Ah, the memories!
It’s almost time for the 150th Preakness Stakes, the final edition of the middle jewel of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course.
With tens of thousands of racing fans in the house on a hot, sunny day in Baltimore, Journalism was being bet down to 6-5 from his 8-5 morning-line odds.
After the race, the dilapidated grandstand/track will be torn down and a new racing/training facility will be built and hopefully ready for the 2027 Preakness. The 2026 Preakness will be run at Laurel Race Course in Maryland.
In these final hours, memories of what took place at Old Hilltop—as the track is known—come rolling back.
Here are a few to consider as you handicap the Preakness Stakes, a field of nine 3-year-olds going 1 3/16 miles.
In 1976, the famed Clydesdales were pulling wagons on the track, and one wagon got stuck, delaying the proceedings.
In 1981, Kentucky Derby-winning filly Genuine Risk looked like she could win the Preakness, but Codex, with Angel Cordero, Jr., aboard, basically ‘mugged’ her around the far turn and went on to win in a controversial finish.
In 1989, Derby winner Sunday Silence and Easy Goer dueled throughout the stretch, with Sunday Silence prevailing by a nose. The finish was used by ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” as the “Thrill of Victory.
In 1998, the year Real Quiet gave trainer Bob Baffert a second Preakness Stakes win, there was a power outage caused by a transformer fire in the area and another smaller blaze in an air conditioner in the jockeys’ room on a 96-degree day.
In 1999, in the Sir Barton Stakes before the Preakness, a fan ran onto the track as the horses came down the stretch, made contact with Artax, but everyone was safe in a scary incident.
In 2004, in a pouring rain, the popular Smarty Jones, who won the Kentucky Derby two weeks earlier, splashed home to victory by a record 11 ½ lengths.
In 2005, the nimble Afleet Alex was nearly knocked to his knees by Scrappy T, but jockey Jeremy Rose was thrown onto the colt’s neck. Both incredibly recovered, and the horse took a 4 ¾-length victory. Three weeks later, he won the Belmont Stakes.
In 2006, Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro shattered his leg and fell to the ground just after the start in a gruesome scene, and Bernardini went on to win the race. Barbaro was rushed to an equine hospital in Pennsylvania, where he survived for nearly a year before succumbing to laminitis.
In 2009, the great Rachel Alexandra held off Derby winner Mine That Bird, becoming the first filly to win the Preakness since 1924.
In 2015, yet another day over a sloppy track, Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah romped by 7 ½ lengths under Victor Espinoza, who, after the race, took off a riding boot with rain water flowing out for a few seconds. American Pharoah would win the Belmont and become the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years.
Three years later, another Bob Baffert trainee, Justify, overcame the rain, fog, and Good Magic to take the Preakness, with Bravazo a closing second. It was Baffert’s seventh Preakness win. And like Baffert’s American Pharoah, Justify won the Belmont and became a Triple Crown champion.
