Preakness 2026 Payout, Prize Money Payout, Order of Finish and Reaction

Napoleon Solo wasn't exactly a dark horse in Saturday's Preakness, but his win still came as a mild surprise. After placing fifth at both the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Wood Memorial, Napoleon Solo surged late to take the 151st running of the Preakness.

For the second straight year, we may now see two horses with a chance to double up on jewels of the Triple Crown.

This was the first Triple Crown series victory for both trainer Chad Summers and jockey Paco Lopez.

There will be, of course, no Triple Crown winner this year. Golden Tempo recorded a thrilling last-to-first finish at the Kentucky Derby, but trainer Cherie DeVaux made it clear pretty quickly that Golden Tempo wouldn't return for the Preakness.

"Golden gave us the race of a lifetime in the Kentucky Derby, and we believe the best decision for him moving forward is to give him a little more time following such a tremendous effort," DeVaux said in a statement.

The practice of running in the Derby and skipping the Preakness is not a new one. Golden Tempo will have to wait until June 6 for another shot at winning in the Belmont Stakes.

For now, the moment belongs to Summers, Lopez, and Napoleon Solo.

Order of Finish and Prize Money Payout

The Preakness prize pool has remained the same since it was raised to $2 million in 2024, up from $1.5 million the previous year. The top five finishers received payouts.

1. Napoleon Solo - $1.2 million

2. Iron Honor- $400,000

3. Chip Honcho - $220,000

4. Ocelli - $120,000

5. Incredibolt - $60,000

6. Bull By The Horns

7. The Hell We Did

8. Great White

9. Robusta

10. Taj Mahal

11. Corona De Oro

12. Talkin

13. Crupper

14. Pretty Boy Miah

Reaction

As has been the case in recent years, much of the conversation leading into the Preakness involved Golden Tempo's absence and whether a scheduling change might incentivize Derby winners to challenge for the Triple Crown.

Only two of the past six Derby winners have opted to compete in the Preakness. As The Athletic's Teresa Genaro recently noted, that's not ideal for overall interest in horse racing:

"The Triple Crown is still what drives interest in horse racing. You can see by the public reactions last year and this that fans and the casual viewer want to see a Triple Crown winner, even though there have been two in recent memory."

While there was no Triple Crown drama before the race on Saturday, it doesn't diminish the excitement of the race itself—even if it became obvious early that speed would set the tone.

Taj Mahal, the local favorite who led for much of the race, ran out of speed late and fall all the way back to 10th. Napoleon Solo, meanwhile, used his speed to sprint to the front of the pack in time to overtake Iron Honor.

The result lends credence to the idea that Napoleon Solo wasn't at 100 percent for the Wood Memorial.

Even more of a surprise than Napoleon Solo winning might be the fact that Summers helped deliver it. He has trained just one other Grade 1 stakes winner, Mind Your Biscuits. Now, he has a Triple Crown Race victory on his resume.

The conversation in the coming weeks may now involve whether Napoleon Solo and Golden Tempo will both enter the Belmont Stakes. Last year, Sovereignty won both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont but skipped the Preakness.

For fans who backed Napoleon Solo or other top finishers, the payout is as follows, per Robby Kalland of CBS Sports:

$2 Payout (Win, Place, Show)

Napoleon Solo ($17.80, $9.80, $7.40)

Iron Honor (N/A, $9.20, $6.60)

Chip Honcho (N/A, N/A, $8.20)

A $2 exacta paid $107.20, while a $1 trifecta paid $597.10, and a $1 superfecta paid $2,377.80