Pimlico will offer 16 stakes on Preakness weekend

Highlighted by the 147th running of the Preakness Stakes for 3-year-olds, the Maryland Jockey Club will present 16 stakes, 10 graded, worth $3.8 million in purses on Preakness weekend, May 20-21, at Pimlico Race Course.

The Preakness Meet at Pimlico is scheduled to open Thursday, May 12, and run through Tuesday, May 31.

With a history that dates back to 1873, making it the second oldest of the Triple Crown races, the $1.5 million Preakness going 1 3/16 miles anchors a program of 10 stakes, six graded, worth $2.75 million on Saturday, May 21.

Rombauer’s victory in the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields earned him a spot in the 146th Preakness last May, where he sprung an 11-1 upset defeating nine rivals including millionaire graded-stakes winner Midnight Bourbon and Kentucky Derby first-place finisher Medina Spirit.

Leading the undercard stakes on Preakness Day is the $250,000 Dinner Party (G2) for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. To be run for the 121st time, the Dinner Party is Pimlico’s oldest race and the eighth-oldest in the country, first run in 1870.

Other graded supporting stakes are the $200,000 Chick Lang (G3) for 3-year-olds sprinting six furlongs, $150,000 Gallorette (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and up going 1 1/16 miles on the grass, $150,000 Maryland Sprint (G3) at six furlongs for 3-year-olds and up, and $100,000 Arabian Derby (G1) for Arabian 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles.

Sophomores also will be in the Preakness Day spotlight in the $100,000 Sir Barton going 1 1/16 miles on dirt and $100,000 James W. Murphy at one mile on the grass. Rounding out the stakes are the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint, a five-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up, and $100,000 Skipat for females 3 and older sprinting six furlongs.

The 98th running of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2), one of the premiere events in the country for 3-year-old fillies and contested at 1 1/8 miles, again will be in its traditional spot as the feature a Friday, May 20, Preakness Eve card boasting six stakes, four graded, worth $1.05 million in purses.

Also on the program are the historic $300,000 Pimlico Special (G3) for 3-year-olds and up at the Preakness distance of 1 3/16 miles, $150,000 Miss Preakness (G3) for 3-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs, and $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and up going 1 1/8 miles.

Two grass races round out the Black-Eyed Susan Day card – the $100,000 Hilltop for 3-year-old fillies going a mile and $100,000 The Very One, a five-furlong dash for fillies and mares 3 and older.

Live racing is currently being conducted in Maryland at Laurel Park, which will host a special nine-race Presidents Day holiday program Monday that begins at 12:25 p.m. EST.