Get ready for the 2026 Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park with full card picks and race-by-race analysis written by Daily Racing Form’s lead handicapper at Laurel Park, Patrick Moquin. Expert picks for the Preakness Stakes and insights for this year’s Triple Crown event, relocated from Pimlico to Laurel for the first time.
Also, view FREE DRF Past Performances for today’s Race of the Day.
Preakness Stakes (13th Race)
1. Taj Mahal
2. Incredibolt
3. Iron Honor
TAJ MAHAL has spent much of his early career beating up on local Maryland contenders, but he put them all to shame in the $150,000 Federico Tesio last time out, crushing them with an eye-catching trip from the far outside post to win by 8 1/4 lengths; he earned a 92 Beyer in that effort, putting him firmly in the mix against these while demonstrating clear room to improve; the rail wasn’t an ideal draw, but he and his jockey will run at home and he has the tactical speed to handle the early pressure; he offers upside against a relatively weak group shipping from elsewhere. INCREDIBOLT jumped into this field for the same reason the top pick became a contender, as Riley Mott clearly sees an opportunity; it’s still hard to know how the one-turn 1 1/8-mile Virginia Derby will prepare him for this sort of race, but he followed up that victory with a strong sixth in the Kentucky Derby; trust him to be flying at the end, hopefully before he runs out of stretch. IRON HONOR laid a dud in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial last time out after offering far more at a mile in the Grade 3 Gotham; the trip in the Wood was probably more to blame than the distance, however, and Brown will remove blinkers for his most popular Triple Crown move.
BEST BET: Jean Valjean (12th race)
Twelfth Race
1. Jean Valjean
2. Outlaw Kid
3. Tidewater
JEAN VALJEAN ran a deceptively strong race in the $100,000 King T. Leatherbury, which is the obvious key race in this field; the gelding battled hard on the front end and led at 28-1 odds entering the stretch, but the physical toll of the 17-month layoff finally wore him down and he faded to seventh; Merryman wasted no time bringing him back in an allowance May 1 and he immediately got back on track, rocketing home to win by 2 1/2 lengths with a 92 Beyer; the waters get deeper here, but the trainer clearly believes he’s back in a big way; last year, Merryman and Prat connected to win this race with Witty. OUTLAW KID won the Leatherbury, shedding a long losing streak and reestablishing his affinity for the Laurel turf all at once; the Weaver trainee can win from anywhere on the track, a massive edge as he looks to string together victories for the first time since 2022. TIDEWATER is admittedly a dreamy pick to win, but the gelding is better than his last race and has as much of a chance at a minor prize as anyone; Barbosa went for the win in that allowance off the layoff May 1 and missed out on a minor prize, but he could come back sharper.
Here are Patrick’s thoughts on the other twelve races on Saturday’s Laurel Park card.
First Race
1. Epic Style
2. Boujee Bubblez
3. Secure’s Hope
EPIC STYLE shipped to Laurel last time out and finished second in a second-level allowance, closing fast from the back and earning an 87 Beyer; Stidham is staying the course here and has recruited Jose Ortiz to ride; it’s encouraging that she hung in against strong competition at Fair Grounds and Turfway over the winter before running a career-best in Maryland; she’s a contender with a clear affinity for the course. BOUJEE BUBBLEZ fired relatively fresh off a layoff last year, though she was making that start at Laurel under very different circumstances; McMahon was just realizing her preference for the turf at that point and got some strong efforts out of her immediately; in November, she wrapped up her campaign winning a restricted allowance by a nose with a career-best 80 Beyer; this is an ambitious spot for her to return. SECURE’S HOPE steadily improved for Meyers throughout her 3-year-old campaign and was just beginning to prove she belongs against these when she had to head for the shelf; she deserves respect in this spot.
Second Race
1. Blue Kingdom
2. Band Camp
3. Wickeddivine
BLUE KINGDOM finally got away from Quint’s Brew last time out and cashed in for an easy allowance victory at 1 1/16 miles; it didn’t matter that the distance was probably a little far for him, as he was simply much the best; Ness will cut him back to six furlongs in a stronger group this time, but there still isn’t someone quite as strong as the stakes rival he ran into time and again earlier this year. BAND CAMP will return for Daniel Eubanks off a 10-month break, having tailed off in his last start in July at Delaware; the gelding will run for a $40,000 tag, a mildly concerning sign, but his biggest strength remains his 7-for-14 career record at Laurel; at the very least, he will have the chance to show what he has at home. WICKEDDIVINE has won back-to-back starts for Kenny Cox and ran huge in the last on April 12, earning a 93 Beyer in a first-level allowance; the going gets tougher here and he’s bound to hit a wall eventually, but all is well for now and he fits in this group.
