2026 Preakness Stakes Profile: Trainer Chad Brown

Trainer Chad Brown struck out on his own in 2007 after working as an assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, and quickly ascended to become one of the most successful trainers in horse racing. He has won five Eclipse Awards for outstanding trainer, two Triple Crown races, and 19 Breeders’ Cup races since beginning his career as a head trainer.

Brown already has 10 graded-stakes wins in 2026, including three at the Grade 1 level. His Grade 1 wins this year mirror the fact that he is long established on turf but also becoming undeniable in major dirt races. He trained the winners of two top-level turf races at Keeneland, Jenny Wiley (G1) winner Segesta and Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) winner Zulu Kingdom. But, he also conditions the winner of one of the most important dirt races of the year: Always a Runner, who won the 2026 Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs.

At the beginning of the year, Brown’s major Triple Crown prospect was Paladin. Paladin had a rivalry brewing with eventual Kentucky Derby runner-up Renegade starting last fall, when he broke his maiden at Aqueduct when Renegade was disqualified, then beat Renegade on the square in the Remsen (G2). He won the Risen Star (G2) in gritty fashion over Chip Honcho to start his three-year-old year, and looked like he might even go on to Kentucky Derby favoritism. However, he was injured in a workout in late March and had to go to the sidelines.

However, Chad Brown is known for always having a deep barn – and this year, that included Iron Honor. A graded-stakes winner at Aqueduct earlier this year, Iron Honor will bear the standard for Brown in the 2026 Preakness Stakes.

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Chad Brown at the Preakness

Chad Brown has won the Preakness Stakes twice in seven starts, and he has become almost synonymous with a certain profile of Preakness Stakes competitor.

His first-ever Preakness Starter, Cloud Computing, had raced three times before heading to Pimlico. He broke his maiden in February at Aqueduct, ran second in the Gotham (G2), and then ran third in the Wood Memorial (G2). He had earned enough points to try to go to the Kentucky Derby, but instead, Brown gave him two more weeks and pointed him to the Preakness. He was ignored at 13-1 on the tote board, but battled down the lane to deny the juvenile champion Classic Empire and win the second jewel of the Triple Crown by a head.

In 2022, Early Voting followed a similar path to the third Saturday in May. He graduated in December at Aqueduct, won the Withers (G3), and then was the runner-up behind Mo Donegal in the Wood. He earned enough points to get into the Kentucky Derby starting gate, but once again, Brown routed him to the Preakness. The public saw what he was doing, betting him to 5-1, the third choice in the nine-horse field. He stalked the pace, took over in the lane, and held off heavily favored Epicenter to win by 1 ¼ lengths.

Among his other five starters in the Preakness Stakes, just one finished in the trifecta. That happened in 2023 with Blazing Sevens. He was more experienced than Brown’s two Preakness winners, a Grade 1 winner at age 2 with six starts behind him heading into the Preakness. He made a menacing late run at pacesetter National Treasure, but had to settle for second by a head.

Chad Brown at the other Triple Crown races

Chad Brown has had some horses run well in other legs of the Triple Crown, but has not yet found the winner’s circle in either of them.

Kentucky Derby

Between 2013 and 2026, Chad Brown has run ten horses in the Kentucky Derby. Though he has yet to win the race, he has a solid strike rate for getting a piece of the purse. Only the top five horses in the Kentucky Derby take home a share of the money – and out of Brown’s ten starters, five of them have finished in the top five.

His closest call in the Kentucky Derby so far came in 2024, when Sierra Leone made a strong outside rally but fell just a nose short to Mystik Dan, who had been able to save ground along the inside. Brown was also second in the Kentucky Derby with Good Magic, who tracked in range but proved second best on the day, finishing 2 ½ lengths behind eventual Triple Crown winner Justify. Other Chad Brown trainees to take a share of the purse include third-place Zandon in 2022, fourth-place Normandy Invasion in 2013, and fifth-place Practical Joke in 2017.

Chad Brown had one horse in the 2026 Kentucky Derby, Emerging Market. Emerging Market was the most lightly-raced horse in the 2026 Kentucky Derby field, with only two starts before the Run for the Roses: a maiden win at Tampa Bay Downs on February 7 and a victory in the Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds on March 21. He tried to become the first horse since Leonatus in 1883 to win the Kentucky Derby in just his third start, but weakened to 10th in the lane.

Belmont Stakes

Even though Chad Brown is a fixture in New York, the Belmont Stakes hasn't been his strongest presence in the Triple Crown series. His first runner in a Triple Crown race did come in the Belmont – Street Life finished fourth in 2012. However, he has only run a total of five horses in the Belmont Stakes during his career.

His best Belmont finish came in 2018, when long shot Gronkowski chased down the lane but could not spoil Justify’s Triple Crown bid. His one other horse to hit the board in the Belmont was Sierra Leone, who stumbled at the start and made a run late but had to settle for third, 1 ½ lengths behind forwardly placed winner Dornoch.

Chad Brown in the 2026 Preakness Stakes

Chad Brown has one horse in the 2026 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 13 at Laurel Park: Iron Honor. In a wide-open full field of 14, Iron Honor was named the lukewarm 9-2 morning-line favorite.

Though he’s not a perfect match for Brown’s previous trajectory of Preakness winners – he didn’t run quite as well in the Wood Memorial as either Cloud Computing or Early Voting – he is similar in the sense that he is a lightly-raced horse who prepared in New York, could have gone to the Derby, but was pointed to Maryland instead.

Iron Honor

Iron Honor, a son of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist out of the winning Blame mare Orencia, began his racing career for Chad Brown and owners St. Elias Stable, William H. Lawrence, and Cathi Glassman in a six-furlong maiden special weight dirt sprint on December 13 at Aqueduct. The 5-1 fourth choice of nine, he got a nice stalking spot behind favored Crossingthechannel. He engaged the pacesetter in a battle down the lane, and then drove clear in the final sixteenth to win by 1 ½ lengths.

That earned Iron Honor a ticket to the Gotham Stakes (G3), a one-mile Kentucky Derby points race on February 28, also at Aqueduct. Even though he was only coming out of a debut maiden win, the public made him the odds-on favorite in a field of eight. He battled the more experienced Crown the Buckeye through much of the race, driving past for good in the final sixteenth of a mile to win by a length. That earned him 50 Kentucky Derby points and would have ultimately been enough to get him into the Run for the Roses had Brown wanted to send him straight there.

However, he took one more prep in the Wood Memorial on April 4 at Aqueduct, his first two-turn try. He was sent off the favorite in the field of 12, and got his usual place toward the front, hounding pacesetter Napoleon Solo. He made a bid in upper stretch, but after being close to a quick pace, he could not sustain a rally through the final furlong. He flattened out to finish sixth, 4 ¼ lengths behind upset winner Albus for trainer Riley Mott.

Iron Honor has shown pace in all three of his starts – he doesn’t have to be right on the front end, but has always been at least close to it. That could cause trouble for this colt in the Preakness, as there is a lot of other speed signed on for the race. However, Brown has taken off the blinkers for this start. Iron Honor has not yet raced without blinkers, so he has yet to prove whether he can settle a little further back or not. It gives him potential – but at too short a price, he could still be an underlay even with that upside.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.