It all
started with the Minisi, a northern New Jersey tribe of Native Americans.
They called their area Pra-qua-les, meaning quail woods. After a series of
spellings the name eventually evolved into Preakness.
One of its variations was Preckiness, used
by General George Washington to describe the area where his troops were
quartered in the winter of 1776-77. Nearly a century later, Milton H.
Sanford, a thoroughbred owner, became attracted to the name. He called his
farms, one in New Jersey and another in Kentucky, Preakness. |
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His Jersey farm
was located in the Indians' "quail woods." Today, there remains a Preakness,
N.J. When he bought a yearling sired by Lexington and foaled by Bay Leaf
from A. J. Alexander, he named the colt (bred in Kentucky at Woodburn Farm) Preakness, unaware that he was contributing to turf immortality. Preakness,
the eighth foal of Bay Leaf, cost Sanford $2,000. It was Preakness who
turned up as a 3-year-old for his debut in the Dinner Party Stakes at Pimlico's inaugural in 1870. He was derided as a "cart horse" for his
ungainly appearance, but won that first stakes at Old Hilltop, which became
a history-producing victory. In his triumph, Preakness was ridden by English
jockey Billy Hayward, who supplied the name for one of Pimlico's present
adjoining streets. It was the colt's only start in 1870 but he left a
lasting impression at Pimlico. Three years later, the Maryland Jockey Club
honored him by calling its newest stakes race "Preakness".
Pimlico officially opened in the fall of 1870, with the colt Preakness winning
the first running of the Dinner Party Stakes. Three years later the horse would
have the 1873 Preakness Stakes named in his honor.
The Dinner Party
Stakes eventually became the present-day Dixie Handicap. Preakness continued
to race through his eight-year-old season in America. He won the Baltimore
Cup, carrying 131 pounds at age eight and also finished in a deadhead with
Springbok in the 1875 Saratoga Cup at 2-1/4 miles. Later that year, Sanford
sent Preakness to England. He became one of the first American horses to be
given genuine recognition by the British. Eventually the Duke of Hamilton
purchased Preakness from Sanford for breeding.
Preakness Stakes 2017 Contenders
Preakness Stakes Entries at Pimlico Race Track
Preakness Stakes Purse Structure Result
Purse of $1,000,000
Winner $620,000 (62%)
Second $200,000 (20%)
Third $100,000 (10%)
Forth $50,000 (5%)
Fifth $30,000 (3%)
Preakness Stakes Winners
2010 Preakness Winner!
Lookin At Lucky rebounded from a disappointing performance in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago to prevail over 11 rivals by three-quarters of a length in the 135th running of the $1,000,000 Preakness Stakes Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.
Lookin At Lucky, a son of Smart Strike by the Belong To Me mare Private Feeling, paid $6.80. The 7-11 exacta returned $188.60. The trifecta 7-11-6 paid $2771.
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Rachel Alexandra: 2009 Preakness Winner!
First Filly To Win Preakness Since 1924. The best 3-year-old in the land just happens to be a filly named Rachel Alexandra. Jockey Calvin Borel all but guaranteed victory in the 2009 Preakness Stakes. By beating 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, she ended any chance that thoroughbred racing would have had a Triple Crown winner that season. Affirmed was the last Triple Crown winner in 1978.
Rachel Alexandra led by a head at the quarter and half-mile poles. She stretched it to a half-length at the three-quarters pole. She was ahead by four lengths going down the stretch. In the end, the 9-5 favorite won by a length in her first race against the boys.
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Kent Desormeaux kept looking back, and no
one was coming. Not even close, and once again it was Big Brown first
and the rest nowhere. The Pimlico crowd of 112,222 roared, saluting
greatness that is rarely seen.
It was hard to
imagine that his Preakness triumph Saturday could be easier and more
impressive than his Kentucky Derby runaway, but it was. |
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When Desormeaux turned
the muscular bay colt loose leaving the far turn, the race was over
instantly. Under a stranglehold through the final sixteenth of a mile, Big
Brown cantered to a 51/4-length romp over 39-to-1 shot Macho Again, who beat
22-to-1 Icabad Crane by a half-length.
Big Brown's margin
could have been 15, but his rider was saving him for a shot at the first
Triple Crown sweep since Affirmed in 1978.
Preakness Stakes Betting at Pimlico Race Track
The Preakness Stakes horse
betting has been a part of the horse racing since, the gates opened for its
first race, all the way back in the year 1873. Three-year-old thoroughbreds
have been making the journey to Maryland for the Preakness Stakes on the
third Saturday in May annually ever since Survivor won the pot in the first
race. The Preakness Stakes has seen prize money skyrocket as fast as the
attendance in recent years.
Come bet on the Preakness
Stakes at Pimlico racetrack and watch your favorite horse win at the
Preakness. The second of the prestigious Triple Crown races, the 138th
Preakness Stakes will continue its legacy as one of the word's finest horse
races. But the early odds are hard to come by, so stop horsing around and
get your Preakness stakes horse betting lines at
BookMaker Racebook.
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