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Third Race
1. Naabaahii
2. Scanner
3. Limo
NAABAAHII will switch to turf in his second start for Russell, and there’s a ton of evidence to suggest that change in surface will work out; sire Liam’s Map passes down enough ability in turf routes, having produced graded stakes winners like Deterministic and Colonel Liam; meanwhile, the dam Quargent is by War Front and began her career in Europe; though she never won the grass, her other two fillies to reach the track have done so; Russell and Jose Ortiz have won three of their last five starts together. SCANNER is an intriguing firster for Motion, who picked a huge day to debut him at a mile on turf; Blame is a serviceable turf sire when paired with the right dam, and Lucky Copy fits that bill; a stakes winner on the grass herself, she has produced three turf winners and Lucky Folie, the runner-up in a mile stakes at Santa Anita in 2015; Irad Ortiz Jr. takes the mount. LIMO offers obvious upside as an experienced runner getting back to turf for Stidham; the gelding has been solid on dirt, but his turf efforts in New York last year remain his best efforts; he could overwhelm this group if no one steps up.
Fourth Race
1. Passage East
2. Modo
3. Striker Has Dial
PASSAGE EAST shipped to Colonial last time out and had her three-race winning streak snapped in a $100,000 stakes; McMahon was concerned entering that race would have waited if he had a do-over; she was coming off the race of her life in the $200,000 Barbara Fritchie and actually matched that 93 Beyer in defeat; she commands respect off the break. MODO won her last two starts in her home state of Texas by a combined 10 1/4 lengths and will now ship up for a big day at Laurel; it’s hard to judge the competition she faced in those statebred stakes fields at Lone Star and Sam Houston, but she easily handled Too Much Kiki, a frequent winner in those parts; the Beyers suggest she belongs. STRIKER HAS DIAL wrapped up her 2025 campaign with a win in a $150,000 stakes at Delaware last September, and De Paz is choosing a big day to bring her back; her trip to Maryland was worthwhile last year when she finished second in this race at Pimlico; she is working phenomenally well ahead of this return.
Fifth Race
1. Sassari
2. Mambo Queen
3. Sharmin
SASSARI throttled a maiden special weight field in her debut at Laurel last month, pulling away to win by 4 3/4 lengths with a 68 Beyer; she never trailed a step that day and might need to switch things up to hang against these, but she has every chance to do so in her second career start. MAMBO QUEEN is gradually improving for Russell and seems prepared to take this sort of race; after breaking through in a conditioned claimer at Fair Grounds in March, the filly came back to Laurel and ran another big race in a first-level allowance, giving up a ton of early ground and making up seven lengths in the stretch to take second; expect her to come flying again. SHARMIN is one of several pacesetters in this field and could be somewhat by a post toward the outside, but the mare deserves a second chance after firing a dud off the layoff last month; she needed several races last year to round into form and saved her best race for the very end of the turf season; this could be a gradual process.
Sixth Race
1. Final Story
2. Reagan’s Honor
3. Let’s Go Lando
FINAL STORY simply seems like the sort of runner who handles this step up for Cox; the colt exploded to win a maiden special weight by six lengths in his second career start, earning a 92 Beyer that could stack up against nearly every 3-year-old sprinter in the country; he was pushed along on the front end in that race and still proved much the best, making it a great prep for this stretch to 1 1/16 miles. REAGAN’S HONOR picked up his second victory at Fair Grounds in February when he dominated a 1 1/16-mile allowance by 6 3/4 lengths; that race earned him respect in the Grade 1 Blue Grass in April, but he failed to make the lead and faded back by 27 lengths; he’s a winner here on his best day. LET’S GO LANDO is a strong local contender who could get back on the right track in his fourth straight stakes start; he ran the best race of his career in February, losing by a neck behind Preakness contender Taj Mahal in the $100,000 Miracle Wood; stretching out has not done him many favors, but Capuano will ease back to 1 1/16 miles in another competitive field.
Seventh Race
1. Obliteration
2. Shane’s Wonder
3. Igniter
OBLITERATION is a slightly uncertain commodity making his first start since the trip to the Middle East, but if he comes back with anything resembling his form when he left, he should be able to take care of business here; Asmussen switched him back to dirt to kick off his 3-year-old campaign and he immediately got back to business, winning a $150,000 stakes at Oaklawn by 7 1/2 lengths; his runner-up performance in the Group 3 Saudi Derby was just as strong, giving him quite the resume ahead of this return. SHANE’S WONDER is admittedly a pick inspired by familiarity, but the Parx-based runner has been lights-out in three career starts and deserves this chance; the gelding easily handled an open-company allowance and scared away most of his rivals in a statebred stakes before the gates even opened next time out; don’t be surprised. IGNITER got his first taste of stakes success when he pulled off a gutsy score in the $135,000 Jimmy Winkfield at Aqueduct in March; Dutrow gave him some rest after that start and is bringing him back in a highly reasonable spot, one where he should be able to stalk the pace.
