It seems like change has been a constant for the hallowed Triple Crown series this decade. After the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic turned the world, the racing calendar in general, and the series upside down, the last three years have seen upheaval due to massive renovations of historic racetracks in New York and now in Maryland. The Belmont Stakes is residing upstate at Saratoga, and at a shorter distance, for the third straight year due to the soon-to-be-completed reconstruction of Belmont Park. Meanwhile, with new racing leadership in Maryland and Pimlico Race Course in the process of being rebuilt, this Saturday’s Preakness Stakes will be contested at Laurel Park, some 30 miles southwest of its traditional home in Baltimore. Change was also a constant in the early years of the current middle jewel of the Triple Crown, which will now have been contested at four different tracks, under different conditions, and on different dates – including on the same day as both the Derby and Belmont. Following is a timeline of some key events in the history of the Preakness Stakes; the parallel history of Laurel Park, which gets a day in the national spotlight during, essentially, its last hurrah; and the development of some Preakness traditions which have survived no matter the circumstances. :: Get ready for Preakness with DRF past performances, picks, and betting strategies! 1870: The seeds for the Preakness Stakes and for Pimlico were planted at a dinner party in Saratoga hosted by Milton H. Sanford to commemorate the win by his Lancaster in the 1868 Saratoga Cup, with Oden Bowie, governor of Maryland and a racing entrepreneur, among the guests. Stories note that this was quite the party, and financier John Hunter called for the evening of celebration and friendship to be commemorated with a stakes race. Bowie requested that the race be held in Maryland and pledged to build a track worthy of hosting it. The Dinner Party Stakes, contested on Pimlico’s opening day in October 1870, was won by Sanford’s colt Preakness. 1873: Pimlico held its first spring meet, with the feature race on Tuesday, May 23 the Preakness Stakes for 3-year-olds, named for the inaugural Dinner Party winner. Survivor won the 1 1/2-mile race. The Preakness predated the inaugural 1875 Kentucky Derby, and followed the 1867 Belmont Stakes, but has not been held continuously, with that recognition belonging to the Derby. 1890: After Buddhist won the 1889 Preakness, contested at 1 1/4 miles, racing at Pimlico was suspended until 1904 due to economic struggle in America. Somewhat fittingly, the Preakness returned to its New York roots for a number of years. In 1890 at Morris Park, Burlington won the Belmont Stakes at 1 1/4 miles – and on the undercard, 5-year-old Montague won the Preakness Stakes, contested without age restrictions under handicap conditions at 1 1/2 miles. The Preakness would later be run under handicap conditions from 1910 to 1915. 1894: The Preakness was not contested in 1891, 1892, or 1893 before returning in 1894 at another New York track, Gravesend. Assignee won the race at 1 1/16 miles. It would remain at that distance or shorter until 1911, when it jumped to 1 1/8 miles. 1909: The Preakness returned to Pimlico, where it has remained until this year, with Effendi winning the race at a mile. Effendi’s silks christened an ornament the Maryland Jockey Club had commissioned – an iron weather vane in the form of a horse and rider on the clubhouse. 1911: Laurel Park opened on Oct. 2, 1911, under the direction of the Laurel Four County Fair. Three years later, the track was sold to Philip J. Dwyer and James Butler, who appointed Col. Matt Winn, whose savvy marketing skills are credited with making the Kentucky Derby America’s marquee event, as the general manager. 1917: Thomas Clyde of Goughacres Stable presented a trophy won by his colt Shorthose in New York to the Maryland Jockey Club, where he was director, proposing it as a perpetual trophy for the Preakness. Col. Edward R. Bradley’s Kalitan was the first Preakness winner of the Woodlawn Vase. Originally designed by Tiffany and Co. for the defunct Woodlawn Racing Association in Louisville, Ky., the Vase is widely recognized as the most valuable trophy in sports, and was famously buried for safekeeping during the Civil War. 1918: The Preakness drew 26 entries, resulting in the race being run in two divisions, with Jack Hare Jr. winning one and War Cloud the other. The record Preakness field for a single edition came in 1928, when Victorian topped a field of 18. 1922: The last time the Preakness was contested without a single Kentucky Derby starter was in 1922.The reason being both races were held on the same day, May 13. That had also happened in 1917. 