The 9 Horses Competing In The 2025 Preakness Stakes

Nine horses have traveled to Maryland to celebrate the 150^th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 17, at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course. With two-thirds of the Preakness field fresh to the Triple Crown in 2025 not having run in the Kentucky Derby, only Journalism, Sandman and American Promise are familiar names for fans of the 151^stKentucky Derby.

The Preakness Stakes is the second race in horse racing’s Triple Crown, coming just two weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks before the Belmont Stakes. The race is contested on the dirt track of Pimlico.

The 7:01 p.m. EST post time for the Preakness could have featured up to 14 3-year-olds, but this year’s field is nine horses. Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty, though, isn’t one of those thoroughbreds, with trainer Bill Mott skipping the Baltimore race in favor of additional rest time ahead of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in New York on June 7.

With the milestone year for the Preakness, it also marks the last race before Pimlico undergoes a major rebuild that will push at least the 2026 running of the Preakness to another track. But with all eyes on the 2025 running, let’s explore the nine horses in the field in order of starting position.

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1. Goal Oriented

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Sire: Not This Time

Odds: 6-1

Goal Oriented has only run two races. The horse has won them both, sure, but neither were a stakes race. The biggest win in the career of Goal Oriented was an allowance optional claiming race on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

2. Journalism

Trainer: Michael W. McCarthy

Jockey: Umberto Rispoli

Sire: Curlin

Odds: 8-5

The favorite going into the Kentucky Derby, Journalism finished second, getting passed by Sovereignty on the sloppy track in Louisville. Journalism is again positioned as the favorite in a Triple Crown contest.

3. American Promise

Trainer: D. Waye Lukas

Jockey: Nik Juarez

Sire: Justify

Odds: 15-1

The son of Triple Crown winner Justify was just 16^th in the Kentucky Derby, but the crowded field may have hampered the horse’s chances. Jockey Nik Juarez is a native of nearby Westminster, Maryland.

4. Heart Of Honor

Trainer: Jamie A. Osborne

Jockey: Saffie Osborne

Sire: Honor A.P.

Odds: 12-1

Bred in the United Kingdom, but with his last five starts in Dubai, Heart of Honor has plenty of racing history already in his career. Trainer Jamie Osborne has his daughter, Saffie Osborne, as the jockey for the Preakness.

5. Pay Billy

Trainer: Michael E. Gorham

Jockey: Raul Mena

Sire: Improbable

Odds: 20-1

Having won four of his last five races, Pay Billy isn’t just a clever name in that the horse got into the field thanks to a $60,000 purchase earning him an automatic bid. While trainer Michael Gorham has won more than 1,400 races since starting his career in 1985, he’s never had a horse run the Preakness.

6. River Thames

Trainer: Todd A. Pletcher

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Sire: Maclean’s Music

Odds: 9-2

While River Thames qualified for the Kentucky Derby, he didn’t participate so that he could have more time to prepare for the Preakness. The horse also has the speed to keep up with Derby winner Sovereignty, getting edged by the winner in a March 1 race. Trainer Todd Pletcher, 0-10 at the Preakness, is looking for his first middle jewel of the Triple Crown.

7. Sandman

Trainer: Mark E. Casse

Jockey: John Velazquez

Sire: Tapit

Odds: 4-1

The Arkansas Derby winner, who was bought for $1.2 million, placed seventh at the Kentucky Derby earlier in May. Now one of the favorites for the Preakness, the ownership group is hoping to play “Enter Sandman,” the Metallica song the horse is named after, all night after the Preakness.

8. Clever Again

Trainer: Steven M. Asmussen

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

Sire: American Pharoah

Odds: 5-1

Son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, Clever Again has only raced three times. Still, the last two starts were impressive victories.

9. Gosger

Trainer: Brendan P. Walsh

Jockey: Luis Saez

Sire: Nyquist

Odds: 20-1

Gosger’s sire, Nyquist, was third in the 2016 Preakness, but this young racer will be making just his fourth start when he goes into the starting gate last at the Preakness.

How To Watch

NBC has the rights to the Preakness and plans to air coverage during the day on Saturday, first on CNBC. Coverage switches to NBC and the company’s Peacock streaming service at 4 p.m. EST, roughly three hours before the race.