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Hello racing fans, Ruden Zakaria with NBC Sports and an update for you on the 2026 Preakness Stakes. The middle jewel of the Triple Crown will be run this year without our Kentucky Derby champion Golden Tempo. Much like sovereignty last year, the connections of Golden Tempo have elected to save him from the quick turnaround and point him at the Belmont Stakes where number one, he has a closing kick that gives him a much better chance and number two, has a longer distance which clearly if you watch the race Saturday, you understand Golden Tempo loved the distance. Now, the Preakness is set up well for a very competitive race. We are going to have a bunch of fresh three-year-old contenders in the Preakness this year. So far in
fact, the only horse that ran in the Kentucky Derby that is going to do the two-week turnaround is your third-place runner O'Celly. O'Celly is still looking to break his maiden, but with this field and with how well he looked on Saturday taking a step forward, one would wonder if he is going to go off among the favorites for the Preakness. Now, the fresh legs who are throwing their hat in the ring include a number of horses we've seen on the Derby trail look pretty spectacular. That includes Chip Hancho, that includes Cropper ridden by Junior Alvarado, a horse that I'm very interested to see his form, and then lastly, Crude Velocity who was the star of the undercard on Kentucky Derby day.
His race in the Pat Day Mile opened eyes as far as his potential as a truly outstanding three-year-old trained by Bob Baffert. He is 50/50 right now to be in the mix for the Kentucky Derby, but if he makes it to the gate, I would expect that will be your Preakness favorite. Best of luck as you prepare handicapping for the race and enjoy the run for the Black-Eyed Susan.
