Preakness Stakes Trivia: 20 Fun and Interesting Facts About the Preakness Stakes

Second Leg Of The Triple Crown for Horse Racing

Last updated: May 15, 2025

After the Kentucky Derby it's now time to impress your friends with some Preakness trivia! Get ready for the Preakness Stakes with our list of trivia questions.

We can't guarantee that you will always pick the winner of the Preakness but we can guarantee that all your friends will think you are a Preak'in genius!

How old is the Preakness Stakes?

The Preakness Stakes will be run for the 150th time in 2025.

When was the first Preakness Stakes?

The first Preakness Stakes was held in 1873 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.

How did the horse race get its name?

Maryland Governor Oden Bowie, who was instrumental in the building of Pimlico, named the race to commemorate a horse. The colt named Preakness had won the track's first stakes race on its grand opening day, the Dinner Party Stakes, in 1870.

Who won the first Preakness Stakes?

Survivor, ridden by George Barbee, romped by 10 lengths in the inaugural running.

Seize the Grey wins the 2024 Preakness S. at Pimlico (Photo by Horsephotos.com)

Who won the 2024 Preakness Stakes?

Seize the Grey went wire-to-wire in last year's Preakness, under 25-year-old jockey Jaime Torres.

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How many horses can run in the Preakness Stakes?

The field is limited to a maximum of 14 starters. But that was not always the case in times past; 18 horses ran in the 1928 Preakness.

What is the Preakness Stakes distance?

The Preakness is 1 3/16 miles or 9.5 furlongs, making it the shortest of the Triple Crown races. Originally, the race was 1 1/2 miles. It has been held at its current distance since 1925.

Which horse holds the record for the fastest Preakness Stakes time at the current distance?

Triple Crown winner Secretariat holds the stakes record time of 1:53, established in 1973.

How many different distances and tracks has the Preakness Stakes been run at?

The race has been contested over seven distances, and three racetracks, in the course of its history. For several years around the turn of the 20th century, the Preakness was run in New York at Morris Park (1890) and Gravesend (1894-1908).

Has the Preakness Stakes always been held two weeks after the Kentucky Derby?

Prior to 1931, there were 11 years in which the Preakness preceded the Kentucky Derby. In fact, there were actually two years, 1917 and 1922, where the two races were held on the same day. The exigencies of World War II caused the 1945 Derby to be pushed to June 9, with the Preakness following one week later. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic played havoc with the Triple Crown schedule, the Derby was run on Sept. 5 and the Preakness four weeks later on Oct. 3.

Which jockey holds the record for most Preakness Stakes wins?

Eddie Arcaro is the most decorated jockey in the Preakness Stakes with six wins, including aboard Triple Crown legends Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948). Here are the leading jockeys by Preakness wins:

Eddie Arcaro: 6 wins (1941, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1957)
Pat Day: 5 wins (1985, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996)
George Barbee: 3 wins (1873, 1876, 1883)
Lloyd Hughes: 3 wins (1875, 1879, 1880)
Bill Hartack: 3 wins (1956, 1964, 1969)
Gary Stevens: 3 wins (1997, 2001, 2013)
Victor Espinoza: 3 wins (2002, 2014, 2015)

What letter has the most Preakness winners' names started with?

If you are superstitious, there have been 17 winners whose names began with C, and Clever Again will try to enhance that stat in 2025. But "S" is in hot pursuit with 16, and if Sandman prevails, he would force a tie for alphabetical bragging rights.

17 winners: C (most recently with Cloud Computing in 2017)
16: B (Big Brown in 2008
16: S (Seize the Grey in 2024)
9: D (Deputed Testamony in 1983)
9: H (Hansel in 1991)
9: P (Point Given in 2001)
9: T (Timber Country in 1995)
9: R (Rombauer in 2021)

How many fillies have won the Preakness Stakes?

Six fillies have beaten the boys in the Preakness:

Flocarline in 1903
Whimsical in 1906
Rhine Maiden in 1915
Nellie Morse in 1924
Rachel Alexandra in 2009
Swiss Skydiver in 2020

How many female jockeys have won the Preakness Stakes?

Currently, no female jockey or trainer has ever won this race. British jockey Saffie Osborne would make history if she rides Heart of Honor to an upset in 2025.

How many Kentucky Derby winners have won the Preakness Stakes since 1990?

There have been 11 Kentucky Derby-winning horses to have won the Preakness since 1990, and they are:

Silver Charm in 1997
Real Quiet in 1998
Charismatic in 1999
War Emblem in 2002
Funny Cide in 2003
Smarty Jones in 2004
Big Brown in 2008
I'll Have Another in 2012
California Chrome in 2014
American Pharoah in 2015
Justify in 2018

Of those, only American Pharoah and Justify were able to complete a Triple Crown sweep in the Belmont Stakes.

How many horses have won the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, but not the Kentucky Derby, since 1990?

Since 1990, only four horses have been able to accomplish this feat, further exemplifying how difficult it is to win each horse race.

Hansel in 1991
Tabasco Cat in 1994
Point Given in 2001
Afleet Alex in 2005

Of Bob Baffert's Kentucky Derby winners, how many went on to win the Preakness?

Bob Baffert, one of the most successful trainers in horse racing history, has trained six Kentucky Derby winners. Five of them turned the Derby/Preakness double, and two went on to sweep the Triple Crown.

Silver Charm 1997
Real Quiet 1998
War Emblem 2002
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in 2015
Triple Crown winner Justify in 2018

Has a Preakness winner ever sired a Preakness winner?

History proves that winning can be in your genes. Ten horses by Preakness winners have gone on to win the race themselves. And they are:

Bold Ruler (1957) / Secretariat (1973)
Bold Venture (1936) / Assault (1946)
Gallant Fox (1930) / Omaha (1935)
Man o'War (1920) / War Admiral (1937)
Polynesian (1945) / Native Dancer (1953)
Citation (1948) / Fabius (1956)
Native Dancer (1953) / Kauai King (1966)
Secretariat (1973) / Risen Star (1988)
Summer Squall (1990) / Charismatic (1999)
Curlin (2007) / Exaggerator (2016)