Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is the second leg of the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. While it is always a huge event for even casual horse racing enthusiasts, the race received a revival in mainstream popularity in 2009 after Rachel Alexandra became the first female horse to win the race since 1924.
Inaugurated in 1873, the Preakness Stakes started out as a 1 and ½ mile race at Pimlico Race Course, but it evolved to become a 1 and 3/16th mile race by 1925. It is run on a left-handed dirt track, and is only open to 3-year-old horses. Normally, it is held on the third Saturday in May, and its traditions are strongly associated with its home state of Maryland. The Preakness Stakes is also known as ‘The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans’ due to the winner having a blanket of Black-Eyed Susans placed around its neck, which is the state flower of Maryland.
2009 saw the first increase in the Preakness Stakes purse since 1997, when the formerly $1 million purse was increased to $1.1 million. This is the second highest purse out of the three Triple Crown races, which makes sense considering the massive attendance that the Preakness Stakes draws. While no race can hold a candle to the hype and attention surrounding the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes manages to nevertheless outshine every other stakes race in North America.
The 2010 Preakness Stakes will be held on May 15th at Pimlico Race Course. Other than the Preakness Stakes itself, 27 other races will also be held during the same meet, with prize purses totaling more than $4 million. Many of the bookmakers on our racebook review and sportsbook review pages offer odds on the Preakness Stakes in the weeks leading up to the event, so be sure to check them out.
Be sure to get your bets in before the Preakness Stakes weekend, you can bet on the Preakness Stakes at Bodog.
