Journalism wins the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes

After finishing as runner-up at the Kentucky Derby earlier this month, the heavy-favorite Journalism earned a thrilling victory Saturday at the 150th Preakness Stakes at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course, the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Journalism, who entered with 8-5 odds, came from behind down the stretch to defeat a field of eight other horses. Gosger was second, Sandman third and Goal Oriented fourth.  

Notably absent from the race, however, was Sovereignty, the 3-year-old colt who won the Kentucky Derby, ending any chance of a Triple Crown winner this year. Sovereignty is still expected to run in the Belmont Stakes on June 7 at the Saratoga Race Course in New York, setting up a possible and much-awaited rematch with Journalism.

Journalism gave trainer Michael McCarthy his second Preakness victory. It is Umberto Rispoli’s first in a Triple Crown race, and he is the first jockey from Italy to win one of them.  

Journalism thrived on a warm day that dried out the track after torrential rain fell at Pimlico for much of the past week. Those conditions suited him better than the slop at Churchill Downs in the Derby.  

This is set to be the last Preakness at the old Pimlico before it’s torn down and rebuilt. The Preakness is scheduled to be held at nearby Laurel Park, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., next year, before a planned return to the new Pimlico in 2027.