Napoleon Solo Wins 151st Preakness Stakes, Holds Off Iron Honor

Napoleon Solo held off Iron Honor down the stretch to win the 151st Preakness Stakes on Saturday, rebounding from two fifth-place finishes to earn his first victory of the year.

Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo was scratched from the race, leaving a wide-open field of 14 horses to contest the middle jewel of the Triple Crown at Laurel Park in Maryland, as Pimlico in Baltimore undergoes reconstruction.

Taj Mahal was the 9-2 betting favorite, the longest odds for a Preakness favorite since the race adopted its current 1 3/16-mile distance in 1925. Iron Honor, the morning-line favorite at 9-2, drifted to 8-1 by post time.

Taj Mahal took an early lead, covering the first quarter-mile in 22.66 seconds, but trainer Brittany Russell’s unbeaten colt could not sustain the pace and was overtaken by Napoleon Solo (7-1) near the top of the stretch. Iron Honor mounted a late challenge but finished 1 1/4 lengths behind.

The victory marked the first Triple Crown race win for trainer Chad Summers and jockey Paco Lopez. Napoleon Solo paid $17.80 on a $2 bet.

The colt won his first two starts last year by wide margins, including a 6 1/2-length triumph in the Champagne Stakes in October. He failed to maintain that form, finishing fifth in both the Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial earlier this year.

Iron Honor also competed in the Wood Memorial. Their rematch carried much higher stakes, and Napoleon Solo again prevailed.

“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.”

The three horses that raced in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness – Ocelli (7-1), Incredibolt (5-1) and Robusta (25-1) – finished fourth, fifth and ninth, respectively, on Saturday.

The Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, is scheduled for June 6 in Saratoga, New York.