Preakness 2026: Golden Tempo to skip race; Ocelli jumps in; Crude Velocity a maybe

Golden Tempo, the Kentucky Derby winner, will bypass the Preakness Stakes on May 16 at Laurel Park and point to the Belmont Stakes on June 6 at Saratoga, trainer Cherie DeVaux said Wednesday.

“He ran the race of his life. We want to give him more time to get over that,” DeVaux said. “We feel it’s in his best interest to give him more time. He came out of the race in good order. We are pointing towards the Belmont.”

It is likely that the Belmont Stakes, run for the third straight year at Saratoga, could bring three of the top four finishers from the Kentucky Derby together. Renegade, the Kentucky Derby runner-up, and Chief Wallabee, who finished fourth in the Derby, also are being pointed to the Belmont. Those two horses have already shipped to Saratoga.

Golden Tempo, based at Keeneland, did return to the track Wednesday for a jog. DeVaux said Golden Tempo is “super happy, moving well.”

Golden Tempo, owned by Phipps Stable and the St. Elias Stable of Vinnie and Teresa Viola, rallied from last in the 18-horse field to win the Kentucky Derby at odds of 23-1.

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This marks the third time in five years that the Kentucky Derby winner will not run in the Preakness. Sovereignty last year skipped the Preakness and won the Belmont Stakes. In 2022, Rich Strike, the 80-1 upset winner of the Derby, also skipped the Preakness and finished sixth in the Belmont.

Jose Ortiz, who rode Golden Tempo to victory in the Kentucky Derby, has picked up the mount on Chip Honcho in the Preakness, per Steve Asmussen, the trainer of Chip Honcho, and Steve Rushing, Ortiz's agent.

Ocelli, who finished third at 70-1 in the Kentucky Derby, is now expected to run in the Preakness, Whit Beckman said Wednesday. Beckman, who on Sunday said he would likely point the maiden Ocelli to the Matt Winn on June 7 at Churchill Downs, said the horse has seemingly come out of the race so well and that the likelihood of a potential fast pace in the race makes him want to run back in the Preakness.

“As I had the [past performances] put in front of me, it looks like an all-out sprint to the first turn,” said Beckman, whose horse is a closer. “How many horses want to be on or very close to the pace?”

Speaking of the horse, Beckman said, “You wouldn’t know this horse ran Saturday. He’s made of something different. Every indication he’s given me is to point to this race. . . . We’re having fun, the horse is having fun. If everybody’s having fun, why stop the fun?”

Beckman sent Ocelli back to the track Wednesday for a jog and said, “He looked better than great.”

In the Preakness, Ocelli will certainly be far shorter than the 70-1 odds he was in the Kentucky Derby.

But favoritism in the Preakness may now fall to Crude Velocity, the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile winner, should he run.

On Wednesday, trainer Bob Baffert said he is strongly considering the Preakness for Crude Velocity but was unlikely to commit until Friday at the earliest. Baffert’s hesitation is his unfamiliarity with Laurel Park, where the Preakness is being held because of a renovation project taking place at Pimlico.

Crude Velocity did go back to the track Wednesday at Churchill, where he jogged over a muddy surface.

“Today, I would say yes, tomorrow I might say no. I don’t want to commit until Friday, but he looked really good out there,” Baffert said. “It’s amazing how it didn’t take anything away from him. I’m still trying to figure out the logistics at Laurel. I’ve never run there. I’m still trying to work it out in my head.”

Crude Velocity is 3 for 3, having earned Beyer Speed Figures of 100 in both the Pat Day Mile and an allowance race April 4 at Santa Anita. Crude Velocity made all three of his starts around one turn.

Baffert said he is no longer considering Cherokee Nation or Potente for the Preakness. He said Cherokee Nation “is not ready” for a race like the Preakness, while Potente, 12th in the Kentucky Derby, will be pointed to a possible start in the Belmont Stakes.

Several other fringe players are now considering the Preakness, including Bull by the Horns, Corona de Oro, and Robusta.

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Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said Bull by the Horns will scratch from Saturday’s Grade 3 Peter Pan at Aqueduct and could go in the Preakness, pending a weekend workout at Gulfstream Park.

Corona de Oro, third in the Lexington Stakes on April 11, was entered in the Kentucky Derby but did not draw in off the also-eligible list. He is trained by Dallas Stewart.

Robusta, who finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby for Calumet Farm and Doug O’Neill, also is back in the Preakness picture.

The Preakness is limited to 14 starters, but two also-eligibles could be carded.

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