The History of the Pimlico Race Course

Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course is the second-oldest horse track in America. It has been a steady home to the Preakness Stakes, the second race in the Triple Crown, since 1909.

  1. Early Ideas

    • In 1868, Maryland Governor-elect Oden Bowie, while attending a dinner party, suggested that guests get together once a year to race their year-old horses. While other tracks bid on the suggested race (Saratoga Race Course among them), Bowie promised to build a "model track" in Baltimore for the race and won support for the idea.

    The Building Process

    • The Maryland Jockey Club purchased 70 acres of land in 1868 and then began construction on the $25,000 stadium. It was named Pimlico after the area's name given by English settlers in the Colonial era.

    Throughout the Years

    • Pimlico emerged in the early 1900s as one of the top tracks in the nation and helped spark interest in horse racing in Maryland. It weathered the 1910 anti-gambling movement, the Great Depression, and several fires. The modern-day track plays host to nearly 100,000 people for the Preakness each year.

    Special Appearances

    • Because the Preakness Stakes is held at Pimlico, some of the most important horses in racing history have run the course. War Admiral, Sea Biscuit, Man O' War and Secretariat are some of the biggest names to race and win at Pimlico.