By Miriam Lee
The distance of the Preakness Stakes is 1 3⁄16 miles, or 9 1⁄2 furlongs or 1.88 kilometers, compared to the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby. It usually is followed by the third leg, the Belmont Stakes, which is 1 1⁄2 miles, but this year thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic the race order was switched around. The Belmont Stakes, won by Tiz The Law, was contested on June 20. The Kentucky Derby, which was contested on September 5, was won by Authentic, who makes the trek to Baltimore for the last leg of this year’s Triple Crown after skipping the Belmont.
Tiz The Law – Courtesy of Churchill Downs/Coady Photography.
RELATED: Eddie Mac’s Book: Pickin’ A Preakness Winner Appears Pretty Simple
Since 1932, the order of Triple Crown races was the Kentucky Derby first, followed by the Preakness Stakes and then the Belmont. Before 1932 the Preakness was run before the Derby 11 times and on May 12, 1917, and on May 13, 1922, the Preakness and the Derby were run on the same day.
Usually the Preakness is contested two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, and the Belmont Stakes follows the Preakness three weeks later. Since the Kentucky Derby is always held the first Saturday in May, the Preakness usually is never contested earlier than May 15 or later than May 21. Until this year.
Preakness Stakes Day
The Preakness Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for three year-old Thoroughbreds at Preakness Park run on the third Saturday in May. This year, the race will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3rd.
Preakness Stakes Odds
| 1 | Excession | Sheldon Russell | 30-1 |
| 2 | Mr. Big News | Gabriel Saez | 12-1 |
| 3 | Art Collector | Brian Hernandez Jr. | 5-2 |
| 4 | Swiss Skydiver | Robby Albarado | 6-1 |
| 5 | Thousand Words | Florent Geroux | 6-1 |
| 6 | Jesus’ Team | Jevian Toledo | 30-1 |
| 7 | NY Traffic | Horacio Karamanos | 15-1 |
| 8 | Max Player | Paco Lopez | 15-1 |
| 9 | Authentic | John Velazquez | 9-5 |
| 10 | Pneumatic | Joe Bravo | 20-1 |
| 11 | Liveyourbeastlife | Trevor Mccarthy | 30-1 |
Miriam Lee has always been a horse racing fan thanks to trips to the tracks in her home state of Maryland with her father as kid. She owns an OTTB and is an advocate for promoting the sport among her peers. Miriam studies communication arts at Hood College and will receive her master’s degree in 2021, which she plans to use for a career in screenwriting. Her all-time favorite racehorse is Man O War.