Black-Eyed Susan & Preakness Preview
by Katherine O. Rizzo Live racing returned to the historic Pimlico
Race Course on T ursday, April 4 for the annual Pimlico spring meeting. T e headlining race each year is, of course, the running of the $1 million Preakness Stakes (G1) on May 18. During the spring meet, live racing takes place at Pimlico on T ursdays through Sundays until June 8 and includes 26 stakes races. Seventeen of those races take place during Preakness weekend. Preakness day will showcase nine added money races, including fi ve graded events. In addition to the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of the Triple Crown, the Preakness day card will feature the $300,000 Dixie Handicap (G2) and three Grade 3 races.
Pre-Preakness Festivities T ere is a lot to do in and around Pimlico in
the weeks leading up to Preakness day. Already occurring in April was Chasin’ for Children where junior jockeys race ponies in fi ve events on the main track (photos will be published in our June Young Rider issue). Pimlico also off ered a Racing 101 all-day educational experience in April. T e annual Decanter Wine Festival was held on April 20-21 on Pimlico’s infi eld. T e Mt. Washington
Tavern held several Preakness Happy Hour evenings leading up to Preakness week with the last being held on May 9. T is Ladies Night is to celebrate the People’s Pink Party with pink drink specials and pink champagne. T e Tavern will donate 10% of all food and beverage revenue to the Maryland affi liate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. On May 11, Corrigan Sports is organizing the annual Down the Stretch for SGK Preakness 5K race where runners complete the entire race within the grounds of Pimlico. Also on May 11, Phil Vassar will headline
analysis to more than 20 racetracks since 2009. T ey will also be manning the Wagering 101 table in the Pimlico infi eld during Preakness weekend. T e David F. Woods Award will be given to Daily Racing Form writer Jay Privman for his feature on last year’s Preakness- winning trainer Doug O’Neill. Daily Racing Form photographer Barbara Livingston will be awarded the Jerry Frutkoff Preakness Photo Award,
sponsored
for the ladies as the country’s top fi llies battle it out for the $500,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) purse. Originally called the Pimlico Oaks, the mile and one-eighth test for three-year-old fi llies is traditionally held on the Friday before the Preakness. T e $300,000 Pimlico
by Nikon, for her 2012 Preakness fi nish line photo of I’ll Have Another and Bodemeister. WBAL-TV sports director Gerry Sandusky and Horse Racing Radio Network’s Mike Penna will be awarded the Old Hilltop Award for their excellent coverage of T oroughbred racing. During Preakness week, free tours are held each morning during Sunrise at Old Hilltop from 6-9 a.m. Fran Burns, head of Preakness tours, shared some new aspects of this year’s tours. “We are going to focus more on the aftercare of the horses as well as the T oroughbred Alliance Program,”
she
Pimlico tours begin at 6 a.m. on Wednesday-Friday during Preakness week.
said. In addition, several local riders will be on hand to answer questions and share their stories with off - the-track T oroughbreds who they have transitioned into new careers.
Fran
recommends that people come early and if a large group wishes to attend, to please schedule a private tour through Diana Harbaugh. More Pre-Preakness activities are being announced daily. Make sure to follow The Equiery on Facebook for additional activities.
People’s Pink Party Black-Eyed Susan Day will once again see
a kickoff concert at the Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Old Dominion, a Nashville-based country band will open for Vassar, who performed in the Preakness infi eld in 2011. T e next day is a Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch held in the Terrace Dining Room.
May 16 is the annual Alibi Breakfast for the
Preakness media awards. T is year, the Special Award of Merit is being awarded to Horse Player NOW, founded by Jeremy Plonk and Joe Kristufek. T e Horse Player NOW team has provided handicapping tips, picks and 38 | THE EQUIERY | MAY 2013
Pimlico dressed in pink as the day combines high-quality horse racing with fundraising for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. Black-Eyed Susan Day has always been a day
Selima Room Open House
Barbara Livingston’s award-winning photograph of the 2012 Preakness fi nish
Special is a mile and three-sixteenths race open to horses age three and older. T e Pimlico Special was fi rst run in 1937 and was won by Triple Crown winner War Admiral, who went on
to be named American Horse of the Year. T e following year, the Pimlico Special was host to the historic match race between War Admiral and Seabiscut. T e race was discontinued in 1958 but came back as a graded stakes race in 1989. In 2010, the Maryland Jockey Club combined this fi llies day with the People’s Pink Party, a day celebrating women. A percentage of the funds raised will go to the Komen Maryland Affi liate to use for community outreach programs and fund life-saving breast cancer research. In addition to the Black-Eyed Susan
Stakes, the BESD race card includes the Lady Legends for the Cure Race, a pari-mutuel race showcasing retired female jockeys. Pimlico will match the amount wagered to win in-state on the 2013 winner as a contribution to Komen Maryland. T is year, a $28,000 bonus will be awarded to the winner. T e jockeys include Barbara Jo Rubin, Patricia J. Cooksey, Abigail Fuller, Zoe Cadman, Cheryl White, Mary Russ-Tortora, Stacie Clark-Rogers and the 2012 winner Jennifer Rowland-Small. T ese legendary lady jockeys will be available for an autograph session between 10-11 a.m. on the fi rst fl oor of the grandstand. T e annual jockey challenge has a new twist this
A celebration of Secretariat’s Triple Crown 40th Anniversary will take place at the Selima Room on
Saturday, May 11 at 2 p.m. in the Bowie Branch Library. T e open house will include replaying of each race and a presentation from “Jello” Hall, a Pimlico offi cial who witnessed racing history fi rst hand.
year as the Battle of the Sexes pits four leading female jockeys against four male jockeys. Four races on the day’s card will earn jockeys points towards a $34,000 bonus. T e female jockeys in the challenge are Emma-Jayne Wilson, Rosie Napravnik, Rosemary Homeister and Forest Boyce. As of press time, the male challengers had not been announced. “T roughout the years we have had many formats but decided a boys against the girls concept would be the most fun,” said MJC racing secretary Georganne Hale. New for 2013 will be a BESD
infi eld concert, headlined by the Grammy-nominated Goo Goo Dolls. T e band’s latest album will
continued... 800-244-9580 |
www.equiery.com
Katherine O. Rizzo
872917-130513
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