Napoleon Solo Wins 151st Preakness at Laurel Park; Slowest Time in 75 Years
Napoleon Solo, a 7-1 closer for trainer Chad Summers and jockey Paco Lopez, ran down favorite Iron Honor in the final furlong to take the 151st Preakness Stakes; the first Preakness at Laurel Park since 1908.
Napoleon Solo won the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday, May 16; the first running of the race outside Pimlico Race Course since 1908. Pimlico is closed for a $400 million redevelopment; the Preakness is expected to return after construction.
Napoleon Solo, ridden by Paco Lopez for trainer Chad Summers, finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of morning-line favorite Iron Honor in a final time of 1:58.69 on a fast track; the slowest Preakness in 75 years.
Top of the board
Payouts
- Win / Place / Show (Napoleon Solo, $2 base): $17.80 / $9.80 / $7.40
- $2 Exacta (10-9): $107.20
- $1 Trifecta (10-9-6): $597.10
- $1 Superfecta (10-9-6-2): $2,377.80
How the race unfolded
It was a tactical, slow-paced affair. The early fractions stretched out as no horse aggressively contested the lead; a pattern that doomed Iron Honor's classic favorite shape but set up perfectly for a closing kick from off the pace. Napoleon Solo sat mid-pack through the half, advanced patiently on the far turn, and produced a clean late move in the final furlong to run down Iron Honor at the wire.
The 1:58.69 final time tells the story: it's the slowest Preakness in 75 years. On a Laurel Park surface playing fair and fast, the slow time wasn't about the track; it was about field dynamics in a wide-open race missing Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo. Chip Honcho rounded out the trifecta; Ocelli, the Derby third-place finisher and the only top-three Derby horse in the field, completed the superfecta in fourth.
Editorial take; what the result tells us
- Slow pace + closer-friendly setup = chaos in the exotics. The $2 exacta paid $107.20; the trifecta paid $597.10. Bettors who boxed 7-1 to 30-1 longshots cashed serious tickets.
- The Laurel Park surface played fair. No track bias narrative; the slow time reflected the field, not the surface. The Pimlico-to-Laurel transition handled itself cleanly for the one-time relocation.
- Iron Honor confirmed the morning-line favoritism; but couldn't finish. 9-2 to off at 4-1 (final), led at the eighth pole, faded by a length and a quarter. Classic favorite-second pattern.
No Triple Crown; but the Belmont opens up
With Golden Tempo (Kentucky Derby winner) absent from the Preakness, no Triple Crown is on the line in 2026; Justify (2018) remains the most recent Triple Crown winner. The 158th Belmont Stakes runs three weeks from now at Saratoga Race Course (third consecutive year there) and; notably; at 1 1/4 miles instead of the traditional 1 1/2, because of Saratoga's track configuration. Update May 18: trainer Chad Summers has since confirmed Napoleon Solo will skip the Belmont for the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth on July 18; Iron Honor is expected to follow the same path. That clears the way for Golden Tempo to be the projected Belmont favorite.
Maryland sportsbooks (FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, bet365) will post Belmont win odds in the days ahead. For exactas, trifectas, and superfectas, use FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires, or TVG. See our full 158th Belmont Stakes preview for field, projected odds, and how the distance change affects handicapping.
The 151st Preakness's biggest story was the venue. Laurel Park hosted the race for the first time since 1908. With Pimlico's redevelopment on track to wrap before 2027, this is expected to be a one-off relocation; but Napoleon Solo will always carry the Laurel Park footnote.
Methodology and source
Payouts and finishing order verified against published race charts and Maryland Jockey Club tote returns. Race-day weather and track conditions from on-site reporting. Final time and margin officially recorded by 1/ST Racing.