Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem May 18, 2026

Jason discusses the Preakness (G1) from this past weekend. 

A good Monday morning to you all! Hope everyone had a good Preakness (G1) weekend, and there’s certainly a lot to talk about from the big day at Laurel Park. One of the interesting things was that watching from home via the simulcast signal, it just didn’t seem all that different. I know the buildings and tracks are different and do look a little different, but I suppose with having the same graphics package and presenters, it just looked like a regular Preakness to me. 

I was honestly shocked that the handle numbers were as close to last year’s as they were, just because I feel like sometimes name recognition matters in racing. When they first started calling it “Belmont at Aqueduct” in New York, the handle would actually jump versus just the traditional Aqueduct, even though really it was just the same racing with a different name and albeit some more classic stakes race names. However, with this year’s Preakness, other than the live attendance, the race was still available via the same OTBs and ADWs that it always has been, and it was still on NBC in the normal spot. 

Because there wasn’t the star power of a Kentucky Derby (G1) winner, I think a lot of people, myself included, were expecting a bigger dip in handle and interest. However, that idea goes counter to what I always say about racing from around the country. I’d always rather have a competitive and interesting field as opposed to just a star or two who lays over the field. It does nothing to excite me to see a 3-5 shot just go to the front and never look back and win with ease. I want to see a race with complex form lines, story lines, and wagering interest. Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, although light on star power, was a very competitive field of 14 with some really interesting betting opportunities. 

Taj Mahal ended up going off as the favorite at 9-2, and although I was against him in this spot, I think there were several reasons he got to that number. Number one, he was undefeated and had been pretty fast in doing so. Number two is he was trained by Brittany Russell, who always wins at a big percentage, and with all the coverage about Cherie DeVaux winning the Derby, there was also a ton of talk about Brittany possibly being the first female trainer to win the Preakness. 

Napoleon Solo took some late money and came down to just under 8-1, which apparently was about where he was trading overseas. The late odds bettors were right, even though the race previous they had gotten crushed with Jean Valjean, who went from 9-5 down to even money and was off the board in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint. 

Ever since Rich Strike won the 2022 Kentucky Derby, it seems like the Preakness and these other Triple Crown races just always feature some huge underlays. The money gets spread around, and there’s so much casual money betting, that you end up with some wonky prices. 

This year’s wonkiest in the Preakness has to have been Great White. I still don’t understand why people bet this horse down to 9-1. My first assumption in these races is always that the name was somehow interesting enough to get out into the public ether. Or maybe for him it’s the fact that he acted up in the Kentucky Derby and made a name for himself on national television a minute before the biggest race in the world? I just don’t get it, but if you’re a bettor, you have to be thankful for people who bet down horses who should be much higher odds. 

The coolest part of this Preakness for me as a fan was seeing first-time winning connections score in a Triple Crown race. Chad Summers has had so much confidence in Napoleon Solo, and it was very cool to see him rewarded for that with a big win. Owner Al Gold also has had some very nice horses including Grade 1 winner Cyberknife, but this one clearly marks his biggest win, and I’m sure is a huge checkmark off his list as an owner. 

And the always-controversial Paco Lopez, who’s won over 4,000 races in his career and is coming off a six-month suspension this past winter, was able to win his first Triple Crown race. He’s spent the last many years as a top guy at solid tracks like Monmouth Park and Colonial Downs, and he’s had many wins on the biggest circuits, but this one was obviously a career highlight as well. 

It was a fun weekend, and I’m already looking forward to the Belmont S. (G1) coming up at Saratoga in a few weeks.