Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of racing's Triple Crown, was conceived through an agreement among sportsmen to stage a special race to commemorate a memorable occasion on a late summer evening in 1868.

2021 Preakness Stakes Odds

PP	HORSE	TRAINER	JOCKEY	ODDS
1	Ram	D. Wayne Lukas	Ricardo Santana Jr.	4-1
2	Keepmeinmind	Robertino Diodoro	David Cohen	15-1
3	Medina Spirit	Bob Baffert	John Velazquez	9-5
4	Crowded Trade	Chad Brown	Javier Castellano	10-1
5	Midnight Bourbon	Steve Asmussen	Irad Ortiz Jr.	5-1
6	Rombauer	Michael McCarthy	Flavien Prat	12-1
7	France Go de Ina	Hideyuki Mori	Joel Rosario	20-1
8	Unbridled Honor	Todd Pletcher	Luis Saez	15-1
9	Risk Taking	Chad Brown	Jose Ortiz	15-1
10	Concert Tour	Bob Baffert	Mike Smith	5-2

2021 Preakness Stakes Replay

Re-live the excitement of the 2021 Preakness Stakes and watch Rombauer win. Credits to the video owner

Preakness Stakes Winners

Year	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Dist. (miles)	Time*	Purse
2021	Rombauer	Flavien Prat	Michael W. McCarthy	Diane & John Fradkin	1+3/16	1:53.62	$1,000,000
2020	Swiss Skydiver	Robby Albarado	Kenneth McPeek	Peter J. Callahan	1+3/16	1:53.28	$1,000,000
2019	War of Will	Tyler Gaffalione	Mark E. Casse	Gary Barber	1+3/16	1:54.34	$1,650,000
2018	Justify	Mike Smith	Bob Baffert	WinStar Farm / China Horse Club	1+3/16	1:55.93	$1,500,000
2017	Cloud Computing	Javier Castellano	Chad Brown	Klaravich Stables & William Lawrence	1+3/16	1:55.98	$1,500,000
2016	Exaggerator	Kent Desormeaux	J. Keith Desormeaux	Big Chief Racing LLC et al.	1+3/16	1:58.31	$1,500,000
2015	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	Zayat Stables, LLC	1+3/16	1:58.46	$1,500,000
2014	California Chrome	Victor Espinoza	Art Sherman	Steve Coburn & Perry Martin	1+3/16	1:54.84	$1,500,000
2013	Oxbow	Gary Stevens	D. Wayne Lukas	Calumet Farm	1+3/16	1:57.54	$1,000,000
2012	I'll Have Another	Mario Gutierrez	Doug O'Neill	J. Paul Reddam	1+3/16	1:55.94	$1,000,000
2011	Shackleford	Jesus Castanon	Dale Romans	Mike Lauffer & William D. Cubbedge	1+3/16	1:56.47	$1,500,000
2010	Lookin At Lucky	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	Michael Pegram	1+3/16	1:55.47	$1,000,000
2009	Rachel Alexandra	Calvin Borel	Steve Asmussen	Stonestreet Stab. & Harold T. McCormick	1+3/16	1:55.08	$1,100,000
2008	Big Brown	Kent Desormeaux	Richard Dutrow	IEAH Stables & Paul Pompa	1+3/16	1:54.86	$1,000,000
2007	Curlin	Robby Albarado	Steve Asmussen	Stonestreet Stables	1+3/16	1:53.46	$1,000,000
2006	Bernardini	Javier Castellano	Tom Albertrani	Darley Stables	1+3/16	1:54.65	$1,000,000
2005	Afleet Alex	Jeremy Rose	Timothy Ritchey	Cash Is King Stable	1+3/16	1:55.04	$1,000,000
2004	Smarty Jones	Stewart Elliott	John Servis	Someday Farm	1+3/16	1:55.59	$1,000,000
2003	Funny Cide	Jose Santos	Barclay Tagg	Sackatoga Stable	1+3/16	1:55.61	$1,000,000
2002	War Emblem	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	The Thoroughbred Corp.	1+3/16	1:56.40	$1,000,000
2001	Point Given	Gary Stevens	Bob Baffert	The Thoroughbred Corp.	1+3/16	1:55.40	$1,000,000
2000	Red Bullet	Jerry Bailey	Joe Orseno	Stronach Stables	1+3/16	1:56.00	$1,000,000

Preakness Stakes Records

Here are some noteworthy records of the Preakness Stakes:

Speed record:

• 1+3/16 miles (1.91 km) – 1:53 – Secretariat (1973)

Margin of Victory:

• 11 1/2 lengths – Smarty Jones (2004)

