Journalism is alive and well and going to the Preakness.
Aron Wellman, of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which co-owns Journalism, said late Sunday afternoon that the Kentucky Derby runner-up will run in Saturday’s $2 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, where he will likely be an odds-on favorite in what is shaping up to be a nine-horse field.
Wellman announced the decision in a posting on X, formerly Twitter.
In a phone interview late Sunday afternoon, Wellman told Daily Racing Form that he and his fellow owners, Don Alberto Stable, Bridlewood Farm and Bob LaPenta, had wanted to run in the Preakness. They just wanted to make sure the horse was amenable.
Trainer Michael McCarthy flew from Los Angeles to Louisville over the weekend, watched the horse train at Churchill Downs on Sunday and was pleased with how the horse is training.
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“He wanted to see him in the flesh and he was really pleased with what he saw,” Wellman said. “He had a nice gate schooling session and trained well after that. [McCarthy] went over him this afternoon and the horse is telling us to go, so we’re going to listen to him.”
Journalism brought a four-race winning streak that included a victory in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby - which sent him off the 3-1 favorite - into the Kentucky Derby.
Journalism was beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Sovereignty with a less-than-perfect trip in a race run over a sloppy track. As a result of Citizen Bull coming over on several runners from his rail draw, Journalism did encounter a little traffic in the run through the stretch the first time and was a little farther back than McCarthy had wanted.
Down the backside, jockey Umberto Rispoli did a good job of getting Journalism a clear path and, though he had to go four wide, Journalism had a slight lead turning for home. Sovereignty, under Junior Alvarado, pounced on Journalism in upper stretch and the two ran together until inside the sixteenth pole when Sovereignty edged away. Journalism held second by a neck over Baeza.
Journalism will attempt to become just the fourth Derby runner-up since 1960 to win the Preakness. From 1961-2024, 44 Derby runner-ups have run in the Kentucky Derby and only three - Summer Squall (1990), Prairie Bayou (1993) and Exaggerator (2016) - have won. Only one Derby runner-up in the last six years has run in the Preakness, that being Epicenter, who finished second in the race to Early Voting.
Journalism is by Curlin, who won the 2007 Preakness after finishing third in the Kentucky Derby.
Entries close Monday morning and the draw for post positions will be Monday evening at Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore.
The expected field for the Preakness, with riders, is: American Promise (Nik Juarez), Clever Again (Jose Ortiz), Goal Oriented (Flavien Prat), Gosger (Luise Saez), Heart of Honor (Saffie Osborne), Journalism (Umberto Rispoli), Pay Billy (Raul Mena), River Thames (Irad Ortiz Jr.), and Sandman (TBD).
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