The Preakness Stakes is the second leg of the American Triple Crown and takes place on May 17 at Pimlico Park. We won’t be seeing a Triple Crown winner in 2025 as Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty won’t be running in the Preakness Stakes. Who is likely to come out on top in his absence?
Another horse that won’t be running in the Preakness Stakes is Rodriguez. The Bob Baffert trained runner missed the Kentucky Derby due to a foot injury. It was hoped he’d recover in time for the Preakness but sadly that has not been the case.
It’s the Michael McCarthy trained Journalism, who US online sportsbooks have at the top of the betting market. The three-year-old is currently available at odds of +120, though that price may well fluctuate before the race gets underway.
Journalism was unbeaten before being beaten into second place by Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby earlier this month. A couple of Grade 2 races had been won by the three-year-old before going up in class. That produced a win in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby despite being impeded at one stage. He was not to follow that up with success in the Kentucky Derby and lost his unbeaten record.
Journalism went off as the favorite to win that race but was bumped at the star. He recovered well to lead inside the final one-and-a-half furlongs but was headed by Sovereignty and unable to get back in front. Journalism has recovered well from that race and will be tough to beat in the Preakness Stakes if going to post.
Mark Casse trains Sandman who is available at odds of +800 at horse races wagering US platforms. The three-year-old won the Arkansas Derby this year. However, he will need to improve on his performance in the Kentucky Derby where only seventh place was managed.
Clever Again has odds of +1000 at the time of writing this article. His trainer is Steve Asmussen who will be attempting to train the winner of the Preakness Stakes for the third time. His last win was 16 years ago, will this year see that long wait for another success end?
This contender won the Hot Spring Stakes which was held at Oaklawn Park on March 30. Known as a front runner, Clever Again was only second on his debut in April 2024. He wasn’t seen out again until February of this year but has won both of his races in 2025 Asmussen is of
the opinion that his runner is “physically capable” of winning the Preakness Stakes.
Sired by American Pharoah (who won the Triple Crown ten years ago), there is a question of how he’ll cope with this surface. The Triple Crown winner’s offspring have so far mainly been successful on turf rather than dirt.
While Rodriguez won’t be taking part in the Preakness Stakes, Bob Baffert is due to run Goal Orientated at Pimlico. This runner is yet to lose a race with a couple of wins to his name so far. Baffert has trained the winner of the Preakness Stakes on a record eight occasions, most recently in 2023. Odds of +500 indicate that Goal Orientated can be a major contender.
River Thames is +1200 to win the Preakness. Trained by Todd Pletcher, this runner was third last month in the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. That followed a promising debut in March when finishing just a neck behind Sovereignty. His owners took him out of the Kentucky Derby with the Preakness in mind. This looks to be an improving sort and a good each-way bet for this race.
English trainer Jamie Osborne is running Heart of Honor in this race and is +3000 to be the victor. His best result so far was finishing second in this year’s UAE Derby at Meydan, losing by just a nose. . Why is he heading to the USA for the Preakness? Osborne says: “He’s only three once” so it’s a chance worth taking with no real options at home.
American Promise is +2000 to land the Preakness but will be on a recovery mission at Pimlico. The three-year-old finished only 16th in the Kentucky Derby earlier this month.March had seen him win the Virginia Derby. His trainer D, Wayne Lukas reported that American Promise came out of that race in fine shape and could yet give the 89-year-old an eighth winner of the Preakness.
The most recent of those winners was last year when Seize the Grey won the race. If he can train the winner again in 2025, he’ll become the first trainer since Baffert in 2002 to win two successive Preakness Stakes.
We look set for a fascinating Preakness Stakes. The final line-up may not be confirmed and there’ll be no Sovereignty but there are plenty of reasons to be excited by this great race.
