The Preakness Stakes At Pimlico Race Course A Little Horse Racing History

By Author: Lee Lane-Edgar
Total Articles: 365
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The Preakness Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds that is held once a year at the prestigious Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. This is the second-most attended and prestigious race in the entire world of horse racing. Only one other competition, the Kentucky Derby, surpasses the attention given to the Preakness.

The Preakness was started in 1873, two years earlier than the first Kentucky Derby, making it one of the oldest horse racing events in the United States. The dirt track is 1-3/16 miles and brings out the absolute spirit of what horse racing is all about – an equal coupling of both man and beast together on a single track to do one singular thing, run the race faster than any of the other contenders. This atmosphere and anticipation cannot be duplicated anywhere else.

The Preakness Stakes is held on the third Saturday in May each year and is sometimes called ‘The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans’ due to the traditional blanket of yellow flowers presented to the winning horse. Confidentially, no black-eyed Susans are used for this garland as the race occurs nearly ...
... two months before they come into bloom, so yellow daisies or chrysanthemums are painted to imitate the black-eyed Susans.

Should the Preakness winner be the same horse that won the Kentucky Derby just two weeks prior, the speculation concerning a possible Triple Crown winner begins in earnest. The attendance at Belmont Park for the Belmont Stakes, the last leg of the Triple Crown competition, is guaranteed to increase as the interest builds. The Preakness Stakes held at the beautiful and historic Pimlico Race Course definitely holds allure and challenges for the contenders as well as the potential to identify a possible Triple Crown candidate.