemed to misplay a winning hand badly in the Kentucky Derby and then turned around to win the Preakness handily against the same Kentucky Derby horse who had run by him.

Snow Chief is a tough little black horse, gutty, hardy and resilient. If he were human, he’d be a tap dancer. He’s got rhythm. He’s also got heart. He has shipped this year to Northern California, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey and Southern California. He has won everywhere but in Kentucky.

He may be the best race horse ever bred in California. He’s no worse than second. If he’s not the best, Swaps is.

Snow Chief threw in a dull race in the Kentucky Derby. Or maybe a foolish one. He was like a golfer who, going for a birdie on a water hole, has to settle for a triple bogey. He followed the fastest pace ever set in the Kentucky Derby, a suicidal 45-second dash to oblivion by a horse that was to finish last.

His owners, Carl Grinstead and Ben Rochelle, couldn’t believe the race. His trainer, Mel Stute, wondered if somebody had switched horses on him in the paddock.

Kentucky just snickered. Another California imitation. Another Hollywood horse. Did he do tricks, too, they wanted to know. By the way, was he any relation to Silky Sullivan, Your Host, other California disasters at Churchill Downs? Was he just another soundstage horse? Shouldn’t Shirley Temple ride him?

The next play called for putting him in a van and getting him back to the orange blossoms and the downhill tracks.

But Stute, disturbed, went out to the barns in the darkness hours the next morning. He was looking for an excuse to take his disappointment home with him. But Snow Chief, as they say around the race track, didn’t have a pimple on him.

“I figured if I took him home and laid him up for two months, he would be a disgrace,” recalls Stute.

On the other hand, to take him on to the Preakness risked compounding his humiliation. To lose the Kentucky Derby in a 16-horse rodeo was one thing. To repeat in the more civilized Preakness would be to get his hat pulled down over his ears, his bottom kicked, a tin can tied to his tail.

Snow Chief went out and won the Preakness as though Kentucky had happened to two other guys. He won with such ease it was shocking. He turned around a few days later and won the Jersey Derby against the same elite company.

Still, he had blown the country’s most prestigious race. He had robbed an empty bank. He had danced the wrong dance, married the poor sister.

Or had he? A horse races for history. He also races for money. A horse gets that on the track — and the breeding barn.

The Preakness is not without its credentials in any man’s stud book. It may, in point of fact, far outweigh the Kentucky Derby.

The greatest racehorse that ever lived won the Preakness and not the Derby. Man o’ War.

The greatest racehorse ever to lose a Kentucky Derby won the Preakness — Native Dancer.

What’s more important was that they were two of the greatest sires of their eras.

But, what is really interesting is that the horse who was without doubt the greatest stud horse of his generation — or, in fact, any — was another horse who won the Preakness and not the Kentucky Derby or the Belmont.

Bold Ruler who won the 1957 Preakness after finishing fourth in the Derby — he later finished third in the Belmont — was the leading American sire for seven straight years, and eight out of 11. No American stud horse comes close to those marks. Man o’ War led only one year, Sir Galahad II four, and Bull Lea five, none of them consecutively.

Bold Ruler sired probably the second-greatest racehorse of this century, Secretariat, and his genes coursed through most of the great Kentucky Derby winners of the past decade, including Seattle Slew, Spectacular Bid, Bold Forbes, Cannonade, Foolish Pleasure and others.

The moral of the story is, don’t throw the Preakness out, after all. It may not be that overshadowed.

You have to like the fighter who gets up, the team that comes from behind, the ship that won’t sink, the fort that won’t surrender.

Snow Chief could have quit in his corner. Stute could have brought him home and put him to bed with a thermometer and a hot-water bottle. Instead, he pushed him back off his stool and told him to fight.

They had a lunch for Stute and Grinstead and Rochelle at Hollywood Park Thursday. Snow Chief will run at Hollywood in the Silver Screen Handicap on July 5.