Most wins by a jockey:

• 6 – Eddie Arcaro (1941, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1957)

Most wins by a trainer:

• 7 – Bob Baffert (1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2015, & 2018)
• 7 – R. Wyndham Walden (1875, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, & 1888)

Most wins by an owner:

• 7 – Calumet Farm (1941, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1956, 1958, 1968, 2013) (also the leading breeder with 7)

History of the Preakness Stakes

Governor Oden Bowie of Maryland, a horseman and racing entrepreneur, was one of the distinguished guests at an elegant dinner party after the races at the Union Hall Hotel in Saratoga given by Milton H. Sanford. John Hunter of New York proposed that the feast be commemorated by a stake race to be run in the fall of 1870 for three-year old colts and fillies at two miles, to be known as the Dinner Party Stakes in honor of the evening. Gov. Bowie suggested a purse of $15,000, an extremely huge sum in those days.

Gov. Bowie requested that the Dinner Party Stakes be run in Maryland, and pledged to build a new racetrack to host it. Hence, the idea for Pimlico Race Course was born, and in the fall of 1870, the inaugural Dinner Party Stakes was run on Pimlico's opening. Won by Sanford's Preakness, one of only two male entrants in the seven horse field, the massive bay colt was a first time starter. His jockey, Billy Hayward, followed a unique tradition of the day after the race: a wire was stretched across the track from the judges' stand with a small silk bag filled with gold pieces. When the race was over, the winning jockey untied the string holding the bag and claimed the money. It is believed this custom brought about the modern day "wire" at the finish line, and the designation of "purse" money.

Gov. Bowie's Dinner Party Stakes would later be run at Pimlico as the Dixie Handicap (now known as the "Dixie"), and hold the honor of being the 8th oldest stakes race in America.

Two years before the Kentucky Derby would appear, Pimlico was busy introducing its new stakes race for three-year olds, the Preakness, during its first-ever spring race meet in 1873. Gov. Bowie had named the mile and one-half race in honor of Dinner Party Stakes - winner, Preakness.

The scene was set for the first Preakness Stakes on Tuesday, May 27, a warm and muggy spring day at Pimlico. The crowd, well aware of Bowie's accomplishments in putting Baltimore on the national Thoroughbred map, swelled to 12,000. The violet-painted stands and the Victorian Clubhouse, which survived until a fire destroyed it in 1966, were decorated with the Maryland Jockey Club blue and white pennants. Entertainment was provided by Itzel's Fifth Regiment Band, which played operatic airs from Martha and Il Trovatore, and popular tunes of the day.

The first Preakness drew seven starters, but it was John Chamberlain's three-year old, Survivor, who galloped home easily by ten lengths to a purse of $2,050 to this day, the largest Preakness margin of victory.

The new Preakness, off to a great start, prospered for the next 17 years. The early Preakness Stakes attracted quality horses and good crowds; however, in 1889, due to changes in the racing industry, the Preakness and Pimlico galloped to a halt. In 1890, the Preakness was run at Morris Park in New York. The Maryland Jockey Club continued to be involved in racing by presenting some steeplechasing and even trotting races at Pimlico, but the Preakness did not return home to Pimlico until 1909. During this interval, the Preakness was run for 15 years at the Gravesend track in Brooklyn, New York. These 15 so-called "lost" Preaknesses were officially enrolled in the race history of the classic in 1948; the 1890 Preakness was added in the 1960's.

Several traditions enjoyed today are attributed to the spontaneity of the 1909 Preakness renewal. For example, the musical rendering of "Maryland My Maryland" began when a bugler, moved by the spirit of the day, began playing Maryland's historic state song. The rest of the band, inspired by the music, joined in and the crowd reacted enthusiastically. In addition, Preakness 1909 also inaugurated the concept of the "painting of the colors" atop the weather vane, to honor the winning horse.

From that day in 1909, the Preakness has run without a break each year at Pimlico, steadily growing in popularity and purse value. It was once said that having the Preakness in Baltimore is like being able to schedule the World Series or Super Bowl every year. The Preakness Stakes has remained throughout history a true test of a horse's ability and class, a race where remarkable horses meet one another other in a great classic.

The phrase "Triple Crown" was not coined until the 1930's, but it is this race on the third Saturday in May where the best of the Derby horses gather to see if there will be that window of opportunity for a Triple Crown prospect. Much goes on during this colorful time at Pimlico, but it has always been the horse that draws the fans. As poet Ogden Nash wrote: "The Derby is a race of aristocratic sleekness, for horses of birth to prove their worth to run in the Preakness."

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