Title: "Journalism Triumphs at the 2025 Preakness Stakes in Thrilling Finish"

Journalism paid off at the 2025 Preakness Stakes on Saturday. The race favorite, going off at even odds, fought his way to an incredible win at Pimlico, surging from multiple lengths behind in the last half-mile to win by a nose. Longshot Gosger placed and Sandman showed in a two-horse finish.

Journalism was the favorite at the Kentucky Derby as well and seemed poised to win when he made a move from the outside about two-thirds into the race and quickly reached the leaders. That didn’t work out, as co-favorite Sovereignty followed a similar strategy and beat out Journalism by a length in a muddy race.

Journalism trainer Michael McCarthy and jockey Umberto Rispoli apparently opted for a similar strategy at the Preakness, making a move toward the outside, but no easy path appeared. Rispoli instead opted to move from the inside, and even got squeezed between two horses before running down Gosger in the final stretch.

It was a bumpy trip to the front, but Journalism got there just in time.

The payout for betting on Journalism to win was $4.00 on a $2 bet. A $2 exacta would have paid out $33.80, a trifecta would have paid out $73.50 and a superfecta $303.40.

Anticipation for the race was deflated when Sovereignty was ruled out shortly after his triumph at Churchill Downs, ending any possibility for a Triple Crown after one race. It has been seven years since Justified won the last Triple Crown, with no horses winning even two of the races in a single year since.

This was the second time in the past four years the Derby winner opted out of the short two-week turnaround time between races, with Sovereignty joining Rich Strike in 2022.