Longer distance helps Pimlico Special draw large field

BALTIMORE – The Pimlico Special has been a 1 3/16-mile race since War Admiral won the first running in 1937. This year, the distance has been increased to 1 1/4 miles.

Pimlico is a one-mile track, and Friday’s race will start at the very top of the stretch. Longtime track officials believe it will be the first time a 1 1/4-mile race has been held at Pimlico since the late 1980s. The track record of 2:01 4/5 for the distance was set in 1988 by Manzotti.

The idea to lengthen the Pimlico Special belongs to Chris Merz, who was named the Maryland Jockey Club’s racing secretary last July.

“We were looking at field size, and it was not that great,” Merz said. “The race attracts horses on the fringe who later in the year might be looking at stakes like the Pacific Classic and Jockey Club Gold Cup, both of which are mile-and-a-quarter races.

“Our race sits perfectly on the calendar, so we thought we’d make it the same distance and give horsemen a chance to see if their horses can handle the distance.”

Merz’s plan seems to have worked. When entries were taken for the Grade 3, $300,000 Pimlico Special last Sunday, 14 horses signed on. That’s the largest field since Blushing John beat 11 rivals in 1989. There have not been more than 10 starters in a Pimlico Special since. The number of entrants over the past five years have been 9, 10, 8, 10, and 9.

“It always helps to see results when you make a change like that,” Merz said.

This will be the 49th running of the Pimlico Special. The race was not held from 1959-87 or from 2009-11.