In horse race parlance, they have chart buzz words for a race that defies form. “Throw out last,” they advise of a race too bad to be true. But, when “throw out last” applies to the Kentucky Derby, a horse has a great deal to prove.

Snow Chief proved it. “I’m glad we didn’t decide to come home with our tail between our legs,” says Stute.

So, probably, will future breeders prove it. If Snow Chief can duplicate the record at stud of the other Preakness winner, Bold Ruler, they may some day throw out the Kentucky Derby altogether as irrelevant. In the nursery, the Preakness is The Star.

Trainer: Wayne Lukas

Jockey: Nik Juarez

Owners: BC Stables

Purchase price: $750,000

Sire: Justify

Lifetime record: 10-2-1-1

Winnings: $444,874

Last race: 16th in the Kentucky

Morning line: 15-1

Horse Racing Nation fair odds: 20-1

Comment: You have to throw out his Derby race to give him any chance in the Preakness. He may be playing above his level, but Wayne Lukas loves to run in the Preakness, which he’s won seven times, including last year with Seize the Grey. It’s difficult to see this horse crossing the finish line first as he tends to fade the longer he runs. Lukas did not blame the Derby finish on the horse but a lot of other factors. Still, he’s high on the colt’s chances. His Virginia Derby win was against an untested field and if Churchill Downs didn’t own Colonial Downs there is no guarantee the race would even be on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. It’s difficult to give this colt a chance to win.

Journalism is washed down at Pimlico Race Course ahead of the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes Saturday in Baltimore.

(Julia Demaree Nikhinson / Associated Press)

BALTIMORE — Journalism slipped just a tiny bit in the latest update of betting odds. He went from even money to 6-5, but is clearly ahead of Clever Again, the second choice at 5-1.

Sandman, who was at 5-1 an hour ago, ticked up to 6-1. About $2.395 million has been bet in the win pool.

The odds on Pay Billy, 20-1 on the morning line, dropped from 13-1 to 12-1 in the last hour.

Here are the odds with six hours to go:

1 — Goal Oriented 7-1

2 — Journalism 6-5

3 — American Promise 10-1

4 — Heart of Honor 20-1

5 — Pay Billy 12-1

6 — River Thames 9-1

7 — Sandman 6-1

8 — Clever Again 5-1

9 — Gosger 19-1

BALTIMORE — The Preakness is known as the second leg of the Triple Crown, but it hasn’t always been that way. You have to go back pretty far to find when it was in a different position.

The Preakness has run 11 times before the Kentucky Derby and in 1917 and 1922 they were on the same day. The Preakness and Belmont Stakes were run on the same race card in 1890 when the Preakness was held at Morris Park in New York.

The Belmont was run before the Preakness on 12 different occasions.

So, how can you have a Triple Crown when races are run on the same day?

Actually, the Triple Crown trophy wasn’t commissioned until 1950, even though sportswriters had been using the term as early as the 1920s. Once the Triple Crown was officially established, it was awarded to horses who ran the three races before 1950. The first winner, in was Sir Barton in 1919

It wasn’t until 1931 when the Kentucky Derby-Preakness-Belmont became etched in stone as the order. Of course, in 2020, the order was Belmont-Kentucky Derby-Preakness because of COVID-19 pandemic.

The now controversial spacing of the races — two weeks between the Derby and Preakness and three weeks between the Preakness and Belmont — wasn’t established until 1969.

And, as was hinted at above, the race wasn’t always in Baltimore. In 1890, the Preakness was held at Morris Park Racecourse in the Bronx. There was no age restriction like there is today and the race was under handicap conditions, meaning that the horses carried different weights, with the better horses having more weight to try and even the field.

After 1890, the race went on hiatus for three years and returned at Gravesend Race Track on Coney Island in New York. It was there for 15 years before returning to Pimlico in 1909.

