Preakness Stakes in United States ― Date, History, and Details
Preakness Stakes in United States may be something you want to learn more about, and we want to help with that.
Let's dive deeper into learning more about the history of Preakness Stakes in United States and why people celebrate or observe it.
History of Preakness Stakes in United States and How to Celebrate/ Observe It
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat thoroughbred horse race held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs (1 3/16 miles) on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds (57 kg), and fillies 121 pounds (55 kg). The race is nicknamed “The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans” because a blanket of the state flower is placed over the winner’s withers.
The Preakness Stakes was first run at Pimlico on May 27, 1873, seven years after the first Kentucky Derby. The inaugural running of the Preakness Stakes consisted of only six horses, a far cry from the thirteen that started the Derby. The winner of the first Preakness Stakes was Survivor, who went on to win the Belmont Stakes and become one of the most successful sires of his day.
Since then, the Preakness has been run every year except for 1890, when it was cancelled due to a fire at Pimlico. The race has been run at various distances throughout its history, but since 1925, it has been contested at 9.5 furlongs.
The Preakness Stakes is known as the “Middle Jewel” of the Triple Crown, as it is run two weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks before the Belmont Stakes. Since 1919, the order of the Triple Crown races has been the Kentucky Derby first, followed by the Preakness, and then the Belmont Stakes.
A number of outstanding horses have won the Preakness Stakes, including the great Man o’ War, who won the race in 1920 but did not compete in the Derby or the Belmont. Other notable Preakness winners include Secretariat, who set the still-standing stakes record in 1973; Affirmed, who won the Triple Crown in 1978; and American Pharoah, who ended a 37-year drought when he won the Triple Crown in 2015.
The Preakness Stakes is one of the most popular horse races in the United States, with attendance often topping 100,000. The race is also televised nationally, and its winner receives a large and coveted trophy.