Preakness Stakes: Facts and Figures

BALTIMORE, Maryland (Reuters) -- Facts and figures ahead of the 128th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico racecourse Saturday:

• The race gets its name from a famous horse in the 1870s. The word Preakness is a variation of Preckiness, which derives from a native Indian word for quail woods.

• Pimlico opened in 1870 and is the second oldest racetrack in the U.S. behind Saratoga, which began in 1864 in upstate New York. The Preakness was first run in 1873.

• People's hero Seabiscuit beat Triple Crown winner War Admiral by four lengths in a famous match race at Pimlico in 1938 in record time. The winner's extraordinary career, the subject of a best-seller, has been made into a film which premiers in July.

• Funny Cide, the 7-5 favorite after winning the Kentucky Derby, bids to become the first horse to win from post nine since Canonero II in 1971. Post six has produced a record 14 Preakness winners.

• The Preakness is the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown which also includes the Kentucky Derby and next month's Belmont Stakes. The last horse to win all three races was Affirmed in 1978.

• Only two men have ridden and trained Preakness winners. Louis J. Schaefer won the race in 1929 on Dr. Freeland and saddled Challedon to victory 10 years later. John Longden won the 1943 Preakness riding Count Fleet and saddled Majestic Prince, the winner in 1969.

• Pimlico is the only track to have caused the adjournment of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1877, members broke up to watch a contest that became known as "The Great Race."

 

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