Pimlico limits Preakness alcohol

Fans at next year's Preakness Stakes will not be allowed to bring alcohol bought outside the track into the grandstand and clubhouse areas of Pimlico, ending a longstanding tradition.

The change was confirmed Tuesday by the Maryland Jockey Club. Spectators will still be allowed to bring beer in cans into the infield on Preakness Day.

A spokesman for the track, Mike Gathagan, said the change would bring Preakness policy in line with the other Triple Crown races. Churchill Downs, site of the Kentucky Derby, and Belmont Park, site of the Belmont Stakes, do not allow any outside alcohol on those Triple Crown race days.

Asked if outside beer might eventually be banned from the infield, Gathagan said, "It's too early to tell, but I would think that's not likely to happen."