The Preakness: The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans

Posted by Alona in For the LadiesMar 14th, 2011 | no responses

The Preakness Stakes, which is run at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland, is the second leg of the Triple Crown series. The first leg is the Kentucky Derby and the last leg is the Belmont Stakes. All three races are only for three-year old horses and open to both colts and fillies. The Preakness is always held on the third Saturday in May, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes is run three weeks after the Preakness. While the Kentucky Derby is run at a mile and a quarter and the Belmont at a mile and a half, the Preakness is a mile and three sixteenths test. For all your Preakness Stakes information go to http://www.preaknessstakes.org.

The Triple Crown

There are few sporting feats that are as difficult to attain as winning the Triple Crown. Not only must the horses run three grueling races in a span of five weeks, all of the horses involved, have been on the Triple Crown trail since early spring in such races as: the Santa Anita Derby, The Arkansas Derby, The Wood Memorial, The Bluegrass Stakes and the Florida Derby. The young thoroughbred is a fragile creature to begin with and trainers must take care in the training, handling and spotting of races. Yet at the same time, the trainer does not want the colt or filly to lose its edge. Few horses can endure this harsh campaign and since Affirmed last won the Triple Crown in 1978, no less than ten horses have gone into the Belmont, “The Test of Champions” with a shot to win the Triple Crown only to be denied.

A Breather?

Typically the Preakness has the smallest fields of the three races. While the Kentucky Derby is a twenty horse stampede and the Belmont usually around ten to twelve, often the Preakness has fields less than ten. A lot of this has to do with trainers being scared off by a horse’s impressive effort in The Kentucky Derby and deciding to give their horse a breather and gear him up for a run at the Belmont Stakes.

Wikipedia is a great place to learn about the history of Preakness Stakes.