When the Preakness Stakes schedule gets in full swing, Pimlico Race Course has the eyes of the horse racing world centered on it for a couple days each and every May. This is because the second leg of the Triple Crown happens at the Baltimore racetrack in Maryland on an annual basis.
This page is all about the full Preakness Stakes program of events on the track at Pimlico. A two-day meet that starts with the Black Eyed Susan Stakes and its card on the third Friday in May, everything culminates the following day. That is when the Preakness program happens.
Table of contents
There’s a complete Preakness schedule of events across both days of the meet in Baltimore below. This tells you about every single race on the consecutive cards at Pimlico. Our tables tell you how far each of the Preakness Stakes horses events is in terms of distance. Some have restrictions based on the horse’s age and sex, or whether or not they have won before.
Before we get to the Preakness Stakes schedule, there’s the first day of the meet. Most of the betting interest on this card involves Black Eyed Susan picks as it is the feature race. Supporting that Grade II race for three-year-old fillies over the same distance as the Preakness are three Grade III events.
These are as follows. First, the Miss Preakness Stakes is a sprint contest with the same age and sex restrictions as the Black Eyed Susan Stakes. The Hilltop Stakes, meanwhile, is a turf race over a mile for three-year-old fillies. Finally, the last of the Grade III races is the Pimlico Special Stakes on dirt over an 9.5 furlongs and open to older horses.
Earlier on the supporting card is a Listed event for fillies and mares, the Allaire Dupont Distaff Stakes. This contest is also run over Preakness and Black Eyed Susan course and distance. A conditions turf sprint, The Very One Stakes, is yet another females only event at Pimlico on this date. Here is the Friday Preakness Stakes schedule in full:
| Race No | Race Name | Race Type | Surface | Distance | Age of Horses |
| 1 | Allowance Optional Claimer | Claiming Race | Dirt | 6f | 3yo |
| 2 | Maiden Special Weight | Maiden | Turf | 1m | 3yo |
| 3 | Allowance Optional Claimer | Claiming Race | Dirt | 1m 0.5f | 3yo+ |
| 4 | Allowance Race | Turf | 5f | 3yo+ | |
| 5 | Maiden Special Weight | Maiden | Dirt | 6f | 3yo |
| 6 | Allowance Optional Claimer | Claiming Race | Turf | 5f | 3yo+ |
| 7 | Allowance Optional Claimer | Claiming Race | Turf | 1m | 3yo+ |
| 8 | Allaire Dupont Distaff Stakes | Listed | Dirt | 1m 1f | 3yo+ fillies & mares |
| 9 | Hilltop Stakes | Grade III | Turf | 1m | 3yo fillies |
| 10 | Miss Preakness Stakes | Grade III | Dirt | 6f | 3yo fillies |
| 11 | The Very One Stakes | Conditions | Turf | 5f | 3yo+ fillies & mares |
| 12 | Pimlico Special Stakes | Grade III | Dirt | 1m 1.5f | 3yo+ |
| 13 | George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes | Grade II | Dirt | 1m 1f | 3yo fillies |
| 14 | Maiden Special Weight | Maiden | Turf | 5f | 3yo |
Moving on to the biggest day in Pimlico Race Course’s calendar, everything builds to the Grade I Triple Crown race. Most of the wagers taken by Preakness Stakes betting sites are on the big race for sure. There’s a packed program before we get to that, though.
The Preakness Stakes schedule contains another 14 races. There are five Grade III contests and a with couple Listed status in the build-up to the main event. Each of these are worth a mention too. The Chick Lang Stakes is a six-furlong sprint on the dirt for three-year-olds only. There is also the Maryland Spring Stakes at the same distance open to older horses.
Three of the Grade IIIs are turf races. These are the Gallorette Stakes over an extended mile, the Dinner Party Stakes that is the oldest stakes race in the entire Mid-Atlantic region, and James W Murphy Stakes for three-year-olds. Here is the complete Preakness race schedule for the big day:
| Race No | Race Name | Race Type | Surface | Distance | Age of Horses |
| 1 | Allowance Optional Claimer | Claiming Race | Dirt | 6f | 3yo+ |
| 2 | Allowance Race | Turf | 1m | 3yo+ | |
| 3 | Maiden Special Weight | Maiden | Dirt | 1m 0.5f | 3yo |
| 4 | Maryland Sprint Stakes | Grade III | Dirt | 6f | 3yo+ |
| 5 | Allowance Race | Turf | 5f | 3yo+ | |
| 6 | Skipat Stakes | Listed | Dirt | 6f | 3yo+ fillies & mares |
| 7 | Gallorette Stakes | Grade III | Turf | 1m 0.5f | 3yo+ |
| 8 | Chick Lang Stakes | Grade III | Dirt | 6f | 3yo |
| 9 | Jim McKay Turf Sprint Stakes | Listed | Turf | 5f | 3yo+ |
| 10 | Sir Barton Stakes | Black Type | Dirt | 1m 0.5f | 3yo |
| 11 | James W Murphy Stakes | Grade III | Turf | 1m | 3yo |
| 12 | Dinner Party Stakes | Grade III | Turf | 1m 1f | 3yo+ |
| 13 | Preakness Stakes | Grade I | Dirt | 1m 1.5f | 3yo |
| 14 | UAE President Cup | Grade I | Dirt | 1m 0.5f | 4yo+ Pureblood Arabians |