Journalism, Saudi Crown eye Met Mile showdown at Saratoga

A Preakness winner and a Commonwealth winner could collide in Saratoga’s Met Mile, and the older-male division may not look the same if they do.

Journalism and Saudi Crown are both being pointed toward the Grade 1 Met Mile at Saratoga Race Course on June 6, the same Belmont Stakes undercard that gives the one-mile dirt race a national stage. If the matchup comes together, it would bring together two horses on different but equally relevant paths: Journalism, the 2025 Preakness Stakes winner, and Saudi Crown, a sharp one-turn horse who just handled top-level company at Keeneland.

Journalism’s case starts with class. He won the 2025 Preakness in 1:55.37, giving Michael McCarthy his second victory in the race and making Umberto Rispoli the first jockey from Italy to win a Triple Crown race. After opening his 4-year-old season with a third-place finish in the Oaklawn Handicap under Jose Ortiz, McCarthy said the colt came out of the race in very good order and that the barn would get him back into a groove while keeping the Met Mile in mind as a realistic next step. Oaklawn officials had green-lighted Journalism for that start after a five-furlong workout in 1:00.60 on April 10 at Santa Anita Park, and the Oaklawn Handicap drew six runners, including White Abarrio, the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner.

Saudi Crown brings a different edge to the equation. The 6-year-old won the Grade 3 Commonwealth Stakes at Keeneland by 2 3/4 lengths on April 4 with Flavien Prat aboard for Brad Cox, then earned a stronger place in the one-turn conversation. Cox said after the Commonwealth that Saudi Crown is likely to stay around one-turn races for the rest of 2026, a plan that fits the Met Mile neatly. Saudi Crown also owns back class from his gate-to-wire Pennsylvania Derby win at 3, a reminder that his speed can carry over a mile when he controls the pace.

That is what makes the potential Saratoga meeting more than a simple stakes entry story. Journalism has already proven he belongs on the biggest stages, while Saudi Crown has shown he can win when the pace and configuration suit him. The Met Mile, traditionally the Metropolitan Handicap and one of North America’s most important one-mile dirt races for older horses, would give both runners a direct shot at shaping the early-summer hierarchy. With the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival set for Saratoga on June 6, and the True North Stakes on June 7, the race would sit inside a weekend built for established names. If Journalism and Saudi Crown both make it, Saratoga’s mile could become the clearest measuring stick yet for the older male division.