LAUREL, Md. — Napoleon Solo held off Iron Honor down the stretch to win the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Ridden by Paco Lopez and trained by Chad Summers, the 7-1 shot rallied past early leader Taj Mahal and beat Iron Honor by 1 1/4 lengths. Chip Honcho finished third. Napoleon Solo paid $17.80 on a $2 win bet.
Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo was not entered, leaving a wide-open field of 14 — the race’s maximum and its largest field since 2011. The Preakness was run at Laurel this year while Pimlico in Baltimore undergoes reconstruction.
Taj Mahal went to the front, covering the first quarter in 22.66 seconds, but the unbeaten colt couldn’t sustain the lead and faded to 10th. Taj Mahal had been made the 9-2 favorite — the longest odds for a Preakness favorite since the race adopted its current 1 3/16-mile distance in 1925. Iron Honor had been the morning-line favorite at 9-2 and drifted to about 8-1 at the gate.
Napoleon Solo, who had finished fifth in both the Fountain of Youth and the Wood Memorial this year, returned to form after a strong two-year-old campaign that included a 6 1/2-length victory in last fall’s Champagne Stakes. In the Wood Memorial, Iron Honor finished two places behind Napoleon Solo.
“All year long, fifth place, fifth place. Everyone said he wasn’t as good as he was in the Champagne,” Summers said. “This was a win here. People will say it wasn’t against the best of the best. We’ll find out the rest of the year.”
Three horses that ran in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness — Ocelli (7-1), Incredibolt (5-1) and Robusta (25-1) — finished fourth, fifth and ninth, respectively.
The event had a subdued atmosphere compared with past years; attendance was capped at 4,800. It was the first Triple Crown race victory for both Summers and Lopez.
