Preakness Stakes 2026: Racing Insider Sheds Light On 2 Biggest Threats to Iron Honor on Saturday
Chad Brown-trained horse Iron Honor heads into the 2026 Preakness Stakes as the current favorite. However, a racing insider believes there are two other legit contenders to win Saturday’s race. The second leg of this year’s Triple Crown arrives this weekend with the 151st edition of the Preakness Stakes.
This year is different from recent editions because only three competitors from the Kentucky Derby will be in Laurel Park on Saturday, and none of them is race winner Golden Tempo. Ahead of Saturday’s race, Iron Honor, the horse trained by two-time Preakness winner Chad Brown, is the favorite. And according to racing insider Byron King, we may get the best version yet of the three-year-old colt.
“[Iron Honor] is projected as the slight 9-2 favorite largely because of the success of trainer Chad Brown, who has won this race twice before with fresh horses that skipped the Kentucky Derby,” King told Sportsnaut . “Iron Honor is racing with his “blinkers off,” which usually helps a horse settle and relax, and many believe he will run much better than his seventh-place finish in the Wood Memorial. “… I like Iron Honor quite a bit.
Especially with the “blinkers off” angle, which suggests the horse is more seasoned. ” Other horses to watch at 2026 Preakness Stakes, including The Hell We Did Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images For bettors, that is helpful information, but they want to know the horses with longer odds that could deliver a big return on Win, Place, and Show bets. King suggests quite a few of the Preakness competitors offer upside, especially if they are locally bred in Maryland.
“You are going to have a lot of horses in the 5-1 to 15-1 range where you can make a case for them,” King said. “Some tried-and-true methods, like picking the Derby winner, don’t exist this year. There could also be more of a home track edge since the race is at Laurel Park this year instead of Pimlico.