In BALTIMORE, the Preakness Stakes saw a thrilling race as Journalism raced past competitors, expertly maneuvering through the final stretch to clinch victory in the 150th edition of the event on Saturday.

The favorite, Journalism, was jostled by Goal Oriented near the quarter pole, hinting at another potential second-place finish following the runner-up position to Sovereignty at the Kentucky Derby two weeks prior. However, Journalism surged past Gosger, securing a triumph for trainer Michael McCarthy, marking his second Triple Crown race win.

“There was quite a bit of bumping going on,” McCarthy remarked. “After seeing that, I almost accepted that it might just be another impressive performance falling just short. But this horse really proved its resilience. I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

Gosger was second by a half-length. Sandman was third and Bob Baffert-trained Goal Oriented fourth. Journalism went 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.37.

Umberto Rispoli became the first jockey from Italy to win any of the Triple Crown races.

“When I crossed the wire, the first things that comes up to my mind, it’s all of the 20 years of my career that pass in front of me,” Rispoli said. “I had to wait so long to be on a champion like that.”

Journalism handled the adversity and thrived on a warm day that dried out the track after torrential rain fell at Pimlico Race Course for much of the past week. Those conditions suited him better than the slop at Churchill Downs in the Derby

“This victory symbolizes so much about life,” co-owner Aaron Wellman said. “It took guts for Umberto Rispoli to power his way through a seemingly impossible hole getting side-swiped and threading the needle and powering on through. And it took guts from an incredible horse to somehow will his way to victory.”

Journalism paid $4 to win, $2.80 to place and $2.40 to show.

“He’s a remarkable horse,” Baffert said of Journalism. “I wanted to be on the lead and was behind horses. I knew (Goal Oriented) was intimidated. He’s never run that way. He ran well, but he’s still too green for that.”

Sovereignty did not take part after his owners and trainer Bill Mott decided to skip the Preakness, citing the two-week turnaround, and aimed for the Belmont on June 7. That made this a fifth time in seven years that the Preakness, for various reasons, was contested without a Triple Crown bid at stake.

But Journalism staked his claim for 3-year-old horse of the year by winning the $2 million American classic race run at the old Pimlico Race Course for the last time before it’s torn down and rebuilt. While work went on around him before the postrace news conference, Wellman asked, “Are they already tearing this place down?”

Not yet, and not before Journalism could add a memorable chapter by squeezing through the space he had to win.

“I still can’t realize what this horse did,” Rispoli said. “It’s all about him. It’s a pleasure and privilege to ride a horse like him.”

The Preakness is set to be held at nearby Laurel Park, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., next year before a planned return to the new Pimlico in 2027. McCarthy raved about the history at the place known as “Old Hilltop” and still remembers where he was when Sunday Silence beat Easy Goer at the wire in 1989 in a fashion similar to how Journalism won this time.

“Things kind of come full circle,” McCarthy said. “I’m sad to see this place go, but we’ll try to get back here next year, whichever locale it’s at.”

Journalism is the first horse to win the Preakness after running in the Kentucky Derby since Mark Casse-trained War of Will in 2019. He is the first Derby runner-up to follow that up by winning the Preakness since Exaggerator in 2016.

Only two others from the 19 in the Derby participated in the Preakness: Casse’s Sandman and fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas’ American Promise, who did not have the same positive response as Journalism.

“The best horse won,” Lukas said. “He finished beautifully.”

Lukas, the 89-year-old who has saddled the most horses in Preakness history, referred to McCarthy once this week as “the new guy.” This was just McCarthy’s second, and he’s 2 for 2 after Rombauer sprung the upset as an 11-1 long shot in 2021.

This one was more emotional, with McCarthy and his wife still displaced from their home by the Southern California wildfires.

“We’ll get back there,” McCarthy said. “Everybody will get back there. We’ll rebuild. This is for Altadena.”

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