Guide Note
The Preakness Stakes is an annual thoroughbred horse racing event that is held on the third Saturday in May. The event is held at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.
Fast Facts
- Originated: 1873
- Winner's Purse: $1 Million
- Held: Annually on 3rd Saturday in May
- Location: Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore
- Gates Open: 8:00 a.m EST
- 1st Race Post Time: 10:30 a.m. EST
- Preakness Post Time: 6:05 p.m EST
- Distance: 1 3/16 miles
- Weight Restrictions: Colt: 126 lbs, Filly: 121 lbs
- Defending Champion: Big Brown
- Official Drink: Black-Eyed Susan
- 2008 marks the 133rd Preakness race
- Televised by: NBC
2nd Act of Triple Crown's 3-act play
Every year there are three races that make up horse racing's Triple Crown. The Preakness is the middle of those three vents, sandwiched by the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. It is the shortest of three races, and often can lead to a decline in Belmont Stakes ratings because if a winner is different from the Kentucky Derby winner, it clinches a lack of a Triple Crown winner. Just before the race comes the traditional singing of Maryland My Maryland before the race. In 2008, Big Brown won easily, cruising to a five-and-a-quarter-length victory to win the 133rd running of the Preakness Stakes, and is trying to be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. The race record is 1:53.4 set by Louis Quatorze in 1996 and equaled by Curlin in 2007.
