The Preakness Stakes is the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. It is held every year on the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The first Preakness was run in 1873 over two miles but shortened to its present distance of 1 3/16 miles in 1925. Only 13 horses have ever won horse racing’s Triple Crown, with American Pharoah being the most recent (2015). Of those 13 horses, all but one has competed and won at Pimlico Race Course (Gallant Fox, 1930)
The Preakness Stakes is the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
The other two legs are the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, which take place in Louisville and Elmont, New York respectively. The Preakness is held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The winner of each race earns $1 million and receives a jeweled trophy called “the Waterford.”
The first Preakness was won by a 3-year-old colt named Survivor, who beat seven other horses in two heats.
The Preakness Stakes is the second leg of the Triple Crown, preceded by the Kentucky Derby and followed by Belmont Stakes. This year’s race will be held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The first Preakness was won by a 3-year-old colt named Survivor, who beat seven other horses in two heats. In 1873, the race was run over two miles but shortened to its present distance of 1 3/16 miles in 1925.
Only 13 horses have ever won horse racing’s Triple Crown, with American Pharoah being the most recent (2015). His victories include: The Kentucky Derby (the first leg of the Triple Crown), Preakness Stakes (the second leg) and Belmont Stakes (the third and final leg).
Of those 13 horses, all but one has competed and won at Pimlico Race Course (Gallant Fox, 1930).
Of the 13 horses, all but one has competed and won at Pimlico Race Course (Gallant Fox, 1930). Secretariat is the only exception. He was a Triple Crown winner from 1973 to 1974. In 1973 he set a world record for the fastest time in the Kentucky Derby with a time of 1:59.40 (beating his own record by 1/5 second) and then went on to win the Preakness Stakes by 31 lengths before securing his spot in history as the only horse ever to win both races with ease!
In 2009, Mine That Bird posted one of the most stunning upsets in Preakness history when he crossed the finish line 50-1 odds to win.
The colt had come in third place at the Kentucky Derby, but Mine That Bird went on to win by a nose over Kentucky Derby winner Lookin At Lucky. It was only the second time since Tabasco Cat won in 1994 that a long shot had won the Preakness, and it was truly an incredible feat for horse racing fans everywhere.
The song “Maryland, My Maryland” is played before every Preakness by military bands and has been a tradition since 1909
The song “Maryland, My Maryland” is played before every Preakness by military bands and has been a tradition since 1909. It was written in 1861 by James Ryder Randall and first performed in Washington D.C., where Confederate sympathisers were also present. The melody was originally used for the hymn “O Tannenbaum” during Christmas time.
