Preakness weekend to feature 16 stakes worth $3.25 million

Pimlico Race Course will run 16 stakes on the two race cards featuring the $1 million Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes this year, the track announced on Thursday, with total purses of $3.25 million.

Ten of the stakes will be run on Preakness Day, May 15, while the other six will be run on May 14, topped by the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan. Both stakes races and their complementary race cards were delayed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic and run in early October, without spectators.

The company that owns Pimlico, 1/ST racing, said in a release that ticket information for both race days “will be announced shortly.” Churchill Downs has said that it plans to sell up to 60 percent of its reserved seating capacity for the Kentucky Derby, scheduled for May 1 this year.

The Preakness undercard will include the Grade 2 Dinner Party and three Grade 3 races for Thoroughbreds: the Chick Lang, the Gallorette, and the Maryland Sprint.

The Black-Eyed Susan undercard will feature five stakes, including three Grade 3 stakes races: the Pimlico Special, the Miss Preakness, and the Allaire duPont.

The short Pimlico meet this year starts on May 7 and ends on May 31.