BALTIMORE — Journalism, the Kentucky Derby runner-up and morning-line favorite, proved once again why he’s a force in the 3-year-old division—launching an electrifying, come-from-behind run to win the 150th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday.
At first glance, it looked like Journalism was finished.
Midway through the race, he was sitting several lengths back, boxed in, and seemingly out of running room. Clever Again had led most of the way with Gosger pressing from the outside, while Journalism appeared to be shuffled out of contention.
But when the real running began, Journalism had more to say.
With a burst of acceleration that drew gasps from the Baltimore crowd, Journalism, under jockey Umberto Rispoli, surged down the stretch, cutting into Gosger’s lead stride by stride. In the final moments, he caught and passed Gosger just before the wire, winning by a neck in one of the most thrilling finishes in recent memory.
“He was buried and looked like he had nowhere to go,” Rispoli said. “But he’s got heart—and when he found a lane, he just exploded.”
Gosger, a 20-1 long shot trained by Brendan Walsh, held strong to finish second in a career-best performance. Sandman, who finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby, ran a much-improved race to take third.
Clever Again, who had set the pace early and looked comfortable into the far turn, faded quickly and finished last.
Trainer Michael McCarthy celebrated his first Preakness win, calling Journalism’s effort “pure fight.”
“This horse has guts,” McCarthy said.
With this win, Journalism heads to the Belmont Stakes on June 7 as the clear standout among his generation—though no Triple Crown is on the line this year.
But not everything at Pimlico was graceful. During the post-race trophy ceremony, Maryland Governor Wes Moore made waves for all the wrong reasons—acting overexuberant on the microphone as if he was trying to impress the crowd and overshadow the race. It did not help his exposure in front of the national TV audience. What should’ve been a proud moment for the state’s top executive turned into a gaffe-filled microphone fumble that had spectators cringing and commentators scrambling to take the microphone back.
Final Results (Unofficial):
- Journalism
- Gosger
- Sandman
- River Thames
- Goal Oriented
- Heart of Honor
- American Promise
- Pay Billy
- Clever Again
Stay tuned to Maryland Bay News for full coverage of the Triple Crown series and Maryland’s thriving racing scene.
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