The Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes consists of the second race within the Triple Crown for thoroughbred horses. The Preakness track is an American Grade I race track that is solely raced by three-year old horses. The Triple Crown race is held on the third Saturday in May every year at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The Preakness Stakes has been termed “The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans” because each winner of the race every year is awarded a necklace laced with the Maryland state flower, the Black-Eyed Susan.

The Triple Crown consists of three major races being the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Only 11 horses and jockeys have had the honor to accomplish this feat in the Triple Crown’s Century long history. The Preakness is the shortest of the three race tracks and commonly attracts horses that have not qualified or raced in the other two Triple Crown races.

History of the Preakness

Two years prior to the opening of the Kentucky Derby, the Pimlico released its new stakes race, the Preakness. This new stakes race was designed for three-year old thoroughbreds and was 1.5 miles (2.41km) long. The name Preakness was derived from the Governor of Maryland, who named the track after the colt, “Preakness.” This horse won the Dinner Party Stakes on the day the Pimlico Race Course was opened on the 25th of October in 1870 in Preakness, New Jersey.

After each winner has officially won the Preakness Stakes it is traditional for a painter to climb a ladder to the top of the replica of the Old Clubhouse Cupola, and then paint the colors of the winning team atop the Clubhouse for a reference in history.

Racing at Preakness

The Preakness stakes is one of the most exciting and popular sporting events within the state of Maryland and throughout the country. Some of the largest wagers and excited crowds enter the stadium every year to witness the horses and atmosphere present.

In 2001 the largest crowd to ever enter the stadium consisted of 104,454 people, making that the largest sporting crowd to ever enter a stadium in the state Maryland! These people have been welcomed into the stadium by an array of different transportation methods including helicopters, all of whom have came to “Old Hilltop” to witness past Triple Crown Champions such as War Admiral, Seabiscuit, Sir Barton, Man o’ War, Citation, Secretariat, and Cigar Thunder.

The length of the track has constantly been changed throughout the past depending on the weather, horse conditions, and difficulty of the track. So make your way to Baltimore to join in on next year’s Preakness Stakes, and enjoy what all the Baltimoreans have for years!

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