Horse Racing

Preakness Stakes 2025: Date, Time, Location, How to Watch, Purse, Horses

Matthew Lomon, Railbirds Updated: May 12 2025 16:29

After Churchill Downs put on an unforgettable show with the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby, the horse racing world turns its attention to Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland for the 150th Preakness Stakes.

While we won’t see a Triple Crown winner for the seventh consecutive year – Derby victor Sovereignty will not participate in the Preakness – the second leg of the American Triple Crown remains must-see tv.

Set for Saturday, May 17, the 1 3/16-mile tilt for elite 3-year-old Thoroughbreds is one of nine total stakes races (four graded) on Pimlico’s power-packed Preakness day card.

The premier racing event will also feature live performances from renowned recording artists Wyclef Jean and T-Pain.

A pair of Hall of Famers in their respective sports, NBA legend Carmelo Anthony and Baltimore Ravens (NFL) icon Ray Lewis, will also serve as guest hosts.

Stay on top of your game, like Melo and big number 52, by getting the inside track on all things Preakness, courtesy of bet365.

2025 Preakness Stakes date

The 2025 Preakness will be run on Saturday, May 17.

2025 Preakness Stakes start time

Post time for the 2025 Preakness is 6:50 PM ET.

2025 Preakness Stakes location and venue

The Preakness is held annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.

2025 Preakness Stakes purse

For the second consecutive year, the Preakness carries a guaranteed purse of $2 million.

The purse value jumped from $1.5 million in 2023 to its current $2 million total last year.

While there isn’t an official prize breakdown ahead of the 2025 Preakness, this is how purse money was distributed across the top five finishers in 2024:

1st Place: $1.2 million
2nd Place: $400,000
3rd Place: $220,000
4th Place: $120,000
5th Place: $60,000

How to watch the 2025 Preakness Stakes, TV channel and streaming

The 2025 Preakness will be broadcast live on Ignite World Racing via Sportsnet ONE and NBC.

Television coverage begins at 4 PM ET on City TV (Canada), and 4 PM ET on NBC (United States).

A live stream of the event will also be available on Peacock.

Full event schedule for the 2025 Preakness Stakes

The 150th edition of the Preakness is the star of the show, but it’s not the only source of high-octane action coming to Pimlico on May 17.

Touch up on the details of each high-stakes contest below.

Side Note: The Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan, which is synonymous with the blanket of flowers by the same name draped over the Preakness champion, will be run on May 16 (Friday).

Saturday, May 17

Preakness Stakes

Purse: $2 million
Distance: 1 3/16 miles
Grade: 1
Age: 3
Surface: Dirt

Dinner Party

Purse: $250,000
Distance: 1 1/8 miles
Grade: 3
Age: 3+
Surface: Turf

Maryland Sprint

Purse: $150,000
Distance: 6 furlongs
Grade: 3
Age: 3+
Surface: Dirt

Gallorette

Purse: $150,000
Distance: 1 1/16 miles
Grade: 3
Age: 3+
Surface: Turf

Chick Lang Stakes

Purse: $150,000
Distance: 6 furlongs
Grade: N/A
Age: 3
Surface: Dirt

Skipat Stakes

Purse: $125,000
Distance: 6 furlongs
Grade: N/A
Age: 3+
Surface: Dirt

Jim McKay Turf Sprint

Purse: $125,000
Distance: 5 furlongs
Grade: N/A
Age: 3+
Surface: Turf

James W. Murphy Stakes

Purse: $100,000
Distance: 1 mile
Grade: N/A
Age: 3
Surface: Turf

Sir Barton Stakes

Purse: $100,000
Distance: 1 1/16 miles
Grade: N/A
Age: 3
Surface: Dirt

Preakness Stakes history

The long and rich history of the Preakness Stakes traces back to 1873, when Pimlico Race Course introduced the storied dash during its inaugural spring meet.

