Early Voting Wins 2022 Preakness Stakes

When the owner of Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike announced that his horse would skip the Preakness to rest up for the longer Belmont Stakes in June, it was a bit of a letdown that there would be no chance at a Triple Crown winner this year. Nonetheless, the Preakness was an exciting race in its own right.

Early Voting, at 5-1 odds, held off Epicenter at broiling hot Pimlico Race Track to win the Preakness by a length and a half. Early Voting had been held out of the Derby—his owners felt the Derby’s big 20 horse field was too much for him–to prepare for the Preakness, which proved to be a winning strategy, as there were only nine horses in the field. Epicenter has now finished second in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness this year.

No word yet on if Early Voting will run in the Belmont Stakes, and as of now there is no word that Rich Strike will not be there. We could still have one of them win two of the three Triple Crown races, and we will also see if Epicenter can have a trifecta of second place finishes. The Belmont Stakes will be June 11th.