Preakness 2025 Post Positions, Predictions for Each Horse in the Lineup

The 150th running of the Preakness Stakes takes place Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, with a lineup consisting of three Kentucky Derby runners-up and a remaining field of unknown entities and potential surprise winners.

Who are the horses who will compete in the 2025 edition of the second leg of the Triple Crown and what should viewers expect from them?

Find out with this preview.

Post Positions

1. Goal Oriented (Jockey: Flavian Pratt)
2. Journalism (Umberto Rispoli)
3. American Promise (Nik Juarez)
4. Heart of Honor (Saffie Osborne)
5. Pay Billy (Raul Mena)
6. River Thames (Irad Ortiz Jr.)
7. Sandman (John Velazquez)
8. Clever Again (Jose Ortiz)
9. Gosger (Luis Saez)

Predictions

Journalism is far and away the favorite to win this race, as he should be. The three-year-old colt just narrowly missed out on the Kentucky Derby victory, thanks to an extraordinary late push from Sovereignty, who will not compete in this year's Preakness.

Barring a bad run or shocking upset, Journalism will be the best horse on the track in Baltimore and should win this race.

Sandman remains a fan-favorite but there were lofty expectations for the young runner, only for him to finish seventh at Churchill Downs. With jockey Jose Ortiz already committed to ride Clever Again in the same race, John Velazquez will take over and, with fewer horses in the field, could ride the colt, named for Metallica's "Enter Sandman," to a top-three finish.

The dark horse in this year's race is Gosger, a similar racer to Journalism in that he will hang back, stalk his competition, and make a late push toward the front and a victory. He has won both of his starts in 2025, and his style should have him in the race late. There are questions about his speed and ability to simply outrun his opponents, but he is a horse that could stun the world by placing in the top three.

American Promise suffered a disappointing 16th-place finish at the Kentucky Derby after getting cut off early on and failing to find room to mount a comeback late. Legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas will do everything in his power to have the colt in a position to make that performance a distant memory and put in a better showing at Pimlico.

Especially with potential back-to-back wins and a record-tying eighth Preakness victory at stake. The horse will keep those feats a distinct possibility and could run past Gosger for a top-three finish. If anyone can prepare a horse for the run in Baltimore, it is Lukas, who has saddled the most horses at the Preakness in race history.

Goal Oriented is trainer Bob Baffert's latest entry in to the Preakness, with a chance to extend his record for most wins at the track to nine. Jockey Flavian Pratt, a winner at the track in 2021, will put him in a position to do that.

Heart of Honor is an interesting horse who could finish in that fifth-to-sixth range but could also steal one of the trifecta spots with a particularly great run. It will ultimately depend on the pace of the race and how well the colt maneuvers into it.

Pay Billy faces his toughest field of opponents to date, and while he has the speed, experience at this level could be the difference-maker. His lack of speed compared to the rest of the field could be the difference maker and land him in the back half of the pack.

River Thames might be the most interesting horse in this race. Trained by Todd Pletcher and jockeyed by Irad Ortiz Jr., both of whom have never won at Pimlico, he is the one horse with the ability to race alongside Journalism down the stretch and compete for the win. It is getting to that position that will ultimately determine whether he has a historic day or if he finishes outside of the trifecta.

Clever Again is a pacesetter and has the raw ability to be one of the horses competing for the finish line at the end of the race. It is that rawness and lack of experience, though, that makes him a risky bet. Lengthy races will not affect him, but whether he can remain consistent and lead from early to late, is the question that must be answered before he can be considered a legitimate shot to win the whole thing.