At 1868, on a fine evening an agreement among sportsmen to stage a special race to commemorate a memorable occasion became the foundation for the Preakness Stakes.

Kentucky Derby winner Justify has a great shot to win the Preakness, the second jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown. Always Dreaming won the Derby on a muddy track, while Classic Empire was fourth. Kentucky Derby 2020 at Churchill Downs coverage featuring Road to the Derby, Derby Watch, point standings, PPs, news, race previews and race recaps. The Preakness follows two weeks later and is the shortest race at 1 and 3/16 miles while the Belmont Stakes is the third Saturday following the Preakness and is the longest track at 1 and 1/2. Always Dreaming (foaled February 25, 2014) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse. He won the Florida Derby in his first graded stakes race appearance and then won the 2017 Kentucky Derby. He finished his career with a record of four wins from eleven starts, and earnings of $2,415,860.

Governor Oden Bowie of Maryland, a horsemen and racing entrepreneur, was among the distinguished roster of guests at an elegant dinner party after the races at the Union Hall Hotel in Saratoga given by Milton H. Sanford. John Hunter of New York proposed that the feast be commemorated by a stake race to be run in the fall of 1870 for three-year old colts and fillies at two miles, to be known as the Dinner Party Stakes in honor of the evening. Bowie electrified the gathering by suggesting a purse of $15,000, which was a staggering sum in 1870.

Governor Bowie requested that the Dinner Party Stakes be run in Maryland, and pledged to build a new racetrack to host it. Hence, the idea for Pimlico Race Course was born, and in the fall of 1870, the inaugural Dinner Party Stakes was run on Pimlico's opening.

Bowie's Dinner Party Stakes would later be run at Pimlico as the Dixie Handicap (now known as the 'Dixie'), and hold the honor of being the 8th oldest stakes race in America.

Two years before the Kentucky Derby would appear, Pimlico was busy introducing its new stakes race for three-year olds, the Preakness, during its first-ever spring race meet in 1873. Governor Bowie had named the mile and one-half race in honor of Dinner Party Stakes - winner, Preakness.

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The scene was set for the first Preakness Stakes on Tuesday, May 27, a warm and muggy spring day at Pimlico. The crowd, well aware of Bowie's accomplishments in putting Baltimore on the national Thoroughbred map, grew to 12,000 excited attendees. The violet-painted stands and the Victorian Clubhouse, which survived until a fire destroyed it in 1966, were decorated with the Maryland Jockey Club blue and white pennants. Entertainment was provided by Itzel's Fifth Regiment Band, which played operatic airs from Martha and Il Trovatore, and popular tunes of the day.

The first Preakness drew seven starters, but it was John Chamberlain's three-year old, Survivor, who galloped home easily by ten lengths to a purse of $2,050 to this day, the largest Preakness margin of victory.

The new Preakness, off to a great start, prospered for the next 17 years. The early Preakness Stakes attracted quality horses and good crowds; however, in 1889, due to changes in the racing industry, the Preakness and Pimlico galloped to a halt. In 1890, the Preakness was run at Morris Park in New York. The Maryland Jockey Club continued to be involved in racing by presenting some steeplechasing and even trotting races at Pimlico, but the Preakness did not return home to Pimlico until 1909. During this interval, the Preakness was run for 15 years at the Gravesend track in Brooklyn, New York. These 15 so-called 'lost' Preaknesses were officially enrolled in the race history of the classic in 1948; the 1890 Preakness was added in the 1960's.

Several traditions enjoyed today are attributed to the spontaneity of the 1909 Preakness renewal. For example, the musical rendering of 'Maryland My Maryland' began when a bugler, moved by the spirit of the day, began playing Maryland's historic state song. The rest of the band, inspired by the music, joined in and the crowd reacted enthusiastically. In addition, Preakness 1909 also inaugurated the concept of the 'painting of the colors' atop the weather vane, to honor the winning horse.

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From that day in 1909, the Preakness has run without a break each year at Pimlico, steadily growing in popularity and purse value. It was once said that having the Preakness in Baltimore is like being able to schedule the World Series or Super Bowl every year. The Preakness Stakes has remained throughout history a true test of a horse's ability and class, a race where remarkable horses meet one another other in a great classic.

The phrase 'Triple Crown' was not coined until the 1930's, but it is this race on the third Saturday in May where the best of the Derby horses gather to see if there will be that window of opportunity for a Triple Crown prospect. Much goes on during this colorful time at Pimlico, but it has always been the horse that draws the fans. As poet Ogden Nash wrote: 'The Derby is a race of aristocratic sleekness, for horses of birth to prove their worth to run in the Preakness.'

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Always Dreaming Preakness Odds For Today

Below you'll find the payoffs on a $2 win ticket. Here's how you can figure out your payoff:Lets look at the first odds on the chart (1-10). Multiply your bet amount ($2) by the first number in the odds (1). Then divide that number by the second number in the odds (10) and then add your bet amount to the total to get your payoff ($2X1=2, 2/10=.20, .20+$2=$2.20).

Always Dreaming Preakness Odds

Always Dreaming Preakness Odds Stakes