Rombauer rolled past Midnight Bourbon and Medina Spirit in the middle of the Pimlico stretch to win the $1 million Preakness S. (G1) by a convincing 3 1/2-lengths for his owner/breeder duo of John and Diane Fradkin.

The Eddie Woods training grad was making his first start since running third in the April 3 Blue Grass S. (G2), and has now earned $890,500. 

Rombauer was away well enough to settle in midpack for the first half-mile, with the Derby winner Medina Spirit setting the pace. Around the far turn, Midnight Bourbon came alongside Medina Spirit, with Rombauer splitting horses to move into third. As the field entered the stretch, Rombauer was full of run and soon rolled to the lead, drawing away to finish the 1 3/16-miles in 1:53.62 on a fast track, with Midnight Bourbon two lengths to the good of Medina Spirit at the finish.

"It's pretty special," John Fradkin said. "It's a pedigree update that'll be there for a long time for a lot of broodmares. Yeah, we're very proud." 

For trainer Michael McCarthy, the Preakness was his first win in a Triple Crown race.

"I didn't see anybody posing a threat behind us. The horses on the lead, obviously carried each other through the quarter pole. When we wheeled out coming to the head of the lane, I started to get excited," McCarthy said. "I think the hole card for this horse is his stamina and his smarts. He has both of those. He will, I think, run as far as they write races. He has no quit in him. All he knows to do is just run, and he lays it down every time." 

Fradkin said he would not rule out running Rombauer, whose dam Cashmere has two very successful siblings in California Flag and Cambiocorsa on the grass, on the turf in the future, with the Belmont S. (G1) in three weeks also a possibility.