Preakness Stakes Horse: Iron Honor Odds, History, and Predictions

The Preakness Stakes happens Saturday, May 16. For the first and only time ever, the middle race of the Triple Crown will be at Laurel Park while Pimlico, its usual Baltimore home, is rebuilt. Post time Saturday for this wide-open Preakness Stakes is set for 7:01 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Though Chad Brown trainee Iron Honor had enough points to get into the Kentucky Derby after winning the Gotham Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct on February 28, trainer Chad Brown did the same thing he has done before with some lightly-raced horses who didn’t win their final preps – bypassed the Kentucky Derby and went straight to the Preakness Stakes.

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Iron Honor Preakness Stakes Odds and Post Positions

The Preakness Stakes was drawn on Monday, May 11. In a full field of 14, Iron Honor drew the 9 gate. In the absence of Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo from the Preakness starting gate, Iron Honor was named the 9-2 morning-line favorite. Off the strength of his Gotham Stakes win, the fact that trainer Chad Brown has already won two Preakness Stakes with lightly-raced horses like him, and the fact that Chad Brown tends to get heavily bet no matter where he goes, he does make sense to take the most money.

The 2026 Preakness Stakes drew a full field of 14, the largest Preakness field since 2011. These are the post positions, entrants, trainers, and morning-line odds released at Monday’s draw:

Iron Honor Horse Trainer and Jockey

Iron Honor is the only horse in the 2026 Preakness trained by Chad Brown. He has run seven horses in the Preakness before, between 2017 and 2024. He won with his first-ever starter, Cloud Computing, in 2017 and also won in 2022 with Early Voting. Brown also trained 2023 runner-up Blazing Sevens.

Flavien Prat will ride Iron Honor for the first time in the Preakness Stakes. Prat has ridden in the Preakness three times before. He won the race in 2021 with Michael McCarthy trainee Rombauer, his first mount in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. He was also third with Catching Freedom in 2024 and fourth with Goal Oriented in 2025.

Iron Honor Race History

Iron Honor has raced just three times. He debuted in a live six-furlong maiden special weight sprint on December 13, attending the pace and edging on late to win by 1 ½ lengths. He won right back in the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct, a one-turn mile on February 26, battling on the pace and running on to win by a length. That earned him favoritism in the Wood Memorial, but he came up empty in the stretch and finished seventh, 4 ¼ lengths behind Albus.

Speed ratings are courtesy of Equibase.

Iron Honor Preakness Stakes Prediction and Pick

Tactical speed from a gate toward the outside tends to play well at Laurel Park, which bodes well given Iron Honor’s running style. Though he disputed the pace in the Gotham, he stalked and pounced for his maiden win, and if he can go back to that style, that could help him. The removal of blinkers is a bit of a concern only because it’s nice to have a finished product going into a classic race, but blinkers-off could also make him a little less likely to get pulled into a pace battle with the horses in the field who need to lead.

Distance is a serious concern for Iron Honor since he came up empty in his only two-turn race, but won his pair of one-turn races. However, Iron Honor is bred well to stretch out – by Nyquist out of a Blame mare – and trainer Chad Brown has a strong record of both improving horses with distance and getting lightly-raced runners ready for the Preakness in particular. Another drawback is the price – he has enough to prove that a short price in a wide-open field of 14 isn’t exciting, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him run well regardless.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.