preakness history
preakness history
Preakness tickets are a great way to enjoy the exhilaration of thoroughbred racing at its best. There’s nothing like the feeling of watching the world’s finest thoroughbreds thunder around the track with the sound of the hooves beating the ground and the cheer of the crowd erupting around you. Pimlico Race Course is the place to be on the third Saturday of every May when the Preakness, the second leg of the famed Triple Crown, comes to town.
The Preakness Stakes holds a grand place in the history of thoroughbred racing. It was 1873 when the Preakness ran its debut, taking the name of the winner of the Dinner party Stakes. This first race put the Preakness Stakes two years ahead of its celebrated sister race, the Kentucky Derby. With a length of a mile and a half, Survivor cruised to an easy win; bring home a little over $2,000.00 for its owners.
One of the attractive features of the Preakness is its place as part of the Triple Crown. The Preakness is the second race in the series and the shortest at 1 3/16 miles. With the greatest thoroughbreds in history seeking the Triple Crown, the Preakness gathers major attention as the winner of the Kentucky Derby almost invariably enters the race, along with the horses deemed most capable of competing against the Derby winner.
Preakness stakes winners include Afleet Alex (2005), Smarty Jones (2004), War Emblem (2002), and of course the Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Secretariat, and War Admiral amongst others. Smarty Jones hold the record for the greatest winning margin at 11 ½ lengths. These famed mounts have all had their colors painted on the weather vane of the clubhouse, a Preakness tradition since 1909.
With list of Preakness Stakes horses limited to the top purse winners in thoroughbred racing, you can be sure that your Preakness Stakes tickets are a guaranteed ticket to thoroughbred racing at its best. So head out to Pimlico, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get to see the next Triple Crown winner, but no matter what horse wins “The Run for the Black Eyed Susans” you’re in for one heck of a good time.
