What to know about the 2022 Preakness Stakes

By Mia ZanzucchiMay 12, 2022, 5:02 PM EDT

Even without 80-1 Kentucky Derby upset champ Rich Strike, the 2022 Preakness Stakes has a small but mighty field.

The 2022 Preakness Stakes airs on Saturday, May 21 from 2 to 4 p.m. ET on CNBC and from 4 to 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage is also available to stream live on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.

Kentucky Derby runner-up Epicenter opens as the 6-5 morning-line favorite for the 147th edition of the race.

The Steve Asmussen-trained colt will break from the No. 8 spot at Pimlico just two weeks after his second-place Derby trip with Joel Rosario in the irons. Asmussen has won the Preakness twice before: in 2007 with Curlin and in 2009 with Rachel Alexandra.

His connections say he’s come off of his impressive run in the Derby well, so it’s no surprise he’s a heavy favorite.

Two other Derby contenders will also race in the Preakness: Simplification (6-1), who finished fourth, and Happy Jack (30-1), who took 14th out of 20 horses.

Kentucky Oaks 148 winner Secret Oath opens with 9-2 odds and will set off from the No. 4 spot in the gate.

The Kentucky-bred daughter of 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic champ Arrogate is no stranger to racing in a field full of colts after placing third in the Arkansas Derby (G1) and initially being pointed to the Kentucky Derby instead of the Oaks. She could become just the seventh filly to win the Preakness in its 147-year history. Swiss Skydiver was the last to do it back in 2020.

Her Hall of Fame trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, has six Preakness Stakes wins to his name, most recently with Oxbow in 2013.

Two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert will be noticeably absent from Pimlico. After 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for a banned substance (and was later stripped of the title), Baffert received a two-year suspension from Churchill Downs, as well as a 90-day suspension from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) that will be honored in all 38 racing states. That includes Maryland, home of the Preakness, and New York, home of the Belmont

NBC Sports will also air the Black-Eyed Susan the day before on Friday, May 20 from 5 to 6 p.m. ET on USA Network, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

What is the Preakness Stakes?

The Preakness Stakes is the second leg of the American Triple Crown of horse racing. Like the Kentucky Derby, it’s a Grade I Thoroughbred stakes races. The Preakness is 9.5 furlongs, or 1 3/16th miles long.

The Preakness takes place on the dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. The race was first run in 1873 at Pimlico, but then moved to Morris Park Racecourse (now closed) in the Bronx. It wasn’t run for three years, and then it jumped to Gravesend Race Track (also closed) at Coney Island before returning to Baltimore in 1909, where it’s stayed ever since.

The race is traditionally run in mid May, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby. However, the 2020 race was moved from Saturday, May 16 to Saturday, October 3.

When is the 2022 Preakness Stakes?

The 147th Preakness Stakes is on Saturday, May 21. Coverage begins on CNBC, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock at 2 p.m. ET and will move to NBC at 4 p.m. ET.

Post time for the 2022 Preakness Stakes is set for approximately 7:01 p.m. ET.

Where is the 2022 Preakness Stakes?

The Preakness Stakes is run at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD.

How can I watch the 2022 Preakness Stakes?

NBC Sports is home to the 147th Preakness Stakes, providing comprehensive race coverage and analysis live on NBC, Peacock, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app before, during and after the main event. Coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET on CNBC and moves over to NBC at 4 p.m. ET.

What happened at the 2022 Kentucky Derby?

Rich Strike, a massive 80-1 underdog, started the race near the back of the field and shocked everyone by winning the 148th Kentucky Derby. Rich Strike entered the field as an alternate after Ethereal Road scratched the day before the Derby. Epicenter finished second in the Kentucky Derby while Zandon placed third. Rounding out the top ten were Simplification, Mo Donegal, Barber Road, Tawny Port, Smile Happy, Tiz the Bomb and Zozos.

What’s the difference between the Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby?

The Kentucky Derby may be slightly older and more well-known, but the Preakness is distinct for several reasons. The field is often smaller (last year’s Preakness saw 10 entries as opposed to the usual Derby field of 20), and the distance is half a furlong shorter. But for any horse who just ran in the Derby, the two week turnaround time is the ultimate challenge.

Raucous infield festivities return after two years with InfieldFest back in full form. Tunes, food and art meet horse racing at this annual music festival that takes place right in the middle of all the Preakness action Friday, May 20 and Saturday, May 21. This year’s lineup includes Megan Thee Stallion, Lauryn Hill, Marshmello and The Chainsmokers.

In another fun tradition unique to the Preakness, the United States Postal Service’s temporary Pimlico office is also back after two years away because of COVID, and this year’s honorary postmaster will be the Maryland-bred, 2021 Eclipse Award Horse of the Year Knicks Go.

Who won the 2021 Preakness Stakes?

Underdog Rombauer powered to Preakness Stakes victory in trainer Michael McCarthy’s Triple Crown debut and jockey Flavien Pratt’s debut in the race. The bay colt, who had raced only three times on the dirt before the Preakness and lost every start, sped past a homestretch duel between Midnight Bourbon and disqualified 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit.

Rombauer went on to finish third in the Belmont Stakes, but a winter comeback attempt was halted by a training injury at Santa Anita, and he was retired.

NBC Sports’ additional Triple Crown coverage:

Saturday, June 11: 154th Belmont Stakes

Watch the Preakness on Saturday, May 21 from 2 to 4 p.m. ET on CNBC and from 4 to 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage is also available on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.

Forte works out, waits for Belmont Stakes clearance

Associated PressMay 27, 2023, 3:14 PM EDT

Matt Stone/USA TODAY NETWORK

NEW YORK — Forte, the early Kentucky Derby favorite who was scratched on the day of the race, worked out in preparation for a possible start in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.

Under regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte worked five-eighths of a mile for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. It was the colt’s second workout since being scratched from the Derby on May 6.

“It seems like he’s maintained his fitness level,” Pletcher said. “It seems like everything is in good order.”

Forte was placed on a mandatory 14-day veterinary list after being scratched from the Derby because of a bruised right front foot. In order to be removed from the list, the colt had to work in front of a state veterinarian and give a blood sample afterward, the results of which take five days.

“There’s protocols in place and we had to adhere to those and we’re happy that everything went smoothly,” Pletcher said. “We felt confident the horse was in good order or we wouldn’t have been out there twice in the last six days, but you still want to make sure everything went smoothly and we’re happy everything did go well.”

Pletcher said Kingsbarns, who finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby, will miss the Belmont. The colt is showing signs of colic, although he is fine, the trainer said.

Another Pletcher-trained horse, Prove Worthy, is under consideration for the Belmont. He also has Tapit Trice, who finished seventh in the Derby, being pointed toward the Belmont.

Judge grants Churchill Downs’ request for summary judgment to dismiss Bob Baffert’s lawsuit

Associated PressMay 25, 2023, 9:36 PM EDT

Abbey Cutrer/USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge has granted Churchill Downs’ motion for summary judgment that dismisses Bob Baffert’s claim the track breached due process by suspending the Hall of Fame trainer for two years.

Churchill Downs Inc. suspended Baffert in June 2021 after his now-deceased colt, Medina Spirit, failed a postrace drug test after crossing the finish line first in the 147th Kentucky Derby. The trainer’s request to lift the discipline was denied in February, keeping him out of the Derby for a second consecutive May.

U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ruled in a 12-page opinion issued Wednesday that Churchill Downs’ suspension of Baffert did not devalue his Kentucky trainer’s license. It cited his purse winnings exceeding $1 million at Keeneland in Lexington and stated that his argument “amounts to a false analogy that distorts caselaw.”

Jennings denied CDI’s motion to stay discovery as moot.

The decision comes less than a week after Baffert-trained colt National Treasure won the Preakness in his first Triple Crown race in two years. His record eighth win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown came hours after another of his horses, Havnameltdown, was euthanized following an injury at Pimlico.

Churchill Downs said in a statement that it was pleased with the court’s favorable ruling as in Baffert’s other cases.

It added, “While he may choose to file baseless appeals, this completes the seemingly endless, arduous and unnecessary litigation proceedings instigated by Mr. Baffert.”

Baffert’s suspension is scheduled to end on June 2, but the track’s release noted its right to extend it “and will communicate our decision” at its conclusion.