Preakness

American  

[preek-nis] / ˈprik nɪs /

Trademark.

1. a horse race for three-year-olds run annually two weeks after the Kentucky Derby at Pimlico in Baltimore, Md.: the second race in the Triple Crown.

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Usage

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

The time was about two-thirds of a second slower than last year’s San Felipe victory by Journalism, who went on to win the Santa Anita Derby, Preakness and Haskell.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2026

In between, he won the Kentucky Derby four times, the Preakness seven times and the Belmont Stakes four times.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2025

Bookending that win was his last Triple Crown race victory, when he won the Preakness last year with Seize the Grey.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2025

In 1995, he won all three Triple Crown races but with two different horses; Thunder Gulch won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes and Timber Country won the Preakness.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2025

The work paid off: Fitzsimmons had cultivated the talents of myriad champions, including Gallant Fox and Omaha, two of the first three horses to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes—the Triple Crown.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand