Quiet Day of Training for Preakness Entrants

With all of the heavy duty training completed, May 12 featured a routine morning of jogging and galloping around Laurel Park for the May 16 $2 million Preakness Stakes (G1) entrants on hand. Eleven of the 14 starters were on the grounds by midday Tuesday, with morning-line favorite Iron Honor, Corona de Oro, and Pretty Boy Miah scheduled to arrive later in the day. Ashley Durr, Anthony Tate, and Front Page Equestrian's Ocelli jogged 1 1/8 miles around the main track Tuesday with the Preakness rapidly approaching on the horizon for the 3-year-old division. Third in the Kentucky Derby (G1), the son of Connect is still a maiden, though trainer Whit Beckman smiled while relating that he was told Ocelli will likely be the first maiden to go off at single-digit odds in a Triple Crown race since at least 1975... and probably much longer than that. Pegged at 6-1 in the morning line after going off at 70-1 in the Run for the Roses, Ocelli drew post 2 in the field of 14, which pleased Beckman since it should allow his late-running horse to save ground in the 1 3/16-mile stakes that features several speed horses. "I loved the draw," Beckman said. "On paper, there looks like a lot of speed, but sometimes people get cute and it doesn't work out that way." No maiden has ever captured the Preakness in the modern era of racing. The last maiden to run in the race was Bodexpress in 2019, and he had a dismal experience. Second in the Florida Derby (G1) and 13th in the Kentucky Derby at 71-1 odds, Bodexpress was dismissed at 20-1 in the Preakness. But at the start, he reared, unseating jockey John Velazquez. He then ran around the track well off the rail before he was grabbed. Speaking of speed, Gold Square's Napoleon Solo, who has some quirky training habits, was quite professional in a 1 3/8-mile gallop. "I was very happy with it," trainer Chad Summers said. "All four legs were on the ground. No antics. He deserves a chance to run and this seems like the best time and place." Winner of the one-mile Champagne Stakes (G1) in 2025, when he blazed 6 furlongs in 1:07.88, Napoleon Solo will be breaking in a hurry from post 10 with jockey Paco Lopez. 'The Avengers' and Russell, a successful team The ownership group known as "The Avengers" has enjoyed considerable success with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The partnership, headed by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables, has had Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Authentic, 2023 Preakness winner National Treasure, and 2-year-old champ Citizen Bull among its success stories. The ownership group also has enjoyed grade 1 laurels working with trainer Brittany Russell on the East Coast. The leading trainer in Maryland the last three years, Russell will try to emulate trainer Cherie DeVaux's victory with Golden Tempo in the Run for the Roses when she sends out the partnership's undefeated Taj Mahal in a bid to become the first female trainer to win the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. "Brittany has done nothing but good for us. She's taken some tricky horses, horses that weren't working in other jurisdictions, and been able to make something of them, which is a credit to her," said SF Racing's Tom Ryan, managing partner of the ownership group. "We're proud of her and excited for her. It would be a great moment to share a Preakness win with her." Taj Mahal, a Florida-bred son of Nyquist, is 3-for-3 in his career, all at Laurel Park. He has recorded a pair of stakes wins, and is one of the three second-choices priced at 5-1. A winner of 793 races in her career with more than $34 million in earnings, Russell notched her lone grade 1 win in 2023 with The Avengers' Doppelganger in the Carter Handicap (G1). "It's a big deal to get horses from The Avengers group. Sol Kumin (of Madaket Stables) was my acquaintance to the group and then I met Tom and the whole group, including Bob Baffert, who has been awesome. They have been sending horses our way and it's a big opportunity. This horse (Taj Mahal), he got good. He got good at the right time and it's cool that he's home and he could use Laurel's program to get in this position. It's good to see that it worked for the team, because it is a team."