Eighth Race
1. Celtic Contender
2. Floodlites
3. Faust
CELTIC CONTENDER returned to action in a big way in a Laurel allowance on March 28, driving away to win by 3 1/4 lengths with an eye-popping 100 Beyer; Smith has been dead set on returning to this race after finishing third in it last year; he will enter this year’s edition in even better form. FLOODLITES returned at Keeneland last month and ran his best race for Ward, pulling away with authority to win by four lengths with a 96 Beyer; the trainer tried him on turf for a long time, but switching to dirt last year has yielded the three strongest results in his career; so much to like. FAUST has won his last two starts at Oaklawn by a combined 11 3/4 lengths for Asmussen, but he remains largely untested in stakes company; the colt has developed a reputation as a hard-trying runner, but he finally seemed to find his spark a few months ago; he could improve in this stakes try.
Ninth Race
1. Proton
2. Turf Star
3. Zihnal
PROTON nearly battled his way into the Breeders’ Cup as a juvenile last year, but Motion couldn’t quite get him to that level and settled on a pair of minor prizes at Del Mar to round out the gelding’s campaign; his 3-year-old season has been a mixed bag so far, as he was clearly second best in a $100,000 stakes at Tampa and then overwhelmed in a Grade 3 at Keeneland; his last victory came in a Laurel stakes last September, and he has undoubtedly improved in defeat since. TURF STAR had nothing to offer on synthetic last time out, but the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf runner established his preferred surface early on; though he has not yet won a stakes for Motion, he placed in a Grade 2 last year and might have won better at Gulfstream in January with a clean trip off the layoff; he should improve. ZIHNAL is the type of wild card Thomas likes to pull now and again, as the maiden ran on dirt in his debut and earned an eye-catching 88 Beyer, despite finishing fourth by 3 1/4 lengths; the dam Theodora B. was a graded stakes winner on turf, and her only other horse to reach the track has three wins over the surface.
Tenth Race
1. Cruise the Nile
2. Dresden Row
3. Fort Washington
CRUISE THE NILE showed a boatload of potential in his first stakes victory at Laurel last time out, switching up his style to earn a late-closing victory with a 95 Beyer; in three straight wins at Gulfstream before that, the Motion trainee ran near the front end, so showing some versatility in a different locale was a massive development; all seems to be lining up for the gelding as he steps into graded stakes company over a familiar course. DRESDEN ROW is an ultra-consistent contender for Pletcher, even if he has done most of his running on synthetic; in his 2026 debut, the graded stakes winner switched to turf and crushed a Keeneland allowance by 2 3/4 lengths with a 93 Beyer; he’s firmly on track to make a strong stakes return. FORT WASHINGTON is a Grade 1 winner, but the 7-year-old has not won since capturing the Arlington Million last August; he has not run poorly in his three starts, but he has also not been compelling enough to finish in the money; this could be a slightly softer spot.
Eleventh Race
1. Ribaltagaia
2. Accent
3. Mahra’s Love
RIBALTAGAIA had every chance to win a $100,000 stakes at Laurel last month, but the 5-year-old mare simply seemed a little sluggish coming off a long layoff and settled for a close third; since arriving in the U.S. in 2024, she has not yet been able to string together two starts without a lengthy break, which could explain some of her win-shy efforts; Alvarado takes the mount in an exceptionally rare collaboration with Motion. ACCENT is the likely favorite in this field coming off a disappointing effort in a $150,000 stakes at Aqueduct last time out, where the filly suffered a pretty rough trip and still kept on to earn an 81 Beyer; she had not lost in three starts before that, which will probably buy her several chances to break through for Brown and Prat. MAHRA’S LOVE nearly pulled off an 18-1 stunner in the ahead of the top pick last time out, rallying hard to finish second by a nose in her first turf race in the United States; Nihei is taking the sensible next step with her and she deserves more respect this time.
Fourteenth Race
1. Grant the Great
2. Mister Monday Nite
3. Bruno
GRANT THE GREAT flashed early speed while dueling in his debut at Gulfstream back in March, eventually fading to fifth with a 63 Beyer; he is now with Breen and will cut back slightly to six furlongs in this follow-up performance; the trainer doesn’t take many trips to Maryland, making this timing interesting. MISTER MONDAY NITE will make his debut for Ness and has shown flashes in the morning to suggest he’s ready; sire Enticed wins with 13% of his older firsters, while the dam has produced two debut winners from five starters; the trainer picked a classy day to make this try. BRUNO made his debut for Eubanks in March and dueled on the outside in a game effort, taking a large lead into the stretch before relenting in a 1 1/4-length defeat; he earned a 69 Beyer for that effort and has trained well since, suggesting he’s ready to finish the job this time around.
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