Nearly two weeks ago, Sovereignty galloped to victory at the most-watched Kentucky Derby in over 35 years. Thoroughbred racing is alive and well in the United States, and fans are eagerly anticipating the 2025 Preakness Stakes on Saturday as The Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown celebrates its 150th running.
Sovereignty is skipping the Preakness, so there will be no Triple Crown attempt, but that also means the race is wide open for the nine-horse field, less than half the size of the Derby.
The horse generating the most buzz is Journalism, who was also the most talked about colt prior to the Derby. He was the Derby favorite, before finishing runner-up to Sovereignty, and he’s also the Preakness favorite.
Journalism had won four straight starts before his loss at Churchill Downs, but his trainer, Michael McCarthy, will be more comfortable at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. McCarthy had never sent a horse to the Kentucky Derby before two weeks ago—and it showed—but he has not only experience but also success with the Preakness. He saddled Rombauer (2021) to a victory in the only Triple Crown race win across his nearly 3,000-race career.
There are just two other Derby holdovers in the 2025 Preakness Stakes field. One is Sandman, who always garners attention with his gray coat, and the other is American Promise, the son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Sandman will be ridden by John Velazquez, who will be making his 14th start in this race, which trails just five other jockeys in Preakness history. He won his last mount in this race when he rode National Treasure (2023) to victory. As for American Promise, he’s one of the most active racehorses with 10 starts already in his career. But activity hasn’t led to much achievement—he’s won only two of those 10 races.
Perhaps the one name most associated with horse racing is that of Bob Baffert. The Hall of Fame trainer has a record eight Preakness victories, and he’s seeking No. 9 with Goal Oriented. The horse drew the rail—the No. 1 post position—but his speed figures are the second highest in the field, trailing only Journalism. However, the horse is also the least experienced in the Preakness field, with just two prior starts, though some may see that as a good thing—he has the least wear and tear on his body.
There is one foreigner among the Preakness starters: Heart of Honor, who was born in the United Kingdom. The horse has never competed outside of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, but he’s also never finished worse than second in a race—he has a victory and three runners-up across four career starts.
The remaining starters include Pay Billy, who will have home-track advantage since his last eight starts were roughly 30 miles from Pimlico, as well as River Thames, who qualified for the Kentucky Derby, but his connections elected to instead point him to this race. Also in the field is Clever Again, who was sired by 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, while the final starter is Gosger, who is one of the slowest horses in the field but has a jockey, Luis Saez, with over 3,700 career wins despite being just 32 years old.
The 2025 Preakness Stakes is a special anniversary race not just because it’s the 150th running, but also because it’s the 100th anniversary of its current distance. Back in 1925, the race was lengthened from 1 1/8 miles to 1 3/16 miles, making it a half-furlong shorter than the Kentucky Derby. The Preakness has the shortest distance of any of the Triple Crown races, and it also has the smallest of fields, with a limit of 14 horses.
Last year saw the Preakness purse increase to $2 million, and it will remain at that amount this year. Sixty percent will go to the winning horse, which includes his owner, trainer, jockey, and breeder. The winning team will also ceremonially receive what’s called the most valuable trophy in American sports: the Woodlawn Vase. Standing 34 inches tall and weighing 29 pounds, this sterling silver trophy was last appraised at over $4 million.
There is only one Woodlawn Vase. It is permanently housed at the Baltimore Museum of Art and is ceremonially presented to the Preakness winner. It is then returned to the museum, while the winning team receives Woodlawn Vase replicas that are roughly one-third the size of the original.
The Preakness Stakes will go to post at 6:50 p.m. ET on Saturday. The last leg of the Triple Crown—the Belmont Stakes—will then take place three weeks later on June 7.
