Baltimore. Pimlico. The Preakness.
These words alone can cause the hairs to stand up on the arms of any racing fan.
Some interesting facts:
The word "Preakness" comes from the Minisi, a Native American tribe who lived in what is now northern New Jersey. They called their territory "Pra-qua-les," or "quail woods."
"Pimlico" comes from the first English colonists to the area, who named the territory for a favorite place in London "Olde Ben Pimlicos Tavern."
Opened in October of 1870, Pimlico is the second oldest racetrack in America after Saratoga in New York (built 1864).
The racecourse was built to honor a memorable dinner party among sporting friends, including the then Governor of Maryland, Oden Bowie. Hence, the name of the first race was the Dinner Party Stakes (now the Dixie Handicap).
After a horse named Preakness won the inaugural Dinner Party race, the Maryland Jockey Club named a new stakes race after him, the very first winner at Pimlico, and the Preakness was born (1873).
Rumor holds that a tradition observed at the end of the inaugural race at Pimlico, when Preakness' jockey approached a wire at the finish line and untied a bag of gold coins, is where we get the modern terms -- the winning "purse" and the finish line being the "wire."
The official song of the Preakness is Maryland, My Maryland.
Instead of a blanket of roses, the winner receives a garland of Black-Eyed Susans, the state flower of Maryland.
Pimlico carries the nickname, "old Hilltop," after the hilly infield, which made a great place from which to watch the race. Unfortunately, in 1938, the hill was leveled for television stations which insisted they could not capture the backstretch action on camera with the hill in the way.
The Pimlico logo (three horses racing to the finish) commemorates the only time the U.S. House of Representatives adjourned just to watch a race, in 1877 (now known as "the Great Race"). The horses depicted are Ten Broeck, Parole and Tom Ochiltree.
Since Effendi won the race in 1909, the weather vane on top of the Clubhouse cupola was painted to match the silks of each year's Pimlico winner. When the original Victorian clubhouse burned down in 1966, a much smaller cupola was replicated in the winners circle, along with a replacement aluminum vane, so that the tradition could continue. The original iron weather vane, the only thing to survive the fire, is in the Pimlico museum.
It was at Pimlico that Seabiscuit defeated War Admiral in the great match race of 1938.
The course distance has been 1 and 3/16th of a mile since 1925.
Only 1 filly has ever won the Preakness, Nellie Morse, in 1924. However, female jockeys and trainers have been actively trying to win it since 1968.
Bay coloring must be lucky, since more than half of all Preakness winners have been this color.
In 2005, over $88 million was wagered on this one race, and in 2006 over 118,000 people attended Pimlico to watch it in person.
Even the trophy given to the winner of the Preakness, the Woodlawn Vase, has a remarkable history:
Created by Tiffany & Company in 1860, it was designed for the Woodlawn Racing Association of Louisville, Kentucky.
During the Civil War, a Confederate family buried the vase to save it from Union forces, who might have melted it for ammunition.
Although the Woodlawn Vase was traditionally given to the winner to keep for a year, due to its historical and monetary value, a smaller replica made of sterling silver by Lenox is now awarded. See the original vase here and also at the Preakness itself, where it is brought under guard every year.
The Woodlawn Vase is the most valuable sporting trophy in America, worth over $1 million.
Shop for interesting, collectible Preakness items:
Leroy Neiman Preakness Art Print (Framed)
Inside Track to the Triple Crown: Everything You Need to Know About the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, for Fans, Fanatics & First Timers (Paperback)
Gary Stevens 126th Preakness Win on Point Given (8x10 autographed photograph; Gary Stevens, the jockey and actor who played the "Iceman" in the movie Seabiscuit, is now retired and there won't be many more of these!)
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