1925: Coventry won the Preakness at 1 3/16 miles as the race settled at its current distance. :: Get Preakness Betting Strategies for exclusive wagering insights, contender analysis, and more 1932: Burgoo King won the Kentucky Derby on May 7 and the Preakness Stakes on May 14, but then did not contest the Belmont Stakes on June 4, won by Faireno. This marked the Triple Crown races settling into their current order, although the mystique of sweeping the series was not yet well-established. After Sir Barton won the three races in 1919, some journalists began using the term as early as the 1920s, but after Gallant Fox won the three races in 1930, Charles Hatton of the Daily Racing Form is credited with bringing the term into the common vernacular. The more modern five-week spacing between the races was set in 1969. 1940: Col. Bradley’s Bimelech was the first Preakness winner to don the blanket of the state flower, the black-eyed Susan. However, in a sleight of hand, since that flower does not typically bloom until June, the winner’s garland is actually constructed of painted daisies. 1945: Restrictions on racing due to World War II put the Triple Crown in jeopardy, but after the European front ended in May 1945, the show went on. The Kentucky Derby was held on June 9, followed seven days later by the Preakness, and the Belmont on June 23. It was the latest the races would be run until 2020’s upheaval. 1946: The Preakness, which carried a value of $1,000 on its inauguration, climbed to a six-figure purse for the first time, as eventual Triple Crown winner Assault won the $100,000 race. 1947: The Maryland Jockey Club, which owned Pimlico and Timonium, added Laurel Park to its roster, with the idea of consolidating operations by shifting Pimlico racing to Laurel. The Maryland General Assembly rejected the idea. Laurel was later sold in 1950 to Morris Schapiro, who named his youngest son, John D. Schapiro, as the track’s new president, ushering in a period of growth. 1952: The Washington D.C. International was introduced at 1 1/2 miles on the Laurel turf course, with John Schapiro adding an international quarantine area to the track and covering travel costs to encourage participation. The race drew top Thoroughbreds from the U.S. and Europe and was considered important enough to attract horses from the Soviet Union during the 1960s, despite the Cold War. Queen Elizabeth II and Sir Winston Churchill attended early editions of the race. For his efforts in putting Laurel Park and the U.S. on the map with a major international event, John Schapiro was recognized as 1961 “Man of the Year” in racing by Sports Illustrated. The International was discontinued in 1994 due to competition on the late fall calendar from the Breeders’ Cup. 1966: An eight-alarm fire on the night of June 17 destroyed the members’ clubhouse at Pimlico. About the only thing that survived was the iron weather vane, which would later be displayed in a small museum of artifacts on the rebuilt track grounds, with a replica gracing the cupola above the infield winner’s circle. 1986: Laurel Park, now under the ownership of Frank De Francis and Robert and John Manfuso, hosted the inaugural Maryland Million, an event that continues today. The program was devised by legendary broadcaster Jim McKay, who was inspired by the inaugural Breeders’ Cup in 1984 to create an event that would showcase his adopted home state. The program consisted of nine races, exclusively for Maryland-sired horses, with total purses of $1 million. 1998: The Preakness purse was guaranteed at $1 million, climbing into the seven-figure ranks. The purse now stands at $2 million, established in 2024. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  2007: The Maryland Jockey Club was purchased by Magna Entertainment in 2007. By 2011, The Stronach Group, an offshoot of Magna, took control of the assets and operations of Laurel, Pimlico, and the Bowie Training Center. 2020: The global Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a restructuring of the Triple Crown. With many winter and spring prep races canceled or postponed, the Belmont Stakes was held in late June, and was shortened to 1 1/8 miles, as 3-year-olds had not yet been able to build the foundation to go 1 1/2 miles. The Kentucky Derby was held on Sept. 5, and the Preakness capped off the series on Oct. 3. The filly Swiss Skydiver outdueled Derby winner Authentic. 2025: The 150th Preakness Stakes, won by Journalism, was celebrated at Pimlico. Shortly afterward, a major re-build of Pimlico began, resulting in this year’s Preakness, with attendance capped at 4,800 due to the venue, being moved to Laurel, during a period of major change for the state. In 2024, the state reached a deal with Belinda Stronach’s 1/ST Racing and Gaming, the owner of Pimlico and Laurel, to acquire Pimlico and issue nearly $400 million in bonds to rebuild the track. The terms of the deal state that the bonds will be repaid by subsidies the Maryland racing industry receives from in-state casinos. While 1/ST retained Laurel in the deal, the state reached an agreement to purchase the property and plans to consolidate racing at Pimlico and convert Laurel into a year-round training center. Last week, a legislative committee in Maryland did place a 45-day delay on the state’s purchase of Laurel to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the transaction. But in the meantime, the 151st Preakness Stakes will be conducted at Laurel on Saturday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.