by Katherine O. Rizzo (first published in the May 2024 Equiery)

The Preakness Stakes debuted on Tuesday, May 27, 1873 at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore with Survivor winning by 10 lengths in a field of seven horses. Owned by John F. Chamberlain, Survivor held the Preakness record for greatest margin for well over a century until Smarty Jones came along in 2004 and won by 11 ½ lengths. Smarty Jones still holds the record for greatest margin of victory in the Preakness.

This year marks the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes, which has been run over a distance of 1-3/16 miles since 1925. The annual Preakness Meet will run May 8 through May 27 this year on Thursdays through Sundays at Pimlico with the middle jewel of the Triple Crown run on May 18. The 100th running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, for fillies, runs on May 17 with several other Grade 1 stakes races running over both days.

In addition to the live racing, Preakness Week hosts numerous social activities. A complete schedule is posted on Preakness.com and Pimlico.com. Some highlights for this year include: Mother’s Day at Pimlico brunch on May 12, the Post Position Draw on May 15, and the annual Alibi Breakfast on May 16. Preakness LIVE this year is headlined by Grammy winner Jack Harlow on May 18. In addition, Sunrise Tours run May 14-17.

With 148 years of history to dive through, here are a few fun facts about the Preakness Stakes and some of its big winners over the years.

Maryland-breds
There have been eight Maryland-bred horses to win the Preakness Stakes with Deputed Testamony being the latest winner. Bred by J. William Boniface of Bonita Farms and Francis P. Sears, the 1980 colt was by Traffic Cop and out of Proof Requested, by Prove It. In 1983, Deputed Testamony won six stakes races for owner Bonita Farm, including the Preakness Stakes. He last raced in May 1984 at Pimlico, after which he was retired to stud due to an injury sustained during the race. Deputed Testamony remained at Bonita Farm until he died of natural causes at the age of 32 in 2012. He was inducted into the Maryland-bred Hall of Fame in 2017.

Bee Bee Bee was bred by William S. Miller and owned by William S. Farish, III. The 1969 colt won the 1972 Preakness Stakes and was named Maryland Champion 3-Year-Old that year. He was by Better Bee out of the Mizami mare Paula. Bee Bee Bee stood in Japan from 1974 till 1992.

Kauai King was sired by famed fellow Preakness winner Native Dancer. The 1963 colt was out of Sweep In, by Blenheim, and bred by Pine Brook Farm. Raced by Ford Stable, Kauai King won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1966. He missed the Triple Crown win when finishing fourth in the Belmont Stakes. Kauai King was named Maryland-bred Champion 3-Year-Old Colt in 1966 as well as Horse of the Year. He retired that year due to an injury and first stood at Sagamore Farm until being shipped to England in 1971. In 1973, Kauai King move to Japan where he stood at Maekawa Stallion Station until his death in 1989 due to old age.

Branncastle bred the 1939 Preakness winner Challedon, who was by Challenger out of Laura Girl by Sir Gallahad. Owned by Glade Valley Farm, Challedon won the New England Stakes, Pimlico Futurity and Maryland Futurity as a two-year-old before claiming the Preakness Stakes and eight other stakes wins in 1939. He finished second in the Kentucky Derby that year earning Champion 3-Year-Old and Horse of the Year honors. In 1940, Challedon was named Champion Handicap Horse as well as Horse of the Year. He entered stud in Kentucky in 1943 and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1977.

The 1898 Preakness winner Sly Fox was bred by Bowling Brook Stud and owned by Charles F. Dwyer that season. Sly Fox was by Silver Fox out of Asteria by Kantaka. He went on to race overseas in England and France during the 1899 and 1900 seasons.
R. Wyndham Walden owned and bred Refund, who won the 1888 Preakness Stakes. The chestnut colt was by Sensation and out of Letty, by the British stallion Australian. The 1888 Preakness Stakes was also his maiden win!

W. Jennings bred 1887 Preakness Stakes winner Dunboyne who was by Uncas out of the British mare Frey, by Dundee.

The very first Maryland-bred to win the Preakness Stakes was Cloverbrook in 1877. Cloverbrook was bred and owned by Edwin Augustus Clabaugh. He was by Vauxhall out of Maudina by Australian, who was also the dam grandsire to Refund. Cloverbrook won the Kentucky Stakes as a two-year-old in 1876 before winning both the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in 1877. He was still winning stakes races in 1878.

Triple Crown Winners
Only 13 horses have earned Triple Crown honors with consecutive victories in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. Sir Barton was the first Triple Crown winner back in 1919.

The chestnut colt bred by Madden and Gooch was by Star Shoot out of Lady Sterling, by Hanover, was owned by Commander J.K.L. Ross. He was trained to victory by M.G. Bedwell. Although he was the first Triple Crown winner, the term “Triple Crown” did not appear in print until around 1936, well after Sir Barton’s impressive victories. Commander Ross owned a farm in Maryland where the former Freestate harness track was located. In 1919, the Preakness was run on a Wednesday, just four days after the Derby.

The 1930s saw three Triple Crown winners including Maryland’s Belair Stud’s Gallant Fox in 1930 and Omaha in 1935. Gallant Fox won the Preakness first as it was run before the Derby in 1930. After his racing career, Gallant Fox went on to sire winners of more than 90 races, including his son Omaha, making the pair the only father-son duo to win a Triple Crown. Both horses were trained by James Fitzsimmons and bred in Kentucky. Omaha went on to become the only Triple Crown winner to race abroad, winning two races in England before finishing second in the Ascot Gold Cup.

War Admiral claimed the crown in 1937 for Glen Riddle Farm. Trained by George Conway, the brown colt was bred by S.D. Riddle and was by the great Man o’War. Interestingly, War Admiral only stood at 15.2 hands compared to the giant that was Man o’War. He went on to be Man o’War’s top offspring by earnings. War Admiral prepped for his Triple Crown victory in Maryland.

