Triple Crown picture leaves 3-year-old championship up for grabs

First, the Kentucky Derby winner didn’t go to the Preakness. Next, the Preakness winner apparently isn’t going to the Belmont, setting up a potential repeat of last year’s Triple Crown results.

With Derby winner Golden Tempo skipping Saturday’s Preakness at Laurel Park, Napoleon Solo stole the show, returning to last year’s Grade I-winning form to score a decisive 1 1/4-length victory. Finishing second and third were Iron Honor and Chip Honcho, respectively. None of them started in the Derby.

Golden Tempo took a pass on the Preakness to get five weeks rest before the June 6 Belmont at Saratoga, but he won’t find Napoleon Solo there, according to that colt’s owner, Al Gold, and trainer, Chad Summers.

“Yeah, our plan is the Haskell. No bones about it,” Summers said, referring to the $1 million Grade I centerpiece of the Monmouth Park meeting on the Jersey Shore on July 18.

“Mr. Gold being a New Jersey native, it’s a race that he cherishes. ... How we get there, we’ll talk about. We’ll see how he comes out of the race. But our first immediate goal is the Haskell.”

What does that do the battle for the 3-year-old championship?

“I’m excited to see how the rest of the year plays out,” Summers said. “I think it’s a wide-open race.”

In 2025, it was Derby winner Sovereignty skipping the middle jewel of the Triple Crown to take the five-week rest before winning the Belmont. Derby runner-up Journalism won the Preakness, and Sovereignty was named not only the champion 3-year-old, but also Horse of the Year. Journalism finished second in the Belmont, then won the Haskell.

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