A Guide to the Preakness Stakes

Updated: 2025

The Preakness Stakes has maintained its status as one of the preeminent horse races in all of sports through many ups and downs in its 140-year history. Held each May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, the Preakness is second only to the Kentucky Derby as the most attended race in America. Part of the lure is that the race is included as the middle jewel in horse racing's Triple Crown.

That means all eyes are on the Preakness to see if the winner of the Kentucky Derby, which is run two weeks earlier, can come back and win again to complete the first two legs of the Triple Crown. If that happens, attention turns to the Belmont Stakes, the final race in the trifecta. There have been thirteen occasions when the Derby winner followed up with a win in the Preakness and then sealed the deal with a win in the Belmont, with Justify accomplishing the feat in 2018.

Over the years, the Preakness has been interrupted and even left the state of Maryland on several occasions. In recent years, the financial struggles of Pimlico and Maryland thoroughbred racing in general have cast doubt on whether the race can continue indefinitely at its current location. Still, the thousands who gather at the track each year for the Preakness are treated to a party atmosphere and usually enjoy an exciting, important race.

The History of the Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes actually predates the Kentucky Derby by several years, making it the oldest of the three Triple Crown races. It was first run in 1873 and named for a horse that had won at Pimlico three years earlier. Survivor won the first running in a landslide.

The race began to bounce around a few decades later. It was held in 1890 at a track in the Bronx, NY, and then wasn't held at all for three years. Its home from 1894 to 1908 was a track on Coney Island in New York called Gravesend Race Track.

Despite the comings and goings, the track's solid purse structure continued to attract the nation's top three-year-olds. When the race returned to Pimlico in 1909, it quickly established itself as a major cultural event in the Baltimore area.

What really established Pimlico as a horse race of undeniable stature was when the concept of the Triple Crown first entered the public consciousness. Although a horse named Sir Barton won all three races in 1919, the public didn't really realize the significance of the feat. It was not until the 1930s that a pair of horses managed to win all three races, and the term "Triple Crown" was first used by sportscasters to describe the feat.

Characteristics of the Preakness

The Preakness Stakes is one of the three races that make up the Triple Crown, but it stands apart from the other two for several reasons. One of them is the date on which it is run. Although the date often changed in its early years, the Preakness has been held on the third Saturday in May throughout the modern era.

That puts it two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, which means that three-year-olds who want to run in both races will have to tighten their schedules much more than usual. Thoroughbreds in the modern era often go a month or more between races. In order to run in both the Derby and the Preakness, horses must travel the long distance of the Derby and come right back to race two weeks later.

Because of this, some of the horses that run in the Derby at Churchill Downs and don't finish well don't come back for the Preakness. As a result, the Preakness draws much smaller fields and the results are much closer to form. There have been far fewer long shot winners in the Preakness than in either of the other two Triple Crown races.

Another unique factor associated with the Preakness is the distance. Since 1925, horses have had to cover 1 3/16 miles to win the race. This is the shortest distance of the three Triple Crown races. The Derby is 1 ¼ miles, while the Belmont is 1 ½ miles.

The different distances and the short time between races (the Belmont is only three weeks after the Preakness) are part of what makes winning the Triple Crown so difficult. As for the distance of the Preakness Stakes, the race is better set up for horses that live to get out of the gate quickly and push to the front. Closers often find that they can't catch the leaders in time with the shorter distance.

As might be expected, the 13 Triple Crown winners stand tall among the Preakness winners in the minds of racing fans. And of those, none was as memorable as Secretariat. The famous colt won the 1973 Preakness in a record time for the 1 3/16-mile race, tripping the timer in 1 minute, 53 seconds.

Great Preakness Champions

Several of the other Triple Crown winners have left lasting impressions on the third Saturday in May at Pimlico. The 1940s was a heyday for these outstanding horses, with four Triple Crown champions coming up big in the Preakness. More recently, American Pharoah dominated the 2015 Preakness on his way to becoming the first Triple Crown champion in 37 years.