Survivor, under the hand of rider George Barbee, captured the maiden running, which carried a purse of $3,000, in 2:43.00. At the time, the race was contested over 1 1/2 miles. The distance varied in subsequent editions before settling at its current range of 1 3/16 miles in 1925.

Well-received then and in the years that followed, the Preakness continues to hold a sacred place amongst the most coveted Thoroughbred races in North America as the middle leg of the American Triple Crown.

Named after the colt who won the 1870 Dinner Party Stakes (now Dixie Stakes) in dramatic fashion, the Preakness transformed into an annual staple for the sport’s finest 3-year-old competitors.

Traditionally held two weeks after the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, at Pimlico, the race also known as the “Run for the Black-Eyed Susans,” has endured its fair share of scheduling conflicts over the years.

In 2020, the Preakness was held on October 3. Between 1891-1893, it did not run at all.

Pimlico has not always hosted the Preakness, either.

In 1890, Morris Park Racecourse in The Bronx, New York played host. The race was then held at Gravesend Race Track on Coney Island, New York from 1894 to 1908 before returning to Pimlico in 1909, where it has been held every year since.

The Preakness will have a new, albeit temporary home in 2026 due to planned renovations at Pimlico. Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland, will step in and host the 2026 running before the race returns to its original, and newly upgraded home in 2027.

Fast Facts:

Only three horses have won the Preakness and had unbeaten 3-year-old seasons: War Admiral (1937), Count Fleet (1943), and Justify, the last Triple Crown winner, in 2018.

The most money ever wagered on Preakness Stakes day came in 2021 when total handle hit $112,504,509.

The Woodlawn Vase, presented to the winning Preakness owner, is the most valuable trophy in American sports. Created by famed jewelry giant Tiffany and Co, the Woodlawn Vase was assessed at $1.3 million in 1983. Today, the triumphant owner is awarded a $30,000 replica. The original vase is on display at The Baltimore Museum of Art and brought to Pimlico under guard for the annual running of the Preakness.

A Pulse on Pimlico – history, track specs, and more

The second oldest racetrack in the United States only to Saratoga (1864), Pimlico Race Course first opened its doors on October 25, 1870.

Located in Baltimore, Maryland, the land on which the revered raceway would eventually occupy was purchased by the Maryland Jockey Club for $23,000. It cost the group $25,000 to build the track.

Oden Bowie, Maryland’s Governor at the time, floated the idea of buying the land and building Pimlico during a dinner party in Saratoga, New York in 1868.

Bowie and Co’s. vision was later bolstered by General John Ellicott, who helped engineer some of Pimlico’s most historic highlights.

The general’s enthusiasm brought to life countless memorable moments created by some of the sport’s most distinguished performers, including Man o’ War, Sir Barton, Secretariat, Citation, Cigar, War Admiral and Seabiscuit.

In fact, Pimlico is touted as the site in which Seabiscuit defeated War Admiral in the second ever Pimlico Special on November 1, 1938, in front of 43,000 spectators.

It is also remembered for “The Great Race,” a 2 ½-mile contest between champion racehorses Ten Broeck, Tom Ochiltree, and Parole on October 24, 1877. It was such a powerful draw that the United States Congress shut down for a day so its members could witness the race live.

As for the property itself, the original grounds were constructed on 70 acres of land. Today the property is double the size, covering over 140 acres.

Within the confines of Pimlico are two tracks: a one-mile dirt oval and a seven-furlong turf course. The property also features stables for approximately 1,000 horses and a capacity, infield included, of about 120,000.

The Preakness is the only Grade 1 stakes race held at Pimlico, but the track nicknamed “Old Hilltop” after a fan favourite small rise in the infield, hosts several other stakes events.

This includes the aforementioned Black-Eyed Susan (G2), Pimlico Special (G3), Miss Preakness (G3), Dinner Party (G3T), Gallorette (G3T), and Maryland Sprint (G3).