Goal Oriented

    •    Jockey: Flavient Prat
    •    Trainer: Bob Baffert
    •    Owner: SF Racing, Starlaight Racing, Madaka Racing, Stonestreet Stables LCC, et al

About jockey Flavien Prat - Fresh off winning the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 2024, Flavien Prat is seeking his second Preakness triumph. In 2021, he guided Rombauer to upset the second leg of the Triple Crown.

About trainer Bob Baffert - Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has won the Preakness a record eight times, most recently with National Treasure in 2023. The conditioner of two Triple Crown winners will send out Goal Oriented in search of his record-extending 18th U.S. classic win.

Journalism

• Jockey: Umberto Rispoli
• Trainer: Michael McCarthy
• Owner: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, et al

About jockey Umberto Rispoli - Umberto Rispoli has won top-tier races in the U.S., France, Hong Kong, Italy, and Japan, but has yet to ride in the Preakness. His first mount in Pimlico’s famous classic is Journalism, the favorite to win on Saturday.

About trainer Michael McCarthy - Michael McCarthy has already saddled a Preakness winner. His lone starter, Rombauer, posted an upset victory in 2021. McCarthy will aim to boost his Preakness record to 2-for-2 with morning-line favorite Journalism.

American Promise

• Jockey: Nik Juarez
• Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas
• Owner: BC Stables LLC

About jockey Nik Juarez - Up-and-coming jockey Nik Juarez made his Kentucky Derby (G1) debut aboard American Promise, finishing 16th. Now this winner of 1,000+ races is riding in the Preakness for the first time, partnering again with American Promise.

About trainer D. Wayne Lukas - The second-winningest trainer in Triple Crown history, D. Wayne Lukas, has won 15 U.S. classics, including seven editions of the Preakness. He saddled Seize the Grey to a gate-to-wire win last year and will seek a second straight Preakness triumph with American Promise.

Heart of Honor (GB)

• Jockey: Saffie Osborne
• Trainer: Jamie Osborne
• Owner: Jim and Claire Limited

About jockey Saffie Osborne - Saffie Osborne, the daughter of trainer Jamie Osborne, has never ridden in the United States. That will change when she rides her father’s UAE Derby (G2) runner-up Heart of Honor in the Preakness. She’s already enjoyed success in Europe, winning group stakes in Italy and England.

About trainer Jamie Osborne - British-based Jamie Osborne only occasionally saddles horses in North America, where he’s gone 0-for-8 since 2014. However, Osborne nearly won the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) with Toast of New York, who finished second by a nose. Heart of Honor will seek to give Osborne his first stateside win. 

Pay Billy

• Jockey: Rauel Mena
• Trainer: Michael Gorham
• Owner: RKTN Racing LLC

About jockey Raul Mena – Formerly based in Chile, Raul Mena has won over 420 races since shifting his career to the U.S. at the end of 2015. He’s still seeking his first U.S.-graded stakes win, but he’s won the Private Terms S. and Federico Tesio S. aboard Pay Billy, aboard whom he’ll make his Preakness debut.

About trainer Michael Gorham - Gorham is making his Preakness debut with Pay Billy. A two-time stakes winner, Pay Billy will seek to give Gorham his first win at the graded stakes level since 2007.
 

River Thames

• Jockey: Irad Ortiz, Jr.
• Trainer: Todd Pletcher
• Owner: WinStar Farm LLC, CHC, Inc. Pantofel Stable LLC and Wachtel Stable

About jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. - Five-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. might be 0-for-6 riding in the Preakness, but he’s come close to winning a couple of times, finishing second aboard Midnight Bourbon (2021) and Blazing Sevens (2023). His mounts have earned over $348 million, making Ortiz the fourth highest-earning jockey in U.S. and Canadian history.

About trainer Todd Pletcher - He’s won the Kentucky Derby twice and Belmont four times, but the Preakness has proven elusive. Perhaps Pletcher’s 11th Preakness starter, River Thames, can flip the script.

Sandman

• Jockey: John Velazquez
• Trainer: Mark Casse
• Owner: D. J. Stable LLC, St Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds, CJ Stables

About jockey John Velazquez - Hall of Fame inductee John Velazquez has ridden in the Preakness 13 times. He picked up his first win aboard National Treasure in 2023, his sixth triumph overall in Triple Crown races. Depending on how this racing week goes, a victory aboard Sandman could potentially make Velazquez the first jockey to pass $500 million in earnings in the U.S. and Canada.

About Trainer Mark Casse - Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse has saddled five horses in the Preakness, winning with War of Will (2019) and finishing a close second with Classic Empire (2017). Both of those runners exited defeats in the Kentucky Derby, which likewise applies to Casse’s Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Sandman.

Clever Again

• Jockey: Jose Ortiz
• Trainer: Steve Asmussen
• Owner: Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith

About jockey Jose Ortiz - Winner of the 2017 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey, Jose Ortiz has ridden five times in the Preakness. In 2022, he guided Early Voting to a 5-1 upset, his second triumph in a Triple Crown race. With over $273 million in career earnings, Ortiz is a top-ten all-time jockey by U.S. and Canadian earnings.

About Trainer Steve Asmussen - No trainer has won more races in the U.S. and Canada than Steve Asmussen, who has tallied over 10,800 victories and more than $470 million in earnings. He’s won the Preakness twice with Curlin (2007) and Rachel Alexandra (2009) and will seek a third win with Clever Again.
 

Gosger

• Jockey: Luis Saez
• Trainer: Brendan Walsh
• Owner: Harvey A. Clarke Racing Stables, LLC

About jockey Luis Saez - Luis Saez nearly won the 2018 Preakness, finishing second aboard 15-1 longshot Bravazo while beaten only half a length by eventual Triple Crown winner Justify. Twice victorious in the Belmont (G1), Saez has ridden the winners of over $239 million.

About trainer Brendan Walsh - He’ll seek his first win in a Triple Crown race with Gosger, his second Preakness starter following Multiplier, who ran sixth in 2017.