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
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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
That leaves the Preakness Stakes, the other major race for 3-year-olds, that has traditionally been run two weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks before the Belmont Stakes, on the outside looking in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
He also noted that Churchill Downs made an $85-million offer this spring to purchase the intellectual property rights to the Preakness, but the state of Maryland matched it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Last year, there was one: Journalism, who sandwiched a win in the Preakness around runner-up finishes in the Derby and Belmont.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
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
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