In 1873, two years before the inaugural Kentucky Derby, the first Preakness Stakes was held at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland. This year's race, on May 19th, is the 132nd running of the event.
After every Preakness Stakes, the horse-and-jockey weather vane at Pimlico is repainted with the colors of the winning jockey.
Of the 52 fillies that have entered the Preakness Stakes, only four have won-Flocarline (1903), Whimsical (1906), Rhine Maiden (1915) and Nellie Morse (1924).
The Preakness Stakes was originally run at 1 1/2 miles. The distance changed several times before 1925, when the present distance of 1 3/16 miles (9.5 furlongs) was established. It is the shortest of the Triple Crown races.
In 1985, Tank's Prospect established a race record for the Preakness Stakes (1:53.40). In 1996, Louis Quatorze matched that time. Both horses were ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day.
The most common color of the winning horse at the Preakness Stakes is bay (69 winners), followed by chestnut (43 winners). Silver Charm, the 1997 winner, created a new category-gray/roan.
Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day set a record by winning the Preakness Stakes for three consecutive years-from 1994 to 1996. Day's five Preakness victories are second on the all-time list behind Eddie Arcaro, who had six.
Nine Preakness winners have sired Preakness winners. Two of these were triples: Bold Ruler (1957) sired Secretariat (1973) who sired Risen Star (1988); and Polynesian (1945) sired Native Dancer (1953) who sired Kauai King (1966).
In the 131 runnings of the Preakness Stakes, 67 race favorites have won.
Since 1909, the Preakness Stakes post position with the most wins is 6 (15 wins) and the second most wins is 4 (12 wins). Positions 10 and 11 are tied for last place (2 wins each).
Since 1941, almost half of the Preakness Stakes winners spent the opening months of their three-year-old campaigns racing in Florida.
Apart from 1918, when 26 horses entered the Preakness Stakes and the race was run in two divisions, the maximum number of starters is 14. The starting horses are determined on the last Wednesday before race day.
The record margin of victory in the Preakness Stakes was set by Smarty Jones in 2004, when he won by 11 1/2 lengths. He appeared to be the next Triple Crown champion but lost the Belmont Stakes to Birdstone by a length.
The highest win price in Preakness history is $48.80 on a $2 wager, paid by Master Derby in 1975.
The stretch at Pimlico Race Course is so short (1,152 feet) that winning moves usually come on or before the final turn rather than deep in the lane, which places a premium on nimble, quick horses.
In the past 25 years, only three horses have claimed the Preakness Stakes without contesting the Kentucky Derby first: Deputed Testamony in 1983, Red Bullet in 2000 and Bernardini in 2006.
The Preakness Stakes is often a breather for horsemen on the Triple Crown trail because it doesn't have the same media frenzy of the Kentucky Derby.
The most popular first initial for winning Preakness runners is B (16 wins), the second most popular is C (14 wins) and the least popular are I, Q, U, X, Y and Z (0 wins each).
The purse for the first Preakness Stakes, in 1873, was $2,050. The purse for this year's race is $1 million.
In 1919, Sir Barton became the first horse to win the Triple Crown (however, the term "Triple Crown" didn't come into use until 1930).
Since 1978, when Affirmed won the Triple Crown, seven horses have won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but haven't been able to add the Belmont Stakes.
Since 1875 only 11 horses have won the elusive Triple Crown, while 42 have won two of the three races.
Since 1875 there have been eight years when it wasn't possible to have a Triple Crown winner-either two of the three races were held on the same day or the races were canceled for various reasons.
Gallant Fox has been the only Triple Crown winner (1930) to sire another Triple Crown winner (Omaha, who won in 1935).
Only two trainers have trained more than one Triple Crown winner: James Fitzsimmons, who trained Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935); and Ben A. Jones, who trained Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948).
Eddie Arcaro is the only jockey to have ridden more than one Triple Crown winner. He rode to victory on Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948.
No filly has ever won the Triple Crown. In 1980 Genuine Risk set the best record ever for a filly, winning the Kentucky Derby and running second in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Winning Colors (1988) and Genuine Risk (1980) are the only fillies to have run in all three Triple Crown races.
Do numbers mean anything to you? In 2006, all three Triple Crown races were won by the #8 horse.
Only two Triple Crown winners-War Admiral (1937) and Count Fleet (1943)-went undefeated during their three-year-old seasons.
In 1915, Regret won the Kentucky Derby and Rhine Maiden captured the Preakness Stakes-the only time that two different fillies have won the Derby and the Preakness in the same year.
Of the 11 horses that won the Triple Crown, 6 were chestnut.
Todd Pletcher leads all trainers with 32 horses nominated to this year's Triple Crown races.
On June 5, 1993, thoroughbred racing's all-time leading female jockey, Julie Krone, became the first woman to win one of the Triple Crown races when she rode to victory in the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair.
In 1978, Affirmed won the Belmont Stakes-and the Triple Crown-by only a neck. His fierce rival, Alydar, became known as the only horse to finish second in all three races.
The $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes, run at Aqueduct each April since 1925, is a major prep race for the Kentucky Derby. Eleven winners have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, and four of those captured the Triple Crown.
Six Hollywood Futurity winners have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, including Real Quiet, who came within a nose of winning the 1998 Triple Crown.
