Napoleon Solo Pulls Off Thrilling Upset in 151st Preakness Stakes

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The Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown has a brand new hero, and he comes with a Hollywood flair.

On a historic Saturday at Laurel Park—playing temporary host to the race while Pimlico Course undergoes massive renovations—Napoleon Solo silenced his critics and captured the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes. Under a masterful ride by veteran jockey Paco Lopez, the 7-1 shot stalked the early pace before exploding at the top of the stretch to win the $2 million Grade 1 classic by 1 1/4 lengths.

With Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo sitting this one out to rest, the field was wide open. But it was Napoleon Solo who answered the call, navigating a massive 14-horse field—the largest the Preakness has seen since 2011—to give trainer Chad Summers a dream victory in his Triple Crown race debut.

The Race Breakdown: Stalking the Local Favorite

The pre-race hype heavily favored Brittany Russell’s unbeaten local star, Taj Mahal, who closed as the betting favorite and had a perfect 3-for-3 record at Laurel Park. True to form, Taj Mahal blasted out of the number one gate to seize an early, blistering lead, covering the first quarter-mile in a swift 22.66 and the half-mile in 46.66.

However, Paco Lopez kept Napoleon Solo perfectly positioned just off the leader’s shoulder from post 10. When the pace noticeably slowed down the backstretch—hitting a lethargic third-quarter split of 25.42 seconds—Lopez made his move.

Midway through the far turn, Napoleon Solo drew even with a tiring Taj Mahal. As they turned for home, Napoleon Solo kicked clear into the stretch. Iron Honor made a furious late charge from the back of the pack, but ran out of real estate, coming up 1 1/4 lengths short as Napoleon Solo crossed the wire in 1:58.69. The final time marked the slowest Preakness stakes on a fast track in 75 years, but for Summers and owner Al Gold, it was a work of art.

Meanwhile, hometown favorite Taj Mahal completely hit the wall, fading heavily in the final furlongs to finish a disappointing 10th.

The 2026 Preakness Stakes Finish & Payouts

The exotic wagers paid out handsomely due to Napoleon Solo’s 7-1 upset and Iron Honor’s strong second-place showing.

Finish	Horse	Jockey	Post-Time Odds	Win Payout	Place Payout	Show Payout
1st	Napoleon Solo	Paco Lopez	7-1	$17.80	$9.80	$7.40
2nd	Iron Honor	Irad Ortiz Jr.	8-1	—	$9.20	$6.60
3rd	Chip Honcho	Flavien Prat	5-1	—	—	$8.20
4th	Ocelli	Tyler Gaffalione	7-1	—	—	—

$2.00 Exacta (10/9): $53.60
$1.00 Trifecta (10/9/6): $597.10
$1.00 Superfecta (10/9/6/2): $2,377.80

From the “Fifth-Place Slump” to Triple Crown Glory

The victory represents a massive vindication for trainer Chad Summers. Napoleon Solo looked like a superstar late last year as a 2-year-old, dominant in a 6 1/2-length romp in the Champagne Stakes. However, his 3-year-old campaign had been a massive disappointment leading up to mid-May.

The gray colt finished a lackluster fifth in both the Fountain of Youth and the Wood Memorial, causing many analysts to write him off as a one-turn miler who couldn’t handle the classic Triple Crown distances.

“We’ve had everything go wrong his 3-year-old year, and we just kind of stayed the course,” an emotional Chad Summers said in the winner’s circle. “We had a lot of critics out there that told us to just ‘Shut up,’ and we just kept with it. We were training with an egg shoe before the Wood and were training just to make the race rather than win it. Now that he can train like he wants to, it goes a long way.”

Behind the Name: A Pop Culture Twist

For owner Al Gold, the victory was made sweeter by the horse’s unique name. Gold, who bought the colt for a modest $40,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, revealed that the horse was originally named “No Male Today” as a play on the phrase “a Saturday horse” (since there is no mail delivery on Sundays).

As the horse proved his talent, Gold renamed him after the charming fictional spy played by Robert Vaughn in the cult 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (and later portrayed by Henry Cavill in the Guy Ritchie film adaptation).

What’s Next for the Preakness Champ?

With the Triple Crown effectively split—Golden Tempo owning the Derby and Napoleon Solo wearing the Black-Eyed Susans—the multi-million dollar 3-year-old division remains entirely up for grabs.

Summers indicated post-race that Napoleon Solo will bypass the grueling Belmont Stakes in June. Instead, the camp plans to give the colt a well-deserved breather before pointing him toward a summer showdown at Monmouth Park for the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes—a track where jockey Paco Lopez regularly dominates the standings. If yesterday’s performance was any indication, the rest of the 3-year-old division has a major problem on their hands.