The History of the Preakness Stakes
January 29, 2010 · Filed Under Horse Racing · Comments Off
The Preakness Stakes is the second race of the Triple Crown. It is referred to as “The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans,†as a garland of Black-eyed Susans, the state flower of Maryland, is presented to the winner.
The first Preakness was held on May 27th, 1873. There were seven starters in this first race. The winner that day was a horse owned by John Chamberlain named Survivor. The horse won by 10 lengths, a record that would stand until 2004. Smarty Jones won by 11 lengths that year. The original purse for the race was $2,050. Today, the purse is $1 million. Read more
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