Preakness
AmericanUsage
What is the Preakness? The Preakness is an annual horse race at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It’s officially called the Preakness Stakes. It is the second race in the three-race that also includes the races known as the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. Winning all three races in a single year is known as winning the Triple Crown. The Preakness is limited to 14 three-year-old horses and is run on a dirt track that is 1 3/16 miles long.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The exclusion of the Triple Crown’s middle jewel comes after three of the last five Kentucky Derby winners skipped the Preakness, including in each of the past two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Moments after Golden Tempo’s victory in this year’s Derby, trainer Cherie DeVaux was asked if she would run in the Preakness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Of the 95 horses who have run in the Kentucky Derby in the past five years, only 13 entered the starting gate for the Preakness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
“This extra week between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness opens the Preakness to potential participants who use modern training methods,” said Bill Knauf, president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
In Baltimore’s Preakness Stakes, Stout stuck to his stirrups but finished second to Derby winner Bold Venture, foiled by the brilliant reinsmanship of Seabiscuit’s onetime jockey, George Woolf.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
