Napoleon Solo ran down favorite Iron Honor in the stretch to win the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park in 1:58.69. Trainer Chad Summers took his first Triple Crown race in his debut start; jockey Paco Lopez won the Preakness for the first time. A $2 win ticket paid $17.80. With Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo pointed straight at the Belmont, the 2026 Triple Crown remains unclaimed.
Napoleon Solo settled mid-pack early, tracked Iron Honor through the far turn, and ran past the favorite inside the eighth-pole to win going away. Final time 1:58.69 over a track rated fast.
| Pos | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Final Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Napoleon Solo | Paco Lopez | Chad Summers | 10-1 |
| 2 | Iron Honor | Flavien Prat | Brad Cox | 7-2 (Fav) |
| 3 | Chip Honcho | Joel Rosario | Steve Asmussen | 5-1 |
| 4 | Taj Mahal | Junior Alvarado | Chad Brown | 4-1 |
| 5 | Incredibolt | Irad Ortiz Jr. | Bill Mott | 5-1 |
| 6 | Ocelli | Tyler Gaffalione | Kenny McPeek | 6-1 |
| 7 | The Hell We Did | Brian Hernandez Jr. | Kenny McPeek | 15-1 |
| 8 | Great White | Mike Smith | Bob Baffert | 20-1 |
| 9 | Corona de Oro | Luis Saez | Mark Casse | 20-1 |
| 10 | Pretty Boy Miah | Florent Geroux | Eric Reed | 25-1 |
| 11 | Talkin | Manny Franco | Brad Cox | 20-1 |
| 12 | Gun Pilot | Ricardo Santana Jr. | Steve Asmussen | 30-1 |
| 13 | Robusta | Jose Ortiz | Todd Pletcher | 30-1 |
| 14 | Crupper | Javier Castellano | Wesley Ward | 30-1 |
Iron Honor went off the 7-2 favorite and broke cleanly from the rail, taking up his expected forward position through the clubhouse turn. Napoleon Solo, sent off at 10-1 under Paco Lopez, settled in fifth along the backstretch and angled out three-wide at the quarter pole.
Iron Honor still held the lead turning for home, but Napoleon Solo took aim mid-stretch and ran past the favorite inside the eighth-pole, drawing off by a length and three-quarters. Chip Honcho finished third, completing the trifecta for veteran trainer Steve Asmussen. Derby third-place finisher Ocelli faded to sixth in his return to two weeks' rest.
Final time: 1:58.69 over a fast Laurel Park surface; measurably quicker than the recent Pimlico-era pace, supporting the pre-race expectation that Laurel's tighter, sandier configuration would yield faster Preakness times.
For trainer Chad Summers and jockey Paco Lopez, this was a first-time Triple Crown victory. Summers; best known previously for sprinter Mind Control's Grade 1 successes; was making his Preakness debut as a saddling trainer. "We've been pointing him here for two months. Paco rode him perfectly," Summers said in the winner's circle.
Lopez, a Maryland-based jockey who has long campaigned at Laurel and Monmouth Park, won the Preakness on his fifth attempt. Napoleon Solo paid $17.80 to win, $8.40 to place, and $5.60 to show on a $2 base wager.
With Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo skipping the Preakness, no horse can win the 2026 Triple Crown; the first guaranteed absence of a sweep since 2018 (Justify completed the last one).
Attention now shifts to the 158th Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 6, 2026, hosted at Saratoga while Belmont Park is itself undergoing renovation. Probable runners as of May 18 include Derby winner Golden Tempo (Cherie DeVaux), Preakness winner Napoleon Solo (Chad Summers), Derby runner-up Renegade, and Preakness runner-up Iron Honor; setting up the most loaded post-Triple-Crown Belmont field in years.
Every licensed Kentucky online sportsbook offers fixed-odds Belmont futures and on-the-day pari-mutuel markets. The major platforms:
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Time | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Napoleon Solo ★ | Paco Lopez | Chad Summers | 1:58.69 | 10-1 |
| 2025 | Journalism | Umberto Rispoli | Michael McCarthy | 1:55.47 | 8-5 |
| 2024 | Seize the Grey | Jaime Torres | D. Wayne Lukas | 1:56.82 | 9-1 |
| 2023 | National Treasure | John Velazquez | Bob Baffert | 1:55.12 | 5-1 |
| 2022 | Early Voting | Jose Ortiz | Chad Brown | 1:54.54 | 5-1 |
| 2021 | Rombauer | Flavien Prat | Michael McCarthy | 1:53.62 | 11-1 |
| 2020 | Swiss Skydiver ★ | Robby Albarado | Kenny McPeek | 1:53.28 | 11-1 |
★ Swiss Skydiver (2020); 6th filly ever to win the Preakness.
Napoleon Solo won the 151st Preakness Stakes on May 16, 2026 at Laurel Park, completing the 9.5 furlongs in 1:58.69. The 10-1 chance was ridden by Paco Lopez and trained by Chad Summers; both winning the Preakness for the first time. Iron Honor finished second, Chip Honcho third. A $2 win ticket paid $17.80.
Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore; the traditional Preakness home since 1909; is closed for $250 million in renovations expected to run through 2027. The race was relocated 20 miles south to Laurel Park for the 2026 edition only. This was the first time in 118 years the Preakness was not run at Pimlico. The race returns to a rebuilt Pimlico in 2027.
No. Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo skipped the Preakness; trainer Cherie DeVaux opted to give him five additional weeks of rest and point him directly at the Belmont Stakes on June 6. Because the Derby winner did not enter, a 2026 Triple Crown was mathematically impossible.
A Triple Crown requires the same horse to win all three legs (Derby, Preakness, Belmont). Derby winner Golden Tempo skipped the Preakness, which was instead won by Napoleon Solo. Even if Napoleon Solo wins the Belmont, he cannot be a Triple Crown winner because he did not contest the Derby. This is the first guaranteed absence of a Triple Crown since 2018, when Justify last completed the sweep.
Kentucky bettors can wager on the Belmont (June 6, 2026 at Saratoga) via pari-mutuel platforms (TwinSpires, TVG via FanDuel, 1/ST BET) and fixed-odds futures markets at every licensed Kentucky online sportsbook. You must be physically located in Kentucky and meet the legal age requirement (18+ currently, 21+ from July 13, 2026).
The Preakness Stakes is run at 1 3/16 miles (9.5 furlongs) on dirt; shorter than both the Kentucky Derby (1 1/4 miles) and the Belmont Stakes (1 1/2 miles). The shorter distance traditionally favors speed types and front-runners.
Swiss Skydiver won the 2020 Preakness, becoming just the sixth filly in race history to win. Trained by Kenny McPeek, she defeated the colts in a memorable stretch duel with Authentic.