The state of Maryland passed a law in 1987 that the Preakness has to be held at Pimlico barring “disaster or emergency.” A badly needed rebuild of Pimlico is supposed to start very soon after Saturday’s race, and the race will be held at nearby Laurel Park in 2026 and 2027.

Trainer Bob Baffert walks Thursday at Pimlico Race Course ahead of the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes,

(Stephanie Scarbrough / Associated Press)

BALTIMORE — Trainer Bob Baffert won his first race of Preakness day when Varney easily took a maiden special race on the undercard of Saturday’s 14-race program.

It was Varney’s first win in four starts with all his previous races at Santa Anita. Jockey Flavien Prat took the 3-year-old to the lead and he led all the way around the 1 1/16-mile race. The winning margin was 5 ½ lengths.

The horse is owned by Talla Racing, Spendthrift Farm and St. Elias Stables. He was bred by Spendthrift and bought for $775,000.

Varney paid $3.60 to win, going off as the 4-5 favorite.

Baffert finished second on Friday in another maiden race. Privman lost by 1 ½ lengths in only his second start. The 3-year-old is named for Jay Privman, the former national correspondent for the Daily Racing Form and turf writer for the Los Angeles Daily News.

The colt is owned by the same ownership group as Goal Oriented, who is running in the Preakness Stakes. Privman was a $625,000 purchase.

BALTIMORE — The connections around Kentucky Derby runner-up Journalism were rather coy about whether their horse would run in the 150th Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown. It was a game of wait and see until a pronouncement on social media Sunday night that the colt was coming to Pimlico.

Now that the 3-year-old Santa Anita Derby winner is in the stakes barn, shielded from the drizzle and rain that has enveloped the Baltimore area, trainer Michael McCarthy made it seem like it wasn’t a close call at all.

“I would say there wasn’t a time I didn’t think I was coming,” McCarthy said Wednesday morning as his horse walked the shedrow at Pimlico Race Course. “We just had to make sure the horse was good and then you commit.”

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

Jockey: Umberto Rispoli

Owners: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert V. LaPenta, Elaine SAtables 5, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith

Purchase price: $825,000

Sire: Curlin

Lifetime record: 6-4-1-1

Winnings: $1,638,880

Last race: Second in the Kentucky Derby

Morning line: 8-5

Horse Racing Nation fair odds: 6-5

Comment: Make no mistake, Journalism is the best horse in the race. But, if the best horse always won, there would be no reason to run races. People talk about coming back on two weeks of rest being a negative, but some trainers believe that a horse can easily hold their form for two weeks. If that’s the case, his valiant effort in the Kentucky Derby should be more than enough to win the Preakness. It’s interesting that trainer Michael McCarthy waited so long to say the horse was running. If he was looking for an excuse to not run him, he apparently couldn’t find one. Some believe that Journalism got pinched early in the Derby and that compromised his chances of winning. But on that day, Sovereignty was just the best horse. Think if Journalism were not in this race, the field would be somewhere between a Grade 2 and Grade 3, and that’s not a compliment. With a smaller field and a fair amount of speed in the race, things should set up well for this son of Curlin, who won this race in 2007.

A woman walks outside Pimlico Race Course on Thursday ahead of the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.

(Julia Demaree Nikhinson / Associated Press)

BALTIMORE — As the win pool grew to about $2.370 million, the battle to be the second favorite got a little closer as both Sandman and Clever Again are both a 5-1. Clever Again has about a $26,000 edge in money bet.

The odds on Heart of Honor dropped from 22-1 to 20-1 and Gosgar dropped from 20-1 to 19-1.

The lowest exacta price is Journalism over Clever Again, paying $7 while a Journalism over Sandman will pay $12. About $1.386 million has been bet into the pool picking the top two horses in order.

