Napoleon Solo won the Preakness Stakes in a thrilling race at Laurel Park on Saturday, May 16.
It was the first Triple Crown win for jockey Paco Lopez and trainer Chad Summers. Napoleon Solo, who is 3 years old, has had an up-and-down career and receiving the Black-Eyed Susan blanket was extra rewarding for the team.
“We’ve had everything go wrong,” Summers said on the NBC broadcast after Napoleon Solo overtook the favorite Taj Mahal to capture the win. “… We’ve just kinda stayed the course and stayed the course. We had a lot of critics out there that told us to just shut up and we just kept with it and it worked out today.”
Owner Al Gold purchased Napoleon Solo in 2024 for $40,000 at Summers’ request. He expressed pride in his trainer.
“He’s the best,” Gold said while walking next to Summers. “He wanted this. This is his dream. He loves the game. I’m really happy for him.”
