You’ve seen the yellow flowers. You’ve probably heard the rowdy stories about the "InfieldFest" in Baltimore. But if you’re sitting there wondering what race is the Preakness exactly, you aren't alone. Horse racing has a weird way of sounding like a secret club where everyone speaks in "furlongs" and "stakes," leaving the rest of us just trying to figure out which horse has the coolest name.
Basically, the Preakness Stakes is the second leg of the American Triple Crown. It’s a Grade 1 Thoroughbred horse race. That’s the highest level of competition in the sport. If the Kentucky Derby is the glitzy, high-pressure season premiere, the Preakness is the high-stakes sequel where we find out if the "Main Character" from Louisville actually has the legs to go the distance.
It happens every year on the third Saturday in May. It's fast. It's loud. And honestly, it’s often a much better actual race than the Derby because the field is smaller and less chaotic.
The Nitty Gritty: Distance and Dirt
When people ask what race is the Preakness, they’re usually looking for the technical stats. Let’s get those out of the way. The race is run over a distance of $1 \frac{3}{16}$ miles. That’s about 9.5 furlongs or 1.9 kilometers for the metric crowd.
It’s shorter than the Kentucky Derby ($1 \frac{1}{4}$ miles) and significantly shorter than the grueling Belmont Stakes ($1 \frac{1}{2}$ miles). Because it’s the shortest of the three Triple Crown gems, it often favors horses with a bit more tactical speed. You can’t really afford to sit at the back of the pack and wait for a miracle in Baltimore. The track is dirt, and it’s traditionally held at Pimlico Race Course—though, heads up, for 2026 it’s moving temporarily to Laurel Park while Pimlico gets a massive facelift.
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The race is restricted to three-year-old Thoroughbreds. That’s it. No older horses allowed. It’s a one-shot deal for these animals. You’re either a three-year-old in May, or you’re watching from the barn.
Who gets to run?
Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds. Fillies (the girls) carry 121 pounds. While it's mostly a boys' club, fillies do show up and win. Swiss Skydiver did it in 2020, and Rachel Alexandra famously smoked the boys in 2009.
The purse is no joke either. We’re talking about a $2 million total prize fund. The winner usually walks away with a cool $1.2 million. In 2025, a horse named Journalism took the top spot, proving that the favorites still have a strong foothold here—he was the 74th favorite to win in the race's history.
Why the Preakness is the "Middle Child"
People call it the "Middle Jewel." That sounds fancy, but it basically means it’s the bridge between the hype of the Derby and the exhaustion of the Belmont.
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The pressure is unique. If a horse won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness is the only thing standing between them and a shot at immortality. If they lose here, the Triple Crown dream dies instantly. There is no "maybe next year."
Interestingly, the Preakness is actually older than the Kentucky Derby. It started in 1873, while the Derby didn't kick off until 1875. It was named after a colt named Preakness who won a big race on Pimlico’s opening day in 1870. Kinda simple, right?
Traditions That Actually Matter
You’ll hear it called the "Run for the Black-Eyed Susans." Here’s a bit of a secret: they aren’t actually Black-Eyed Susans. The actual flowers aren't in bloom in Maryland in mid-May, so they use Viking Daisies and paint the centers black to look like the state flower. It’s a classic "fake it 'til you make it" sports tradition.
- The Painting of the Weather Vane: As soon as the race is official, a painter climbs a ladder and paints the horse-and-rider weather vane at the track to match the colors of the winning owner's silks.
- Maryland, My Maryland: This is the song they sing when the horses come onto the track. It’s their version of "Old Kentucky Home."
- The Woodlawn Vase: The trophy is the most valuable in all of American sports. It was created by Tiffany & Co. in 1860 and is valued at over $4 million. The winners don't actually get to keep it; they get a $30,000 solid silver replica because nobody wants to be responsible for a multi-million dollar vase at an after-party.
What to Look for in 2026
If you're planning to follow the 2026 race, remember that the venue change to Laurel Park is a big deal. Pimlico is "Old Hilltop," a place with massive history but, frankly, it was falling apart. Moving to Laurel for a year or two changes the geometry of the turns and the feel of the dirt.
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Keep an eye on the horses coming out of the Federico Tesio Stakes. That race is the "local" path to the Preakness, and winner Pay Billy showed in 2025 that local Maryland horses can definitely hold their own against the big-money stables from Kentucky and California.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're looking to get into the spirit of the race or even place a small wager, here is how you should handle it:
- Check the Derby Finish: About 80% of the time, the Preakness winner ran in the Kentucky Derby two weeks prior. Look for horses that finished strongly but maybe ran out of room in Louisville.
- Monitor the "New Shooters": These are horses that skipped the Derby to wait specifically for the Preakness. They are fresh, while the Derby horses are often tired.
- Watch the Weather: Pimlico (and Laurel) can get "soupy." Some horses love the mud; others hate it. Look at past performances on "Off" tracks.
- Tune in Early: The race is usually over in less than two minutes (Secretariat holds the record at 1:53.0). If you're late to the TV, you've missed the whole thing.
The Preakness isn't just a horse race; it's a 150-year-old Maryland party that happens to have some of the fastest animals on earth in the middle of it. Whether you're there for the history, the silver trophy, or just the sight of a 1,200-pound animal sprinting at 40 miles per hour, it remains the most pivotal two minutes in the racing calendar.