The Preakness: An American Classic
by Karin De Francis, former co-owner of the Maryland Jockey Club
Tere are few things in life blessed enough to survive World Wars, Depression, civil unrest and change, but the Preakness and Pimlico have done just that, gracing three centuries in Baltimore, while intricately weaving itself through the very social-eco- nomic-political fiber of our State...and the hearts of all Marylanders. Renowned for traditions whose observance connect us in- delibly to the greats of yesteryear, the event and brand have also kept pace with current times. From the days when carriages, steam railways and electric trolleys brought fans to the oval affectionately known as “Old Hill- top,” to today’s expensive Teslas, people flock from across the country and around the globe to Preakness. Truly, “the eyes of the world” are on Pimlico every third Saturday in May. After all, the American poet Ogden Nash
A look at Pimlico on Preakness Day in the 1910s (above) and early 2000s (below)
overlooking Jones Falls, where it sits today. A popular theory behind the name choice
once exclaimed, “Te Derby is a race of aris- tocratic sleekness for horses of birth to prove their worth to run in the Preakness!”
Pimlico Race Course It all started over cigars and brandy 151 years
ago. It was 1868, just three years after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in Ap- pomattox Court House, VA. Te occasion was a grand dinner party attended by America’s elite, including Maryland Governor Oden Bowie, at the Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga, NY, home to the nation’s first racetrack. When lively debate centered on who could next build an impressive racecourse, Governor Bowie boldly picked up the gauntlet and true to his word, opened Pim- lico Racecourse October 25, 1870, on 70 acres
Fresh out of the U.S. Army, Maryland Jockey Club track photog- rapher Jim McCue joined the team in 1970 making Canonero II’s 1971 Preakness Stakes win his first Preakness as a photographer. This year will be McCue’s 49th year shooting the Preakness Stakes.
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came from English settlers’ reminiscence of London and “Olde Ben’s Pimlico Tavern.” Te land was purchased for $23,500 - in 1869 the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) leased the land from the original purchasers, the Maryland Agricultural Society, for annual rent of $1,000 - and the racetrack was constructed for $25,000. Surprisingly, many complained the distance from the center of Baltimore to Pimlico was excessive, and suggested the location would serve better as a vacation destination, rather than a convenient racetrack! Eventually, the Western Maryland Railroad would carry pas- sengers in 1881 on a spur line called Arling- ton + Pimlico, with its own station at Garrison Blvd. + Reisterstown Rd., and tracks that went right into Pimlico grounds. Te MJC - now the parent company of Pim- lico Race Course and Laurel Park - is the old- est sporting institution in all of North America, founded in Annapolis in 1743, prior to the American Revolution. Te Club has enjoyed a rich history filled with historic person- alities who defined the country’s begin- nings. After all, racing was “America’s first national past time.” George Washington, a frequent enthusiast, reflected often in his diary of his days at the races in Maryland. Two signers of the Declara- tion of Independence, and President Andrew Jackson, who raced his White House stable under his secretary’s
name, were MJC members. Governor Bowie and distinguished Baltimore movers and shak- ers were elected as MJC President and officials, respectively, in 1870. As America’s second oldest racetrack, Pimlico
is one of our great, venerated sporting institu- tions, home to racing’s most indelible memories, including an event hard to fathom in today’s pol- itics. In 1877 the U.S. House of Representatives adjourned to join a crowd of 20,000 to watch the “Great Race of the Century” between Tom Ochiltree, Parole (the winner) and Ten Broeck. Te political significance established Pimlico as the country’s top race course. Te three horses are immortalized in an elegant reproduction on the exterior of the Clubhouse facing the main entry gate on Hayward Avenue.
The Preakness Stakes Begins
To commemorate that prophetic Saratoga summer evening two years earlier, Opening Day at Pimlico featured the Dinner Party Stakes (now run as the Dixie Handicap on the turf ). A large, ungainly bay colt (one of only two male starters in the seven-horse field) named Preakness, Native American for “quail woods,” won in front of 12,000 fans. Often referred to as just a “big cart horse,” he was named for owner Milton Sanford’s farm. Pimlico’s adjacent street, Hayward Avenue, gained its moniker from his jockey, William Hayward. Legend has it the modern day ref- erences of finish line “wire” and “purse money” originated with Hayward at Pimlico, who un- tied the small silk purse with gold pieces from the wire stretched across the track from the judge’s stand to claim the winning prize. At Governor Bowie’s request, and two years
before the first Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes debuted at Pimlico on May 23, 1873, and was won by Survivor, who galloped over his competition by 10 lengths, a record for 131 years until Smarty Jones’ romp by 11.5 lengths
continued... MAY 2019 | THE EQUIERY | 21
Longines photo
Maryland Jockey Club
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