Preakness champion Journalism heavy favorite among unknowns in Haskell Stakes
Saturday’s $1 million Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park is notable for its headliner — 2025 Preakness Stakes winner Journalism — but most of the rest of the eight-horse field is going to require an introduction to those who focus most of their attention on the Triple Crown series each year.
Half of the eight 3-year-olds entered for Saturday’s Grade 1 race at Oceanport, New Jersey, missed out on this year’s Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes for one reason or another, and Journalism was the only Haskell contender to try as many as two of them.
Burnham Square, who won the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland before finishing sixth in the Kentucky Derby, joins Journalism in having tested the Triple Crown waters this spring, along with Goal Oriented and Gosger, who both appeared in the Preakness.
It was no surprise then to see Journalism installed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s 1⅛-mile Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series event.
Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy and ridden by Umberto Rispoli, took a four-race winning streak into this year’s Run for the Roses and finished second as the favorite to Sovereignty. Two weeks later, Journalism won the Preakness and three weeks after that was runner-up to the same champion in the Belmont.
Saturday’s Haskell will mark Journalism’s first test since the June 7 Belmont at Saratoga.
Burnham Square, trained by Ian Wilkes and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., is the 5-1 fourth choice in the Haskell. Burnham Square has raced only once since Derby Day, finishing second in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 8.
Goal Oriented, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Flavien Prat, is the 4-1 second choice. He finished fourth in the Preakness last time out on May 17, which marked his first defeat in three career starts.
Gosger, the runner-up to Journalism by a half-length in the Preakness in his most recent start, comes in next on the morning line at 9-2. Gosger, trained by Brendan Walsh and ridden by Luis Saez, scored his first stakes victory in the Grade 3 Stonestreet Lexington at Keeneland in April.
Bracket Buster, trained by Victoria Oliver and ridden by Axel Concepcion, is 10-1 on the morning line. He was runner-up to Gosger in the Lexington and owns a win at Monmouth in his most recent start, the Pegasus Stakes on June 14.
Kentucky Outlaw (15-1) will be making his first career graded stakes start in the Haskell, coming in with three wins from five career starts all as a 3-year-old.
Rounding out the field are National Law (20-1) and Wildncrazynight (30-1).
Post time for the Haskell on Saturday is 5:45 p.m. (FanDuel TV).
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 6:00 AM.