Preakness Stakes: The Run For The Black Eyed Susans
May 21, 2011

Pimlico Race Course
Baltimore, MD

An American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses covering one and three-sixteenth miles, the Preakness Stakes is the second leg of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, following the Kentucky Derby and preceding the Belmont Stakes. The Preakness Stakes is annually held on the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. This race ranks second in North America after the Kentucky Derby in terms of attendance. It gained the moniker “The Run For The Black-Eyed Susans” because a blanket of Maryland’s state flower, the Black-Eyed Susans, is traditionally draped around the neck of the Preakness Stakes winner.

The Preakness Stake is two years older than the Kentucky Derby and its first race was held in May 27, 1873 and won by John Chamberlain's three-year-old, My Sheba. It won by a margin of 10 lengths. This was the largest winning margin until 2004 when Smarty Jones dominated the competition with a record-breaking 11-length winning margin. The Preakness Stakes has been the second leg of the Triple Crown except prior to 1931 when it was run before the Kentucky Derby as well as on May 12, 1917 and May 13, 1922 when the Preakness Stakes and The Kentucky Derby were run on the same day.

There is a tradition in the Preakness Stakes where the audience is invited to sing Maryland’s official state song “Maryland, My Maryland” just before the race starts. The United States Naval Academy Glee Club traditionally leads the song in the infield.

Eddie Arcaro (1941, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1957) holds the record for the most wins by a jockey with six Preakness Stakes championships while R. Wyndham Walden (1875, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1888) is the record holder for the most wins by a trainer with seven Preakness Stakes wins. Calumet Farm (1941, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1956, 1958, 1968) holds the distinction as the owner with the most wins with seven Preakness Stakes championships. It is also the leading breeder with 7 wins. The Preakness Stakes speed record of 1:53 2/5 seconds was first set by Tank’s Prospect in 1985 and this feat was duplicated in 1996 by Louis Quatorze and once again in 2007 by Curlin.

There are five fillies which have won the Preakness Stakes compared to three filly winners in the Kentucky Derby and another three fillies winning the Belmont Stakes. The five Preakness Stakes filly winners are Flocarline in 1903, Whimsical in 1906, Rhine Maiden in 1915, Nellie Morse in 1924, and Rachel Alexandra in 2009. Rachel Alexandra is the only horse, male or female, to win the Preakness Stakes from the farthest outside position. Its position was the 13th post.

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