But there have also been legendary horses who did not win the Triple Crown, yet were heroes to the Pimlico faithful for their efforts in the Preakness. Perhaps the most monumental of these was Man o' War. As part of a career in which he lost only once in 21 career races, Man o' War captured the 1920 Preakness Stakes. He did not have a chance to win the Triple Crown because his handlers decided not to enter him in the Kentucky Derby.

In 1955, Nashua lost to Swaps in the Kentucky Derby, but went on to win the Preakness in a time that stood as a race record for 16 years; he then beat Swaps in a famous match race. Spectacular Bid had bad luck on and off the track that cost him a shot at the Triple Crown in the 1979 Belmont Stakes. But he was brilliant in the Preakness, dominating the field on his way to an easy victory.

In recent years, Smarty Jones overwhelmed the competition in the 2004 Preakness Stakes by 11 ½ lengths, the largest margin in the history of the race. And in 2009, Rachel Alexandra became the fifth filly in history to beat the boys and win the race.

As you might expect for a race that has been around for so long, there are many traditions associated with the Preakness Stakes. Many of them have been around almost as long as the race itself. Chief among them is the fact that a garland of black-eyed Susans is typically draped over the winner at the end of the race.

Recent Winners

Preakness Traditions

The Black-Eyed Susan, a vodka and gin concoction, is also the official drink of the Preakness Stakes. Before the race, the crowd sings along to a marching band's rendition of "Maryland, My Maryland" in honor of the location. The winner also receives the Woodlawn Vase as a trophy, and the painting of a famous weather vane on the clubhouse roof in the winning colors is part of the festivities.

Speaking of festivities, the Preakness also cultivates more of a party atmosphere than some of the other major horse races on the annual schedule. The general admission infield, in particular, attracts a crowd looking to have a good time in any way they can. Over the past decade or so, Pimlico has made a concerted effort to turn the infield activities into an event in their own right by inviting top musicians to perform in the days leading up to the race.

If you live near the Baltimore area, you may be able to visit the track and bet on the race in person. Short of that, you can also find a simulcast area that will oblige. These areas allow for remote betting on horse racing events and can generally be found either at your local track or at an off-track betting facility.

How to Bet on the Preakness Stakes

In addition, modern horse racing fans have the luxury of betting on all races through websites that cater to their needs. Many of these sites are specifically associated with the Preakness, including TwinSpires.com, which is also the main site for Kentucky Derby wagering.

If you are going to bet online on the Preakness Stakes or any other race, it is always a good idea to make sure that the site you choose is just right for you. You should make sure that the site is easy to navigate and that you can easily withdraw from or add to your account. It may also be wise to ensure that the gambling site in question has some sort of official affiliation or stamp of approval from the horse racing industry.

As far as strategies for betting the Preakness Stakes, it is important to remember the characteristics of the race mentioned above. You should be looking for horses that are well suited for the distance. This usually means that they like to show early speed and can carry that speed all the way to the wire.

You also have to decide which horses can come back strong from the Derby after just two weeks off. The Triple Crown is so difficult to complete because it's a lot to ask of a horse to win three races in five weeks at demanding distances against top competition. If you think a horse has had a particularly grueling trip to the Derby just two weeks before, it might be a good idea to leave him out of your Preakness considerations.

In recent years, there have been many horses who, for whatever reason, have decided to skip the Kentucky Derby even though they have the qualifications to run in it. These horses could then be ready for the Preakness, meaning they would be much fresher to face the Derby horses. If you can spot one of these horses, you may be able to get a value play to include in your straight (win, place, show) or exotic (exacta, trifecta, superfecta, daily double) bets.

The legendary Eddie Arcaro won the race six times in just 17 years in the 1940s and 1950s, leading all jockeys in Preakness history. More recently, Gary Stevens, Kent Desormeaux and Victor Espinoza have each won the race three times since 1997. Pat Day is the only jockey in history to win the race three years in a row, a feat he accomplished from 1994 to 1996.

Preakness Stakes Frequently Asked Questions