Which horses have the best sires for Preakness success?

As the 2025 Preakness Stakes approaches, handicappers are examining every angle to find the winner of this prestigious middle jewel of the Triple Crown. One often-overlooked factor is the sire line. Some stallions have consistently produced offspring who excel at the 1 3/16-mile distance of the Preakness.

With a field of nine set to contest this year's race, we've analyzed the previous Preakness records of each entrant's sire to identify which horses might have a genetic advantage. Let's examine each contender's sire, in post-position order.

1. Goal Oriented (Not This Time), 6-1

Not This Time has quickly established himself as a sire with Triple Crown potential. In the Preakness specifically, his record is encouraging though limited.

Although Not This Time doesn't have a Preakness winner to his credit, Epicenter's strong runner-up performance suggests his offspring can handle the Preakness distance and quick turnaround from the Kentucky Derby. Goal Oriented inherits this positive pedigree influence.

2. Journalism (Curlin), 8-5

Curlin is arguably the most successful Preakness sire in this year's field. Not only was Curlin himself a Preakness winner during his Hall of Fame career, but as a stallion he has produced five Preakness starters, including 2016 winner Exaggerator.

His exceptional Preakness record consists of a win, a second, a third, a fourth and a ninth. Most impressively, his offspring have hit the board in 60% of their Preakness attempts. As the morning-line favorite at 8-5, Journalism has one of the strongest pedigree influences for Preakness success.

3. American Promise (Justify), 15-1

Justify, the 2018 Triple Crown winner, is still building his legacy as a sire. So far, he has had only one Preakness starter.

Although this limited sample doesn't provide much statistical confidence, Justify himself was a dominant Preakness winner, suggesting his offspring might inherit his affinity for the race. American Promise, at 15-1 on the morning line, represents only the second Preakness starter for this young sire.

4. Heart of Honor (Honor A. P.), 12-1

Honor A. P. is a first-crop sire with no previous Preakness starters. This leaves us with limited data to assess his potential influence on Heart of Honor's Preakness chances. As a racehorse, Honor A. P. was a Grade 1 winner but did not compete in the Preakness Stakes.

Heart of Honor will be blazing a new trail as the first Preakness starter by his sire.

5. Pay Billy (Improbable), 20-1

Improbable is another young sire with no previous Preakness starters in our dataset. but Improbable did compete in the 2019 Preakness, finishing sixth as the favorite. This suggests caution might be warranted about his offspring's affinity for this race.

Pay Billy carries the longest morning-line odds in the field at 20-1, and he has no direct sire influence to suggest Preakness aptitude.

6. River Thames (Maclean's Music), 9-2

Maclean's Music has a perfect Preakness record as a sire, albeit from a small sample size:

This 100% win rate is certainly eye-catching, though handicappers should be cautious about drawing too many conclusions from a single starter. Nevertheless, River Thames, at 9-2 on the morning line, does have a sire who has produced a Preakness winner with his very first starter in the race.

7. Sandman (Tapit), 4-1

Tapit, one of the most influential sires of the modern era, has had mixed results in the Preakness:

Although Tapit has yet to sire a Preakness winner, his offspring typically give good accounts of themselves in this race. Sandman is the second choice on the morning line at 4-1 and has a solid, if not spectacular, sire influence for the Preakness.

8. Clever Again (American Pharoah), 5-1

American Pharoah, the 2015 Triple Crown winner, dominated his own Preakness by seven lengths in a driving rainstorm. As a sire, however, his lone Preakness starter did not fare as well:

With only one previous starter, it's difficult to draw firm conclusions about American Pharoah's influence as a Preakness sire. Clever Again, at 5-1 on the morning line, will give handicappers more data about whether American Pharoah can pass on his own Preakness brilliance to his offspring.

9. Gosger (Nyquist), 20-1

Nyquist, the undefeated Kentucky Derby winner, surprisingly has not had any previous starters in the Preakness Stakes.

This means Gosger will be pioneering new territory as Nyquist's first Preakness starter. Interestingly, Nyquist finished third in the 2016 Preakness, suffering his first career defeat in that race. Whether his offspring will handle the Preakness better than he did remains to be seen, but at 20-1, Gosger is among the long shots in this field.

Conclusion

When considering sire power for the 2025 Preakness, Journalism, by Curlin, clearly has the strongest pedigree influence as his sire produced a Preakness winner and multiple top-three finishers. River Thames, by Maclean's Music, also merits attention with his sire's perfect 1-for-1 Preakness record.

Goal Oriented (Not This Time), Sandman (Tapit) and American Promise (Justify) have sires with some positive indicators but less definitive Preakness success. The remaining entrants have sires with either negative Preakness records or no previous starters to analyze.

Pedigree is only one factor among many when handicapping the Preakness, but these sire statistics provide valuable insights into which horses might be genetically predisposed to excel in this Triple Crown race.