Preakness Stakes Contenders

Preakness Stakes: Did you know?

In 1873, two years before the inaugural Kentucky Derby, the first Preakness Stakes was held at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland. This year's race, on May 17th, is the 133rd running of the event.

After every Preakness Stakes, the horse-and-jockey weather vane at Pimlico is repainted with the colors of the winning jockey.

Only 4 of the 52 fillies that have entered the Preakness Stakes have won - Flocarline (1903), Whimsical (1906), Rhine Maiden (1915) and Nellie Morse (1924).

The Preakness Stakes was originally run at 1 1/2 miles. The distance changed several times before 1925, when the present distance of 1 3/16 miles (9.5 furlongs) was established. It is the shortest of the Triple Crown races.

In 1985, Tank's Prospect established a race record for the Preakness Stakes (1:53.40). In 1996, Louis Quatorze matched that time. Both horses were ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day. Last year Curlin won the race with a time of 1:53.46, the second fastest in Preakness history.

The most common color of the winning horse at the Preakness Stakes is bay (69 winners), followed by chestnut (44 winners). Silver Charm, the 1997 winner, created a new category - gray/roan.

Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day set a record by winning the Preakness Stakes for three consecutive years - from 1994 to 1996. Day's five Preakness victories are second on the all-time list behind Eddie Arcaro, who had six.

Nine Preakness winners have sired Preakness winners. Two of these were triples: Bold Ruler (1957) sired Secretariat (1973) who sired Risen Star (1988); and Polynesian (1945) sired Native Dancer (1953) who sired Kauai King (1966).

In the 132 runnings of the Preakness Stakes, 67 race favorites have won.

Since 1909, the Preakness Stakes post position with the most wins is 6 (15 wins) and the second most wins is 4 (13 wins). Positions 10 and 11 are tied for last place (2 wins each).

Since 1941, almost half of the Preakness Stakes winners spent the opening months of their three-year-old campaigns racing in Florida.

Apart from 1918, when 26 horses entered the Preakness Stakes and the race was run in two divisions, the maximum number of starters has been 14. The starting horses are determined on the last Wednesday before race day.

The record margin of victory in the Preakness Stakes was set by Smarty Jones in 2004, when he won by 11 1/2 lengths. He appeared to be the next Triple Crown champion but lost the Belmont Stakes to Birdstone by a length.

The highest win price in Preakness history is $48.80 on a $2 wager, paid by Master Derby in 1975.

The stretch at Pimlico Race Course is so short (1,152 feet) that winning moves usually come on or before the final turn rather than deep in the lane, which places a premium on nimble, quick horses.

In the past 25 years, only three horses have claimed the Preakness Stakes without contesting the Kentucky Derby first: Deputed Testamony in 1983, Red Bullet in 2000 and Bernardini in 2006.

The Preakness Stakes is often a breather for horsemen on the Triple Crown trail because it doesn't have the same media frenzy of the Kentucky Derby.

The most popular first initial for winning Preakness runners is B (16 wins), the second most popular is C (15 wins) and the least popular are I, Q, U, X, Y and Z (0 wins each).

The purse for the first Preakness Stakes, in 1873, was $2,050. The purse for this year's race is $1 million.

In last year's Preakness Stakes, third-place Kentucky Derby finisher Curlin caught Derby winner Street Sense in the stretch and captured the race by a head. Derby runner-up Hard Spun was another four lengths back in third. Curlin went on to win the Breeders' Cup Classic at Monmouth Park.

The Preakness Stakes was run for 15 years at the Gravesend track in Brooklyn, New York.

So moved by the events of the day, an overly enthusiastic bugler took it upon himself to start in on a rendition of "Maryland My Maryland" (the official state song of Maryland). The rest of the band joined in and another tradition was born.