Here are the odds with seven hours to go:

1 — Goal Oriented 7-1

2 — Journalism 1-1

3 — American Promise 10-1

4 — Heart of Honor 20-1

5 — Pay Billy 13-1

6 — River Thames 9-1

7 — Sandman 5-1

8 — Clever Again 5-1

9 — Gosger 19-1

BALTIMORE — Remember that a race track prefers bettors to win, rather than lose. The track gets no more money if the favorite or a long shot wins. And if you have more winners, it can feed into the churn with more people making bets. The more money wagered, the more money the track makes.

With that in mind, Brisnet, the data company owned by Churchill Downs, provides stats to help people with their handicapping.

With permission, here are the stats for this year’s Preakness. (Note: Because Heart of Honor did most of his racing in Dubai, there are no stats for him. Because Goal Oriented is lightly raced, he is not represented in every category.)

Speed Last Race

Goal Oriented 104

Journalism 102

Clever Again 99

River Thames 96

Pay Billy 95

Gosger 93

Sandman 90

American Promise 63

Back Speed

Journalism 108

American Promise 105

Sandman 101

River Thames 99

Pay Billy 97

Clever Again 93

Gosger 93

Current Class

Journalism 121.7

Sandman 121.1

River Thames 119.4

Gosger 118.4

American Promise 118.2

Pay Billy 117.8

Clever Again 115.7

Average Class Last Three

Journalism 122.4

Sandman 120.6

River Thames 119.9

Goal Oriented 118.4

Gosger 117.7

Pay Billy 117.5

American Promise 117.0

Clever Again 115.9

Prime Power

Journalism 157.3

Sandman 151.8

River Thames 144.4

American Promise 142.2

Goal Oriented 142.0

Pay Billy 139.7

Gosger 136.6

Clever Again 136.6

Early Pace Last Race

American Promise 101

Clever Again 98

Goal Oriented 97

River Thames 96

Journalism 88

Pay Billy 88

Gosger 85

Sandman 74

Late Pace Last Race

Goal Oriented 100

Gosger 95

Clever Again 91

Pay Billy 90

Journalism 88

River Thames 85

Sandman 74

American Promise 19

Mud Speed

Goal Oriented 104

Journalism 102

American Promise 92

Sandman 90

Pay Billy 67

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Owners: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan

Purchase price: $425,000

Sire: Not This Time

Lifetime record: 2-2-0-0

Winnings: $111,960

Last race: Won allowance at Churchill Downs

Morning line: 6-1

Horse Racing Nation fair odds: 16-1

Comment: One wonders if Goal Oriented would be in the race if Rodriguez were healthy. Both horses have the same owners, who, frankly, like to watch their horses run. Rodriguez would have been the second favorite in the Preakness. Rodriguez scratched in the Kentucky Derby and was pointed to the Preakness. But, his tender hoof kept him out of the first two legs of the Triple Crown and he is now pointed to the Belmont Stakes. OK, what about Goal Oriented? He is lightly raced, having won a maiden special at Santa Anita and then an allowance/optional claimer at Churchill Downs on Derby day over a wet track. So, that shouldn’t be a problem. Picking up Flavien Prat for the second straight race makes him a serious contender. Trainer Bob Baffert usually jokes that they put his horse in the one post and then draw the rest of the field. While it was a joke, Baffert had the one in the Derby with Citizen Bull and now has it again with Goal Oriented. Baffert wouldn’t be running this colt if he didn’t think the horse had a puncher’s chance. He will likely be on or near the lead. Baffert, who has won eight Preakness Stakes, has won twice from the one, American Pharoah in 2015 and National Treasure in 2023.

Preakness Stakes entrant Goal Oriented, left, works out next to Sandman, right, at the rain-soaked Pimlico Race Course on Thursday in Baltimore.

(Stephanie Scarbrough / Associated Press)

BALTIMORE — You can put away the ark, the Preakness will be run on a dry track with very little chance of rain.

The Baltimore area has been battered all week by rain and thunderstorms. In fact, Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for 3-year-old fillies was delayed 67 minutes. The track issued a shelter in place order as thunderstorms rolled through the area. Even Saturday morning, traffic lights were still out in several areas of the city.

