{"id":408,"date":"2026-05-15T14:05:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T14:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=408"},"modified":"2026-05-15T14:05:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T14:05:47","slug":"brittany-russell-with-husband-sheldon-riding-could-make-preakness-history-with-taj-mahal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=408","title":{"rendered":"Brittany Russell, with husband Sheldon riding, could make Preakness history with Taj Mahal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Brittany Russell is the latest woman with a chance to etch her name into horse racing history.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=406\">Palestinians in Gaza mark anniversary of 1948 mass expulsion and say today\u2019s catastrophe is worse<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Two weeks after Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner with Golden Tempo and after Jenna Antonucci won the 2023 Belmont with Arcangelo, Russell has the chance to complete the Triple Crown sweep of female trainers when she saddles Taj Mahal in the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt would sort of feel probably a little fairytale-like,\u201d Russell said. \u201cJena opened the door just a couple years ago with Arcangelo, and Cherie got it done in the Kentucky Derby. The fact that I feel like I have a live one in the Preakness here, look, there\u2019s some pressure and I certainly hope we can do it, but it would mean an awful lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Where the race is taking place and who will be aboard could make it mean even more. The Preakness is being run at Russell\u2019s home track, Laurel Park, for the first time, and husband Sheldon is the jockey. They would be the first married couple, at least as trainer and jockey, to win a Triple Crown race.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe dream, the goal was always to get one that would take us to one of the big races, and he\u2019s sort of taken us there,\u201d Sheldon Russell told The Associated Press. \u201cJust like a normal day, really.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Most weekends, the Russells take their children to Laurel Park, which is just off I-95 between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and 6-year-old daughter Edy and 4-year-old son Rye are expected to be in attendance.<\/p>\n<p>They were a little younger when they went to the Breeders\u2019 Cup at Del Mar in Southern California, in the fall of 2024 when Post Time, trained by their mother and ridden by their father, finished second in a world championship mile-long dirt race. It was a cross-country introduction to the sport.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was a big event for them,\u201d Sheldon Russell said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t really understand what we were doing there until we sort of got there. (This time) it\u2019s not like we have to travel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And, unlike the usual Maryland-based horses who go into the Preakness as long shots, Taj Mahal is right in the mix of contenders in the wide-open field of 14 that does not include Golden Tempo. He opened at odds of 5-1, just behind morning line favorite Iron Honor.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=404\">FBI offers $200,000 reward to catch ex-Air Force specialist wanted on espionage charges in Iran<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Taj Mahal is unbeaten in three races, all at Laurel Park, including going wire to wire to win the Federico Tesio Stakes on April 18 by more then eight lengths.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cImmediately everybody started talking, just the way that horse won it,\u201d Maryland Jockey Club president and CEO Bill Knauf said. \u201cTo have Brittany as our leading trainer for many years now here, she\u2019s obviously one of the best in the country, and Sheldon has done an unbelievable job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brittany Russell called it a dominant effort, and she hopes the home track advantage could be a major one. Her husband rides most of her horses, and that\u2019s another relationship edge they have over everyone else as they watch replays together and discuss strategy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of the time, it\u2019s great,\u201d Brittany said. \u201cNow, look, does everything go to plan? Is everything always perfect? No, and it can be a little tricky. But at the end of the day, it\u2019s horse racing and some things are out of our control. In this particular instance, I think it\u2019s great. He knows the horse. He\u2019s won on it three times. He knows the racetrack better than anybody. I think it\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is Brittany Russell\u2019s first Preakness horse in her eighth year of training. It\u2019s her husband\u2019s fourth chance to ride in the middle leg of the Triple Crown after finishing fifth aboard Chase the Chaos in 2023, sixth aboard Excession in 2020 and 10th aboard Concealed Identity in 2011.<\/p>\n<p>This is different, though Sheldon Russell said he has not pondered the big-picture ramifications. His thoughts keep coming back to the little things, like, \u201cWe have a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess if it happened, it\u2019s going to be something,\u201d he said. \u201cWe both know that he has a decent chance of showing up on the big day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=402\">Authorities search waters in the Maldives for 4 Italians killed in a cave dive after 1 body found<\/a><\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP horse racing: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/horse-racing<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brittany Russell is the latest woman with a chance to etch her name into horse&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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