Whirlaway won in 1941 followed by Count Fleet in 1943, Assault in 1946 and Citation in 1948. Citation, bred and owned by Calumet Farm, became the first horse in U.S. history to earn more than a million dollars. He won 19 out of 20 races during his career finishing second in the Chesapeake Trial at Havre de Grace when a tiring horse pushed him wide through the final turn.

The Triple Crown saw a 25-year drought until a big red colt named Secretariat came onto the scene winning in 1973. Bred and owned by Meadow Stables, Secretariat still holds the record for the fastest times in all three races. Just a few years later, Seattle Slew won in 1977 followed the very next year by winner Affirmed.

Racing fans did not see another Triple Crown winner until 2015 when American Pharoah not only won all three races but went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic later that year. Owned and bred by Zayat Stables and trained by Bob Baffert, American Pharoah’s most impressive win came in the Preakness during driving rain on a super sloppy track. He took the lead on the inside rail quickly and never gave it up, winning by seven lengths.

In 2018, a week of heavy rains preceded Justify’s impressive battle to win the Preakness by half a length, becoming the most recent horse to win the Triple Crown and giving Baffert yet another Triple Crown win. Justify joined War Admiral and Count Fleet as the only three Triple Crown winners to have run undefeated during their 3-year-old season.

Speed Records
Although Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973, he was not awarded the official fastest Preakness Stakes time until 2012 due to a discrepancy with various clockers. Video evidence officially recorded his winning time at 1:53.00, which moved him into the record books as the fastest Preakness winner. Secretariat also logged the fastest Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes that year.

There are eight other horses that have won the Preakness in less than 1:54.00 with the second fastest time set by filly Swiss Skydiver in 2020 at 1:53.28.

Louis Quatorze (1996) and Tank’s Prospect (1985) both ran the race in 1:53.40. Curlin won in 2007 with a time of 1:53.46. Summer Squall (1990) and Gate Dancer (1984) won in 1:53.60. Rombauer was clocked at 1:53.62 in 2021 and Sunday Silence finished in 1:53.80 in 1989.

Winning Connections
Louis J. Schaefer and John Longden are the only two people in Preakness history to have ridden and later trained Preakness winners. Schaefer won the Preakness in 1929 riding Dr. Freeland and in 1939 he trained Challedon to victory. Longden rode Count Fleet to victory in 1943 and the saddled Majestic Prince to win the 1969 Preakness.

Seven African-American riders have ridden Preakness mounts with George “Spider” Anderson and Willie Simms each winning a Preakness. Anderson won in 1889 aboard Buddhist while Simms won in 1898 with Sly Fox.

Jockey Eddie Arcaro holds the record for most Preakness wins. His first win was in 1938 aboard Dauber. He won again in 1941 with Whirlaway, in 1945 with Polynesian and in 1948 with Citation. His last Preakness win was aboard Blue Man in 1952.

Pat Day still holds the record for most consecutive Preakness victories with three back-to-back wins. His streak started in 1994 with Tabasco Cat, followed by Timber Country in 1995 and Louis Quatorze in 1996.

Bill Hartack has five Preakness wins for Bold Ruler (1957), Bally Ache (1960), Greek Money (1962), Northern Dancer (1964) and Majestic Prince (1969).

Bob Baffert entered the Preakness record books just last year when he notched his seventh Preakness win to become the trainer with the most Preakness wins. His 2023 victory came with National Treasure. Baffert’s first Preakness win was in 1997 with Silver Charm. Other Preakness wins came with Real Quiet (1998), Point Given (2001), War Emblem (2002) and Lookin At Lucky (2010). Baffert also trained Triple Crown winners American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018).

R. Wydham Walden has won the Preakness seven times as a trainer and holds the record for the most consecutive Preakness wins with five. His first Preakness victory was in 1875 with Tom Ochiltree. His 1878 win with Duke of Magenta started his win streak followed by Harold (1879), Grenada (1880), Saunterer (1881) and Vanguard (1882). His last Preakness win was in 1888 with Maryland-bred Refund.

Calumet Farms in Kentucky holds the record for both the most Preakness wins by an owner and most wins by a breeder. The farm, which was founded by Warren Wright, has owned/bred eight winners. Their first winner was Whirlaway in 1941 and its latest Preakness victory was with Oxbow in 2012.

Fast Fillies
Although the Preakness Stakes has historically been dominated by colts and geldings, 56 fillies have run in the race and six fillies have claimed Preakness victories. The first filly to win the Preakness was Flocarline in 1903 followed by Whimsical in 1906, Rhine Maiden in 1915 and Nellie Morse in 1924.

It took another 85 years before a filly was blanketed with Black-eyed Susans. Rachel Alexandra broke the boys’ streak with her 2009 Preakness win. Then in 2020, Swiss Skydiver become the latest filly to win the Preakness.

Only three lady jockeys have ridden in the Preakness Stakes with two hailing from Maryland! Rosie Napravnik, who grew up in New Jersey and Maryland where she attended Hereford High School, rode Bayern to ninth place in 2014 and Mylute to third in 2013. Andrea Seefeldt, who lives in Butler, rode Looming to seventh in 1994. Patricia Cooksey became the first lady jockey to ride in a Preakness Stakes when she rode Tajawa to sixth in 1985.

Judy Johnson became the first female trainer to saddle a Preakness contender in 1968 with Sir Beau, who finished seventh. In total, 18 female trainers have saddled Preakness runners with Nancy Alberts coming the closest to winning when Maryland-bred Magic Weisner finished second in 2002. Alberts also owned and bred Magic Weisner.