BALTIMORE >> Journalism jostled with horses down the stretch, burst through after the contact and came from behind to win the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.

The odds-on favorite was bumped by Goal Oriented near the quarter pole, and it looked like another second-place finish was coming two weeks after being the runner-up to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby. Journalism instead ran right by Gosger to give trainer Michael McCarthy his second win in a Triple Crown race.

“A lot of bouncing around there,” McCarthy said. “When I saw that, I kind of resigned myself to the fact it was another fantastic effort and maybe come up a little bit short. But it just goes to show the testament that this horse has. Couldn’t be prouder of him.”

Gosger was second by a half-length. Sandman was third and Bob Baffert-trained Goal Oriented fourth. Journalism went 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.37.

Umberto Rispoli became the first jockey from Italy to win any of the Triple Crown races.

“When I crossed the wire, the first things that comes up to my mind, it’s all of the 20 years of my career that pass in front of me,” Rispoli said. “I had to wait so long to be on a champion like that.”

Journalism handled the adversity and thrived on a warm day that dried out the track after torrential rain fell at Pimlico Race Course for much of the past week. Those conditions suited him better than the slop at Churchill Downs in the Derby

He paid $4 to win, $2.80 to place and $2.40 to show.

“He’s a remarkable horse,” Baffert said of Journalism. “I wanted to be on the lead and was behind horses. I knew (Goal Oriented) was intimidated. He’s never run that way.”

Sovereignty did not take part after his owners and trainer Bill Mott decided to skip the Preakness, citing the two-week turnaround, and aimed for the Belmont on June 7. That made this a fifth time in seven years that the Preakness, for various reasons, was contested without a Triple Crown bid at stake.

But Journalism staked his claim for 3-year-old horse of the year by winning the $2 million American classic race run at the old Pimlico Race Course for the last time before it’s torn down and rebuilt. Journalism added a memorable chapter by squeezing through the space he had to win.