The 2025 Preakness Stakes featured a field of nine horses competing on a dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore for a distance of 1 3/16 miles, all vying for the prestigious Middle Jewel title.

With coveted trainers such as Bob Baffert returning to Pimlico, there was a lot of intrigue around this race, even if Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty opted out of the race in order to focus on the Belmont Stakes. Regardless, Derby runner-up Journalism entered the race as the odds-on favorite for the win at Pimlico, just as the horse did at Churchill Downs. This time though, Journalism didn't disappoint.

After a slow start, and getting pinned to the railing around the last turn, Journalism kicked into high gear down the final straightaway, squeezing in between horses, then moving to the outside of Gosger, who had been in front for almost the entire race. Journalism took the lead at the absolute last second, winning by less than a length to take the crown at the Middle Jewel.

When is 2025 Belmont Stakes?

The 157th running of the Belmont Stakes will take place on Saturday, June 7 at 6:50 p.m. ET. The race will actually be shorter than the usual 1.5 miles though. The race will be hosted by the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, which boasts a smaller dirt track.

The final leg of horse racing's triple crown sets up as a showdown between Preakness champion Journalism and Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty.

How did Journalism get its name?

Journalism got its name from one of its co-owners, Aron Wellman, who was a former sports editor of his high school newspaper in Beverly Hills, California.

Wellman and other owners bought the horse for $825,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale in 2023, but had some difficulty in coming up with a name off its sire and dam — Curlin and Mopotism, respectively — so they settled on Journalism.