According to weather.com, there is a 15% chance of rain during the day, dropping to 0% at 6 p.m. EDT. The Preakness will be run at 7:01 p.m. EDT.

Two weeks ago, the Kentucky Derby was run over a muddy track. In that race, the favorite, Journalism, handled the slop very well, even though he finished second. A sloppy track in Baltimore would not have been a problem. Journalism is expected to go off as the heavy favorite in Saturday’s 1 3/16 mile Preakness Stakes.

As the first race approached on Saturday, the track was listed as good, but it’s expected to be upgraded to fast as the day wears on. The temperature is projected to rise to 87 degrees by 2 p.m. EDT and 88 degrees by 4 p.m. EDT. That’s more than enough time to dry out the track.

The turf course was also listed as good, but is expected to move to firm as the day progresses.

“I think everybody would prefer a fast track,” Michael McCarthy, Journalism’s trainer, said earlier in the week. “You don’t see real muddy racetracks anymore. … It’s really the same for everybody.”

BALTIMORE — The post position in the Kentucky Derby is very important given that there could be 20 horses spread across the track. In the Preakness, it’s not nearly as important, especially when there’s only nine starters.

Trainer Bob Baffert has drawn the one hole in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness this year. Citizen Bull got the rail in the Derby and Goal Oriented got it for Saturday’s Preakness.

“My horses really are very familiar with the rail for some reason,” Baffert said earlier in the week standing outside the stakes barn. “And so, they have to break well. I’ve been five, six, seven, eight, nine and we’ve won from different spots. We won from the rail twice here. It’s not like Kentucky Derby rail. It’s a different animal there.”

Baffert won the 2015 Preakness with Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and the 2023 race with National Treasure, both breaking from the one.

Here’s a look at which post positions have won the most at the Preakness since 1909. (Note: the outside posts don’t have as many wins because the Preakness rarely fills its maximum size of 14 horses.)

1 — 12 (most recent National Treasure in 2023)

2 — 12 (Cloud Computing, 2017)

3 — 12 (California Chrome, 2014)

4 — 14 (Swiss Skydiver, 2020)

5 — 13 (Early Voting, 2022)

6 — 18 (Seize the Grey, 2024)

7 — 14 (Justify, 2018)

8 — 9 (Bernardini, 2006)

9 — 4 (I’ll Have Another, 2012)

10 — 2 (Real Quiet, 1998)

11—2 (Point Given, 2001)

12 — 3 (Afleet Alex, 2005)

13 — 1 (Rachel Alexandra, 2009)

Journalism stands in his stable at Pimlico Race Course ahead of the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes Saturday in Baltimore.

(Julia Demaree Nikhinson / Associated Press)

BALTIMORE — Betting on the Preakness is never as robust as the Kentucky Derby, but it is significantly higher than just an average race day.

It’s pretty clear that Journalism will be the favorite, it’s just a matter of how low his odds will go. He was at even money as wagering started on Saturday, which was lower than his 8-5 morning-line odds. The longest shot on the board is the runner-up in the UAE Derby, Heart of Honor. He is at 22-1, higher than his 12-1 morning-line odds.

The odds will fluctuate more than at the Kentucky Derby, but the later it gets in the day and the more money in wagering pool, things tend to stabilize.

So far, $1.9 million has been bet in the win pool.

Here are the odds with eight hours to go.

1 — Goal Oriented 7-1

2 — Journalism 1-1

3 — American Promise 10-1

4 — Heart of Honor 12-1

5 — Pay Billy 13-1

6 — River Thames 9-1

7 — Sandman 6-1

8 — Clever Again 5-1

9 — Gosger 20-1

BALTIMORE — One of the best indicators of which horses will be taking the most amount of betting money can often be found once the first race of a two-day double is over. In this case the Black-Eyed Susan is on Friday and the Preakness is on Saturday.

