Where: PimlicoWhen: May 14, 2005 In the spring of 1873, two years before the inaugural Kentucky Derby, the folks at Pimlico were busy working on a new three-year old stakes race of their own. Pimlico, which since its opening in 1870 had conducted all of its racing in the fall, ran its first Spring Meet in the year of 1873, with the initial running of the Preakness held on May 23. The Preakness was founded by then-Maryland governor Oden Bowie. Governor Bowie's term had actually ended in 1872, yet that did not prevent him from naming the then- mile and a half race in honor of the colt who won the Dinner Party Stakes in 1870 on the occasion of Pimlico's opening. At an 1868 Saratoga party hosted by a Milton Sanford, Bowie guaranteed that Maryland would have a track available for a race that was later dubbed the Dinner Party Stakes and had been instantly promoted by Bowie at the party when he offered $15,000 as a purse--no small sum at the time. The Maryland Jockey Club negotiated for the land that became known as Pimlico later that year; the new course opened as promised on October 25, 1870. Sanford, who had gained his wealth by selling blankets during the Civil war, went after the $15,000 with a colt of his own named Preakness, who won over all the horses of the race, including one owned by the governor which came in last. Nevertheless, it was Bowie who named the eventual second jewel of the Triple Crown. (The Dinner Party Stakes, later changed to the Early Times Dixie, is now the eighth oldest stakes race in America and still run annually at Pimlico.) On May 23, 1873 the first edition of the Preakness took place. Interestingly, the setting was familiar to that of the inaugural Derby. The crowds made it to the grounds by buggy carriage and omnibus, although a projected horsecar line from Baltimore and Pikesville was unfortunately terminated two miles south of the track. Still, some fans did arrive via the Northern Central Railroad which brought spectators closer to the track--a walk of only one uphill mile. The race itself claimed seven contestants, with Survivor galloping to an easy ten length victory, a margin of victory that still stands as the largest in Preakness history. The place of the Preakness Stakes in the Triple Crown and American sport is firm, with the race garnering nearly a half million people in attendance over the last five years. Preakness Stakes Horse Gambling

Source: Preakness Stakes Horse GamblingGambling Offtrack Preakness Stakes Odds Gambling