Margie’s Intention won the Friday feature, so you can look to the “will pays” to get a sense as to what the public is thinking.

So, here are the “will pays” hooking up the winner of the Black-Eyed Susan with the nine horses in the Preakness.

1 — Goal Oriented $35.60

2 — Journalism $7.50

3 — American Promise $122.80

4 — Heart of Honor $160.00

5 — Pay Billy $352.70

6 — River Thames $35.60

7 — Sandman $63.20

8 — Clever Again $27.50

9 — Gosger $146.30

It tells us what we already knew, Journalism will be the overwhelming favorite.

BALTIMORE — Yes, we know it’s not the Kentucky Derby. And yes, we know the winner of the Derby, Sovereignty, will not be in the race. But there is some history to be made in the 150th running of Preakness Stakes.

Getting right to the point, the Preakness Stakes is scheduled to start at 7:01 p.m. EDT in Baltimore and will be shown on NBC. Much like the safety instructions on an airplane, we’re going to give you the details, even though you may know them.

• If you are in Los Angeles or on the West Coast, the race will go off at 4:01 p.m. PDT.
• If you are one time zone over in the Mountain time zone, you know, like Denver, the race will start at 5:01 p.m. MDT.
• If you are in Chicago or anywhere else in the Central time zone, the race will go off at 6:01 p.m. CDT.
• And finally, bringing it back full circle, if you’re on the East Coast, or Baltimore, there is no time adjustment. Post is listed at 7:01 p.m. EDT.

Now the race is more likely to go a few minutes late and almost no chance it will go a few minutes early.

What makes this race special is it will be the last Preakness at Pimlico Race Course, as it is currently configured. The state of Maryland is going to start demolition on the track almost immediately after the race with the hopes of finishing the rebuild in two years. Now, not finishing it in two years is a bet worth taking. When was the last time a major rebuild was done on time? That’s what we thought. The race will move to nearby Laurel Park, which is where most of the racing in Maryland is currently held.

NBC will cover the race before Fox takes over for the Belmont. That means Channel 4 in Los Angeles and New York, Channel 5 in Chicago and Channel 9 in Denver. Of course, you can get all the coverage on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock.

The coverage starts at 2 p.m. on the East Coast (11 a.m. on the West Coast) for two hours on CNBC. Then the big boy network takes over at 4 p.m. local (1 p.m. in L.A.) and goes until 7:30 p.m.

Mike Tirico will resume his spot as the host after he had to leave the Derby broadcast early because of a nut allergy gone bad. The rest of the crew is familiar with Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss serving as analysts, Matt Bernier is the handicapper, Ahmed Fareed is listed as both a host and reporter, joining other reporters Britney Eurton, Donna Brothers, Kenny Rice and Nick Luck. Calling the race for television is Larry Collmus, the new full-time race caller at Del Mar, replacing the retired Trevor Denman.

The real gems, however, are Steve Kornacki, the khaki-wearing data genius for both NBC News and NBC Sports (he’s also a big-time racing fan) and the talented Tim Layden, who will do an essay on the 150th Preakness Stakes. (Warning to any journalists reading this story, if you are both given the same assignment, it’s guaranteed he will outwrite you.)

NBC did provide a list of their coverage extras, which we will share, in its words.

• A look at the team of Preakness Stakes contender Heart of Honor — who is trained by Jamie Osborne with his daughter Saffie Osborne in the saddle as the jockey
• A look back at the 151st Kentucky Derby and runner-up Journalism, who entered the Derby as the favorite
• “High Tea on Old Hilltop” segment featuring Nick Luck engaging with fans in the Pimlico infield
• Multiple super slo-mo cameras providing fans with a unique look at any photo finishes
• Multiple jockey cam systems throughout Preakness coverage
• Aerial coverage from a fixed wing plane and live drone
• A camera focused on race caller Larry Collmus

So, that a look at what your afternoon (and early evening) can look like if you want to watch the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes.