Human Timers: History of The Preakness Stakes

The Preakness is only 1 3/16 miles, but its history takes way more twists than that. We’re coming off watching the Kentucky Derby, mixing up the signature Black Eyed Susan cocktail, and then digging into how the Preakness Stakes becomes a pillar of American thoroughbred racing and the most stressful checkpoint in the Triple Crown.

We walk through the origins of horse racing, then zoom in on the Preakness itself: where the name comes from, why the “first year” can be confusing, and how the race bounces around before it finally finds a stable identity at Pimlico Race Course. The early versions look nothing like today, including a period where it’s run as a handicap race with different weights assigned to horses, plus years where the race doesn’t run at all.

Then we get into what makes the Preakness the make-or-break race for a Kentucky Derby winner: the short two-week turnaround, the reality of fresh challengers entering the field, and why strategy and recovery can matter as much as speed. We also unpack the traditions that give the race its Maryland flavor, including the Black Eyed Susan blanket and the fun fact that the flowers on the winner aren’t actually in bloom in May.

And yes, we talk Secretariat. The 1973 Preakness timing controversy turns “human timers” into unlikely heroes, with video review decades later setting an official record. We close with modern news that could reshape the future: Pimlico’s reconstruction moving the 2026 Preakness to Laurel, and Churchill Downs Incorporated buying the intellectual property rights to the Preakness brand. Subscribe, share the show with a racing fan, and leave us a rating and review. What tradition or fact surprised you most?

Transcript

Derby Reactions And Race Day Drinks

SPEAKER_03 0:15

Oh hey there.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Oh hey there.

SPEAKER_03 0:18

Welcome to the History Buffons. I'm Bradley. I'm Kate.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

We go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 0:24

Oh, I was just gonna ask how you doing.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

I'm good. We just watched uh Kentucky Derby.

SPEAKER_03 0:27

Yes, we did.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Which uh we did an episode on last the history, yeah, of the Kentucky Derby last year. Turn my ears down. And oh boy, who what was the name of the horse that just won? It wasn't Golden Tempo. Golden Tempo, that's right.

SPEAKER_03 0:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

So my original horse, uh Great White scratched at the last second. Poor guy. He flipped over on almost onto his jockey. And um it's so sad. It was, and he was such a pretty horse, too. So I went with one of the co-favorites, which I felt was kind of a cop out. I picked Renegade and he ended up second. So and you picked Elbus because of Harry Potter. Yeah, Mr. Dumbledore.

SPEAKER_03 1:07

And he did not make it onto any screen that we screened. That's okay, though.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

I never I never saw his final um his final uh place. But either way, so which leads us into today's episode.

SPEAKER_03 1:21

The history of the Preakness.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

So we did the Kentucky Derby last year. It was our first attempt at video too on YouTube. It was horrible. It was a terrible, terrible experience. Well, the the video portion of it. Yeah, I I I've learned a lot since then. You have. Um, as have I. Our our that's the first and only video to cut out halfway through. Well, no, there was one other video that we never put out for a video because it just was all messed up until we started using different things.

SPEAKER_03 1:55

But, anyways, um, so yeah, so go easy on us if you go back to that one.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Well, we appreciate the extra downloads today leading up to today because of the derby. So we hope someone learned something. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 2:06

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

But today's gonna be about the preakness. And yes, I do know about this episode because we planned this out on purpose because um we just watched the derby, so that's obviously was today. The preakness is in two weeks. This episode, as you hear it, will be coming out literally the Tuesday prior to the the Preakness. So uh today we're having the signature um Preakness cocktail. It's called a black-eyed Susan. I found them uh multiple recipes. This is the one I landed on. I'm gonna be honest, not a not a huge fan, like mint julips. Okay, but we'll see, we'll see what you like.

SPEAKER_03 2:43

You like mint julips.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

I love it okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:46

So, and that was the Kentucky Derby uh cocktail.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Correct.

SPEAKER_03 2:49

Okay. Um this is a black-eyed Susan.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Yeah, that's what and we'll obviously get into that more why it's a black-eyed Susan. But uh, I had to bring my my dad got me this years ago. My shaker, my glass shaker. So I made it in that for dad. But uh what's in it? All right, so it's and I made it two of them. Oh we're using short glasses, whatever. It's uh ounce of bourbon, ounce of vodka, ounce of peach chops, two ounces of orange juice, two ounces of sour per drink is what it is.

SPEAKER_03 3:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Uh sweet and sour, whatever. That's what we got. Um so yeah, so it's I didn't I f I didn't bother with the garnishes because we're not having many of them.

SPEAKER_03 3:29

So Yeah, we're just having like the one, maybe one and a half.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

Oh, I don't mind it.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

I take that back. I apparently make it better than the bartender who made it for me.

SPEAKER_03 3:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

This tastes better than the one I have.

SPEAKER_03 3:44

I feel like it needs just a just a touch more sweetness. Maybe just a hair.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:49

That's good.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

No, I okay. I take what I said back earlier. No, no shade towards the bartender, but I felt like I made this better.

SPEAKER_03 3:57

Okay. On upon second sip, it does taste really good. Yeah. Maybe it's not, maybe doctoring it isn't needed.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

I don't think so. No, this is way better than the other one I had. Wow. Nice. Wow. I like happy accidents, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

So I'm glad I still want them through with it. But we also do have some backup beers. Yes. You got that one, I'll get this one. I got an orange shandy, which Kate has never had.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

And I have the honey lemon light and Kugel.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

Which you and I have tried that before. Oh, have we? I think. I don't recall. I don't recall either.

SPEAKER_03 4:32

But we have one of each.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:34

Just in case we didn't like our cocktail.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

So well, not even just in case. Once the cocktails come.

How Horse Racing Took Shape

SPEAKER_03 4:40

Okay, so congratulations to Golden Tempo. Um, so I'll just kind of briefly refresh on last year's episode on the Kentucky Derby. Um, as far as like horse racing kind of goes back, it like shows up in like super early civilizations. Well, yeah. It's a very, very, very old sport. Yep. Uh the ancient Greeks ran chariot races and mounted races in the Olympics. Um, the Romans turned it into like a massive event. Yep. Um, and then regions like Arabia and North Africa began developing horse breeds. Um, and then in England, racing started as a way to show off horses for sale.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 5:27

But by the time Henry VIII and James I of England, it had become more of a structured structured sport with that royal backing. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 5:35

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 5:36

So in America, organized racing began in the 1600s, um, originally focused on endurance. And after the shivil war, it shifted to speed. Right. Um, and that's the version version of racing um that we know of today.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

Yeah, it evolved into what it is today. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 5:55

So once horse racing had evolved into something more structured, like the rules and the breeding and the competition and all that, you start to see these like individual races that are trying to establish themselves kind of come out of the limelight.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:10

So that's what happened to the preakness stakes.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Come into the limelight.

SPEAKER_03 6:14

What did I say?

SPEAKER_00 6:15

Out of.

SPEAKER_03 6:16

Into the limelight.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

Because the limelight is a good thing. We like the limelight. I love limelight. It's an idiom we did on a long time ago.

SPEAKER_03 6:26

Oh, I don't remember it.

Why The Preakness Exists

SPEAKER_00 6:27

I know.

SPEAKER_03 6:28

So the name Preakness comes from a horse owned by Odin Bowie.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 6:35

He was a former uh Maryland governor who played a major role in developing horse racing in the state.

SPEAKER_02 6:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:42

Um, the horse Preakness won the dinner party stakes in 1870. It was one of the first major races held at this race course when it opened.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Because that's just when it opened.

SPEAKER_03 6:53

Yes. So that win helped um establish this track early on. And throughout this um history, I'm actually gonna be asking Bradley some questions to see what his knowledge is because he knows a lot more about horse racing than I do. Um, so um one of the questions is what year was the first Preakness Stakes run?

SPEAKER_00 7:17

1890.

SPEAKER_03 7:18

1873.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

Damn it. No, I fucked that up.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

Yeah, I knew that was saying 1890 was one of my options, though.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

I know. No, I fucked that up. I knew it was 1873.

SPEAKER_03 7:30

1873. It was actually two years before the Kentucky Derby first started.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

Right. But it wasn't also it's a weird, so like the here the beginning of the fucking Preakness is really kind of strange because it was the dinner party stakes early on until it was renamed the Preakness after that horse, which I never knew until recently. Um but like so, like getting a clarification on it, that's why I went with 1890 because the thing I saw was not right, it was all over the place. It's like 1873, yeah, 1870, 1890.

SPEAKER_03 8:10

It's like, well, which fucking one isn't so so because it places the preakness right in that early era of American horse racing, everything was still trying to be figured out, and this preakness was not a part of the Triple Crown yet.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

No, that's not until the 1900s.

SPEAKER_03 8:29

So Baltimore, Maryland wanted to compete in places like New York. They needed something that would draw attention, money, prestige. Um, and preakness was part of that effort.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Right.

SPEAKER_03 8:40

So the Preakness State Stakes is held at which historic race course do you know? Pimlico. Pimlico race course, correct. Trying to clean my glasses and I'm fucking shit up. So um, while that is true, it wasn't always that simple. Right. Pimlico became the home, but not immediately. Right. In the early years, horse racing didn't have these fixed traditions, and tracks competed, schedules shifted, and races moved when it made sense financially or logistically. So at one point in history, the Prignes Stakes temporarily temporarily left Baltimore.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

Oh, where did it go?

SPEAKER_03 9:20

Where did it go?

SPEAKER_00 9:21

Oh, I don't know that question.

SPEAKER_03 9:22

You have four options. Okay. Chicago, New York, no, Philadelphia, yes, or Boston.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Boston. It went to New York. It did go to New York.

SPEAKER_03 9:33

The race didn't have go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Only reason why I didn't pick New York is because that's where the Belmont is.

SPEAKER_03 9:38

But so the race didn't have an identity yet. Um, it had to follow the money. So in 1890, Morris Park Race Course in the Bronx, New York, hosted the Preakness Stakes. Okay. And even when this the Preakness started to stabilize, it still didn't look like what it does today. Right. There were differences that shaped how it was run and who would could even compete. So one of the biggest differences early on was that the Preakness wasn't always a straight stakes race the way it is now.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

Okay.

Early Rule Changes And Race Gaps

SPEAKER_03 10:11

It was run as a handicap race. Oh. This is not part of my questions, but do you know what that is?

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Oh shit. Isn't it? No. I don't remember exactly what the difference between a stakes and a handicap is.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

So it wasn't about like a disadvantage. I have to sneeze.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Because we're tight. Blast you. She normally does it in twos.

SPEAKER_03 10:37

It came out of no way.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

Well, came out of your nose.

SPEAKER_03 10:40

Horses were assigned different weights to carry during the race based on their past performance. That's wild. So better, more successful horses were given more weight and less proof proven horses carried less.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

And they were, in essence, just trying to balance out. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 10:59

They were leveling the playing field. So if one horse had been dominating races, you didn't let them just show up and run at the same weight as everybody else. You added more weight to make it competitive. Um, so in theory, every horse had a more equal shot at winning. Okay. So trainers had to think about how much weight their horse could realistically handle. Outcomes could be less predictable because you weren't always watching the fastest horse. You were watching how well they could perform under these adjusted conditions. Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Which is wild that they would do that.

SPEAKER_03 11:34

So over time, the prickness moved away from that format. Thank God. As racing became more standardized and stakes um stakes races, there were uh where horses compete under more equal conditions. That became the norm. And the new equal conditions where horses were generally similar or fixed weights already, they were grouped by aging category, and there were fewer like artificial adjustments based on past performance.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

Well, and that isn't that why like jockeys are they have to be under a certain weight is because of those standards or whatever.

SPEAKER_03 12:10

Yeah, exactly. So there were also changes about who could run. So today the preakness is restricted to three-year-old thoroughbreds.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Well, that's the whole triple crown, yes.

SPEAKER_03 12:21

But that wasn't always strictly enforced. No. In the late 1800s, the race experimented with conditions and eligibility as it tried to figure out what its identity is. And eventually the age restriction settled at three years old.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Right.

SPEAKER_03 12:36

So three-year-olds represent kind of a specific stage in a racehorse's development. They're physically mature enough to compete at a high level, but they haven't yet had long careers that would create like performance gaps between horses. Um, and it would keep the race limited to that age group, which helped create a more level and meaningful competition. Right. It also became uh became essential once the triple crown structure took shape. All three races, Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, needed to follow the same age restriction of the series to make it make sense. So, but even with all of those adjustments, the race still went through periods where it wasn't run at all. Oh, really? Mm-hmm. One of the most notable gaps came in the early 1890s when the Preakness didn't take place for about three years. From 91 to 93, the race was not held at all. Um, it was part of like a larger disruption happening in horse racing at the time. Tracks were competing heavily with each other. The uh financial stability wasn't guaranteed, and the structure of the sport was still really inconsistent. Right. So some races gave providence, prominence, and others faded like the preakness for a brief while.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:57

Um, so depending on um the state and the political climate, um, racing could also um could be encouraged one year and then restricted the next wherever it's being taken place. So that instability made it difficult for any single race to maintain its continuity. Right. So when the preakness returned in 19, nope, 1894, it was still working towards that consistency. Um, a lot of races of that era didn't survive those kinds of disruptions.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

No.

The Distance Finally Settles

SPEAKER_03 14:29

And for the 15 years from 1894 through 1908, the race was held at Gravesend race track horse. Nope, race track. I just added horse on Coney Island, New York. Oh, really? That's wild. Exactly. So that brings me to my next question. Oh shit. What is the approximate distance of the prequelness stakes today? One and three sixteenths. That is correct. One and three sixteenths.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

I think it's the shortest of the three races. So Belmont's the longest.

SPEAKER_03 15:06

Yes, I do recall that. So early on, the race experimented with different distances.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 15:13

Um, some favored speed over stamina. And of course, it made it harder to build reputation and continuity and tradition and da da. So it's I'm just gonna kind of rattle off between it's there's like eight or nine different distances.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

It's wild that they changed it so much and that they finally landed on one and three sixteenths because it's the shortest of the three verses. But whatever, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:39

It started with a mile and a half, and then it went to a mile and a fourth, and then a mile and the sixteenth, and then a mile and seventy yards, then one mile. One mile and seventy yards, and then one and an eighth mile, and then we landed on one and three sixteenths. That's so wild. We have been at one mile and three sixteenths since 1925.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

Right.

SPEAKER_03 16:01

And then there was the schedule, it didn't always sit neatly between Kentucky Derby and the Belmont. No, sometimes it actually came before the Derby, and sometimes the gap between distances, nope, between races didn't make much sense. Sure. Um, there was no clear connection tying these events together. No, and that only started so to solidify in the early 20th century when the idea of the triple crown. The triple crown began to take shape.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 16:32

But uh but the 1930s, people started to recognize the Derby, the Prickness, the Belmont as a three-part series.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

Right.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

And that is when the Prickness finally had more of a defined role in horse racing.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

Yeah, and was actually considered not a laughing stock race. It was considered, like you said, a prominent race within the racing community. And of course, you know, it became it's it's one of the three biggest races of horse racing all year, every year now that nowadays. So yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:04

So why is the Preakness often considered the make or break race of the Triple Crown?

SPEAKER_00 17:11

Because if you win the Kentucky Derby and you don't win the Preakness, you're fucked in the Belmont. And if you can make the if you can make the Preakness, you have a pretty good chance of going on to win the the the triple crown. Um but yeah, that's that would be.

SPEAKER_03 17:29

Yeah, exactly. If it it decides if the cr the triple crown bid stays alive or not.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

That's why I always hate being like, especially if you really like this horse. Cool, they won the Derby and then you watch the preakness, like, fuck they lost. I don't even want to watch the Belmont now.

SPEAKER_03 17:43

Yeah, yeah, poor Belmont.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

I know, which is sad, but I still watch it. But um, yeah, I mean, can't what can't win the whole thing if you don't win them all.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

So that was kind of the turning point before that structure, the race was just one of many. And after it, the preakness became the moment where everything either continues or it stops.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Yep. For horses, particular horses, yes.

SPEAKER_03 18:10

So, what makes the preakness especially challenging for Kentucky Derby winners?

SPEAKER_00 18:16

The weather.

SPEAKER_03 18:17

Oh, that wasn't even an option for me. Why the weather? Why did you choose weather?

SPEAKER_00 18:22

Because a lot of times it's rainy.

SPEAKER_03 18:23

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

In Baltimore, it gets very rainy this time of year. And it can be a very wet race.

SPEAKER_03 18:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Typically.

SPEAKER_03 18:30

It didn't always. A little muddy.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

Yeah, a bit muddy.

SPEAKER_03 18:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Um, so that would be one thing. What do you got?

SPEAKER_03 18:40

I have a longer distance.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

Clearly not.

SPEAKER_03 18:43

Yeah. So preakness, what makes preakness challenging for the Kentucky Derby winners? Longer distance, higher prize money, short turnaround time between races, and different jockey rules.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Uh, I'm gonna go with short turnaround.

SPEAKER_03 18:58

Short turnaround, yes. There are only about two weeks between the derby and the preakness, and that's not a lot of re time for recovery.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Yeah, and it's not only about, it's only pardon?

SPEAKER_03 19:09

It's only yes. So, meanwhile, new horses can enter the preakness fresh without having run the derby at all.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

So, because there's there's only so many spots in the derby. You might not have qualified for the derbies, but you're still a good horse. You might that and after the derby. So there ended up being 18 after my horse that I initially picked scratched right at the end. There's from what I understand, or from my not understand, what from my memory, Preakness always drops a shit ton of horses. It's one of the the smallest fields in all three races, or it can be. I might be mixing up Belmont and Preakness, but a lot of the horses that race in the Derby today will not be in the Preakness.

SPEAKER_03 20:01

If I recall, did we watch the Mel Belmont last year?

SPEAKER_00 20:04

I thought so.

SPEAKER_03 20:05

Because there was only like eight.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

Yeah, and see, and that's why I might be mixing those two up. But a lot again, like you said, make or break race. So that's also why the Belmont might not be that. But I always when the Belmont's a lot farther distance. It's the longest race of all three. Um, but you get four weeks in between the Preakness and the Belmont, whereas you only get the two weeks for this. But I might be mixing that up. But in my mind, I keep thinking like I always see like the Preakness doesn't have that many horses, but I can't.

SPEAKER_03 20:35

Yeah, they had what, 18 you said?

SPEAKER_00 20:37

Today, yeah. Yeah, in the Derby. But again, that's the out of the three, the Derby's the biggest race. Yeah. And it's the start of the triple crown. So if you can't win that, make or break nothing, you can't win anything.

SPEAKER_03 20:52

So because the preakness can have these fresh horses come in, um, you now have a situation where the favor isn't always an advantage. Nope. Fatigue becomes a factor, strategy matters more, and that's part of why the race can feel so unpredictable, as we saw today with the Kentucky Derby. Like the the the winner, Golden Tempo, right? Tempo, Golden Tempo, he was like second to last for the longest time.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

He might have even been last at one point, but yeah, he was definitely second to last for sure. And fuck he can't well, same with Renegade. Renegade was, I think, just before him. Yeah, who got second, who was my second pick. And um you never know what the fucking can happen. But yeah.

The Black Eyed Susan Tradition

SPEAKER_03 21:39

So over time, as the structure becomes more stable, traditions start to develop.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 21:45

What flower is traditionally associated with the preakness winner?

SPEAKER_00 21:49

Black eyed Susan.

SPEAKER_03 21:50

Black eyed Susan.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

That's the name of the cocktail.

SPEAKER_03 21:53

They are tied to Maryland, which reinforces the race's identity.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Well, it's the Maryland State Flower.

SPEAKER_03 22:00

There is a small twist.

SPEAKER_00 22:01

What?

SPEAKER_03 22:03

Are the flowers on the winning horse actually real black-eyed Susans? I'd go with no. They are substitutions. So the real flowers aren't in bloom in May. So the blanket is designed to look like them. Gotcha. In the 1940s, organizers officially tied the Preakness stakes to Maryland's state flower, the black-eyed Susan. The flowers don't bloom until June or July. So they have a problem. Pretty much. They used substitute flowers like daisies or chrysanthemums.

SPEAKER_01 22:41

Chrysanthemums.

SPEAKER_03 22:42

Chrysanthemums. And they painted or modified them to resemble black-eyed Susans. Makes sense. So over time that invol evolved into what they use today, which is Viking palms, a type of chrysanthemum, um, with their centers darkened to match the look.

SPEAKER_00 23:01

Oh, okay. I mean, makes sense. Me being not a botanist or have any kind of green sum in my body. I would have never guessed or care. No, please people don't. It's atrocious. It's atrocious, yeah. I can't believe I have to drive up to this place.

SPEAKER_03 23:21

We're trying. Are you?

SPEAKER_00 23:23

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 23:24

It's too, it's still been frosty out. Since May 2nd, they're still frosty.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

Excuses are like assholes.

SPEAKER_03 23:31

What?

SPEAKER_00 23:34

What's that? Do you make me laugh?

SPEAKER_03 23:44

Oh dear, he's dying, fellas. Everybody has one. Excuses are like assholes. Everybody has one. Yeah. Okay. Yep. So which which famous I believe in you.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

I don't. It's touch and go, people.

SPEAKER_03 24:01

Which famous race horse won the Preakness in 1973 and went on to win the Triple Crown.

SPEAKER_00 24:08

Secretariat, for fuck's sake.

SPEAKER_03 24:09

Secretariat.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

And he still holds the record for the track.

SPEAKER_03 24:13

He ran the fastest race ever recorded. However, no one could agree on the exact timing.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

And then they have to like, they just they eventually, like years later, off of video, they finally said, This is his time.

SPEAKER_03 24:31

Yes. So during the erase, the official electronic timing system at Pim Pimlico race course malfunctioned. It either didn't trigger properly or failed to record a real final time. So instead of one clean official number, there were multiple different times being reported.

SPEAKER_02 24:50

Right.

SPEAKER_03 24:51

The official time posted after the race was 155, so a minute 55. Yeah. But two independent clockers, people manually timing the race, recorded faster times. One of those was um 154. Right, which would have been a track record. So you can understand the dis dispute, right? Right. Um, the official system says one thing, human timers say another.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Human timers.

SPEAKER_03 25:24

So for decades, um, I think that should be our title. I think so too. For decades, the official record stayed at a minute 55. Yeah. And this turned into a long-running debate in horse racing. Finally, in 2012, almost 40 years later, the Maryland Racing Commission went back and reviewed the race using video analysis and the original evidence. They officially changed the time to a minute 53. So even faster than the human timers.

SPEAKER_00 25:58

Yep. The human timers.

SPEAKER_03 25:59

And it made it screwed. It made it the fastest Preakness ever won.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:06

And there's there's there's no way that's ever being broken. I shouldn't say no way. It's very highly unlikely for that to ever be broken.

SPEAKER_03 26:16

If you have not watched the Disney movie Secretariat with Diane Lane, it is one of my favorite um movies? No, like my my favorite non-animated Disney movie. It's like one of my favorite non-animated Disney movies. Gotcha. It is so good. And it's it's called Secretariat. So good.

SPEAKER_00 26:38

I I personally still like Seabiscuit.

The Weather Vane And Priceless Trophy

SPEAKER_03 26:40

And I have yet to watch that. So I need to I need to. I love that book. So what unique tradition happens immediately after the winner of the Preakness Stakes is declared official. And I have options if you need them.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Yeah, give them to me.

SPEAKER_03 26:55

The jockey signs the finish line.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

No.

SPEAKER_03 26:58

A cannon is fired in the infield. No. A painter climbs up and updates a weather vane with the winner's colors.

SPEAKER_00 27:06

No.

SPEAKER_03 27:06

The horses walk through the grandstand.

SPEAKER_00 27:09

The horses walk through the grandstand.

SPEAKER_03 27:12

A painter climbs up and updates a weather vane with the winner's colors.

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Because at one point the they used to take the the winner through the the infield and whatnot, but they probably don't do that anymore because horses are way too valuable. Yeah. But um that makes sense. That's fucking insane.

SPEAKER_03 27:30

Yeah. So as soon as the race is official, a painter literally climbs a ladder in the infield and updates a weather vane to match the winning owner's silks or the colors worn by the jockey.

SPEAKER_00 27:41

So is that kept until the next year? Yes. Oh wow. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 27:45

The horse and rider on top get repainted to reflect that victory. That's cool. The tradition goes back to 1909 when the original weather vane sat atop um the members' clubhouse. Okay. At Pimlico Racecourse. That building dated back to when Pimlico opened in 1870, but it was destroyed in a fire in 1966. Oh wow. So at Pimlico, the original clubhouse had a a cupola with a weather vane on top.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:15

But it's um it's like a little I I had to look it up a couple coupola, but it's like heard of that, but I don't uh it's like a bell tower looking thing without a bell. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 28:27

Yeah, anyways.

SPEAKER_03 28:28

But after the building burnt down, they built a replica in the infield so that the weather vein tradition could continue.

SPEAKER_00 28:34

Well, that's kind of a kind of a neat tradition. It's I didn't hear that. I did hear that they used to walk the horse through the infield, but I never heard that one before.

SPEAKER_03 28:42

Yeah. What is the name of the iconic Preakness trophy?

SPEAKER_00 28:48

Oh fuck. Do you have options?

SPEAKER_03 28:51

I do. Okay. The silver cup, the woodland vase, the pimlico plate, or Maryland Crown.

SPEAKER_00 28:59

Isn't it the plate?

SPEAKER_03 29:00

It is the Woodland Vase. It is, okay.

SPEAKER_00 29:03

Because don't does the bellmark give you a plate? I thought I could be thinking of something else completely, though.

unknown 29:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 29:11

So in 1917, the Preakness Stakes began awarding the Woodlawn Vase one of the most valuable trophies in sports. That's crazy. It's made of solid sterling silver and was handcrafted in the 1800s by Tiffany Co. Wow. With detailed engravings and figures of horses and jockeys built into the design.

SPEAKER_00 29:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 29:36

The winner doesn't actually get to keep it. No. Because of its age, the craftsmanship, and the value. So wait, it's reused every year? It's only for show. They bring it to the um the race, they take pictures, they immediately take it back.

SPEAKER_00 29:55

Is it like the Stanley Cup where they put the winner of that year on? Or no.

SPEAKER_03 29:59

No? I don't believe so. No. Um, the original vase is treated more like a museum artifact than a trophy.

SPEAKER_02 30:06

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 30:06

It's kept at the Baltimore Museum of Art and only brought to the race under heavy security for the ceremony, the presentation ceremony.

SPEAKER_00 30:14

Can only imagine how much that's worth.

SPEAKER_03 30:16

Oh, I have numbers.

SPEAKER_00 30:17

Good.

SPEAKER_03 30:18

Yes. What the winner takes home instead is a smaller replica, sure. About half the size, so that they still get that moment and that recognition.

SPEAKER_01 30:27

Right.

SPEAKER_03 30:28

So as of 2017, because that's the numbers that I saw. Okay. According to an article. That's fine. That trophy, four million dollars.

SPEAKER_00 30:36

Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_03 30:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 30:39

I thought the you said one of the most expensive, because I think the FIFA World Cup, is that right? Is that the soccer football?

SPEAKER_03 30:47

FIFA?

SPEAKER_00 30:48

FIFA?

SPEAKER_03 30:48

FIFA? FIFA?

SPEAKER_00 30:51

It's FIFA.

SPEAKER_03 30:52

Fo Fum?

SPEAKER_00 30:53

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 30:55

I don't know anything about soccer, so you're probably right.

SPEAKER_00 30:57

I don't either, and I'm not even talking about the game. I'm talking about this fucking trophy. It's an ugly fucking trophy, but it's very it's expensive. Very expensive. But same thing with the the Stanley Cup.

SPEAKER_03 31:10

And that's that's hockey.

SPEAKER_00 31:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 31:13

Um, I took pictures with the Ryder Cup when the Ryder Cup golf tournament was in Sheboygan.

SPEAKER_00 31:22

Cool.

unknown 31:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:24

I mean, we're talking about the Stanley at the time, but all right.

Pimlico Rebuild And Who Owns The Brand

SPEAKER_03 31:27

Okay, so that's all I have for the questions and the history of the Preakness. However, I have news updates.

SPEAKER_00 31:35

News updates?

SPEAKER_03 31:36

Yeah. In 2026, the Preekness Stakes is not being held at Pimlico.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

It's not, why not?

SPEAKER_03 31:44

No. Is it being held? Mm-hmm. Laurel in Laurel, Maryland.

SPEAKER_00 31:50

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 31:51

Because the the Pimlico is undergoing a massive reconstruction project.

SPEAKER_02 31:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 31:56

And the track is essentially being rebuilt to modernize the facility. And they're hoping that it's going to be ready for Pimlico, uh, or excuse me, gonna be ready for the Preakness next year.

SPEAKER_00 32:08

2027. Okay. Yes. Crazy.

SPEAKER_03 32:11

Now, this April, as in, by the time you're hearing this, as of about three weeks ago, two or three weeks ago, um, there is a slight shift in this horse racing power dynamic.

SPEAKER_00 32:26

How so?

SPEAKER_03 32:26

Churchill Downs Incorporated, CDI, the company that runs Kentucky Derby, bought the intellectual property rights to the Preakness and the Black-eyed Susan races for about$85 million.

SPEAKER_00 32:42

I figured it would be more than that, but okay.

SPEAKER_03 32:44

Intellectual property is only the name, the branding, and the trademarks. Right. It's the the identity of the race. Right. But Maryland, the state, still runs the race. Right. So Churchill Downs doesn't physically take over the event. They just license the rights back to the state of Maryland, which pays to keep hosting it.

SPEAKER_00 33:08

That's weird.

SPEAKER_03 33:08

Mm-hmm.

unknown 33:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 33:10

So Churchill Downs now controls the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness brands. This gives them influence over two of the three Triple Crown races, and this could impact scheduling.

SPEAKER_01 33:24

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 33:24

Pushing the Preakness back a week, therefore pushing the Belmont potentially back a week.

SPEAKER_00 33:30

But see, if you think about it, you don't really have to. If you push the Preakness back a week. Three weeks, three weeks. Yeah, three and three. That's that's, I mean, at least a nice even round of whatever you want to call it.

SPEAKER_03 33:40

Um it could also impact media deals and the long-term control of the triple crown structure. So Maryland keeps the race at Pimlico race course, which is more of their economical impact. Well, yeah, a draw of coming to Maryland.

SPEAKER_00 33:57

All the people there are gonna spend all that money around it. They're not gonna spend money around the intellectual property.

SPEAKER_03 34:05

Well, they no longer own the race's identity, so they're essentially renting their own historic event. I don't like that.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

Isn't that weird? That's very weird. I don't like that.

SPEAKER_03 34:14

I'm kind of so that's the history and kind of the present day um of of the preakness.

SPEAKER_00 34:22

So do you know who started the dinner party steak slash preakness slash whatnot?

SPEAKER_03 34:30

I I did at one I did at one point, um, but I did not.

SPEAKER_00 34:35

The Baltimore Jockey Club.

SPEAKER_03 34:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:37

Do you know when they started?

SPEAKER_03 34:39

No.

SPEAKER_00 34:40

1773.

SPEAKER_03 34:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:42

Which is fucking wild because it was prior to us being a country. So it's been around a bit. Um, but yeah, they uh and I believe if I'm not mistaken, they suspended racing during the Civil War. Okay, which would obviously make sense. That was one of them. I think also during they didn't do a whole lot during the Revolutionary War either. But I believe that's one thing I heard a while back. Um it's a good race, but man, the Derby to me is it's my it's my race, if you will. But I like watching the Preakness. I love watching the Belmont. I love watching the grainy ass old film you can find a secretariat fucking destroying everybody in all three races, because he still is and will ever be my favorite horse. Even if I don't like the movie as much as you do. It's a decent movie. I don't mind. I love it. But um it's so heartwarming. You gotta watch Seabiscuit.

SPEAKER_03 35:42

I do have to watch Seabiscuit.

SPEAKER_00 35:43

Because if you want some fucking heartwarming shit, man, that horse brings some people together.

unknown 35:48

Fuck.

SPEAKER_00 35:49

Seriously. It's a great movie. It's got uh Jeff Bridges, Toby Maguire, Toby Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, uh Chris Cooper. He's the trainer.

SPEAKER_03 36:01

Oh, Chris, I like Chris Cooper.

SPEAKER_00 36:02

I do, I like him too. I love Jeff Bridges. Um other people, I'm just drawing a blank off at the moment, but um it's a great movie. Yeah, it's you know, and everything because he defeated War Admiral, who was a triple crown winner. Oh I've heard of War Admiral who who how many years ago and who was the last Triple Crown winner?

SPEAKER_03 36:27

Ooh, I remember American Pharaoh, but I don't think he was the last. No, there was something there.

SPEAKER_00 36:33

Was too close.

SPEAKER_03 36:34

He was the first, and then not too long after.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

Was another one.

SPEAKER_03 36:38

Yeah, I don't recall what the latest one is.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Justify.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:42

Yeah, and what year? Guess which year.

SPEAKER_03 36:44

Oh gosh. Um, I'm gonna say 2001.

SPEAKER_00 36:47

No, not that long ago.

SPEAKER_03 36:49

Oh, really? 2018. 18. You said not that long ago. Oh, 2001. I said I meant 21. I always do that. I always say 2001 when I mean 2021.

SPEAKER_00 37:00

You know, back in the aughts. I just say 2016. I think it's Shawshank Redemption when he's like, I've been here since aught five, became librarian, and whatever.

SPEAKER_03 37:11

You know, I do I do that all the time with my numbers. I'm terrible with numbers.

SPEAKER_00 37:15

Okay, you you um you omit one.

SPEAKER_03 37:18

So, how did you like the black-eyed Susan drink?

SPEAKER_00 37:21

That's so good. I I don't know what it was. I don't know if I used different uh bourbon slash vodka or whatever. This was way better than the one I had the other day. Good. Because I just happened, I was chatting with a guy I know, he's a bartender, he made me one, and I'm like, I don't really care for this.

SPEAKER_03 37:41

So say say the recipe once more.

SPEAKER_00 37:45

It's one ounce of bourbon, I use maker's mark, it's one ounce of vodka, I use Tito's, it's one ounce of um peach knobs, I used whatever fucking little shooter I have because I ain't buying a big bottle of that shit. Yeah, because that's a waste. Um we don't do a lot of liquor. No. Um, I'm not allowed to have bourbon anymore because of people in my life, so not me. Um I'd have bourbon on the podcast all the time, but you know, I'm not allowed.

SPEAKER_03 38:17

Not again, not even.

SPEAKER_00 38:19

Anyways, uh two ounces of sweet and sour mix, two ounces of orange juice. You're supposed to garnish it with a a cherry and an orange, orange slice, but I didn't bother with that. Um but it's just a garnish, anyways. Yes, could you eat them and put them in your drink? Sure, but yeah, whatever. So it's actually quite simple. Yeah, I mean, what's that? Five five different things, not very much, and not very much of each, to be honest. So I just did us in, you know, the what are these called highball glasses, right?

SPEAKER_03 38:50

Rox glasses, whatever crystal glasses in my in my in my eyes. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 38:56

Anyways, that is a great face.

SPEAKER_03 39:00

Also, how did you like because you opened up your linen cugles? I have not.

Support The Show And Stay In Touch

SPEAKER_00 39:05

I have had orange shandy before. Oh, okay. The reason why I got so I bought the variety pack, it came with uh uh orange shandy, summer shandy, the honey lemon light, and then the liney lodge lime, which we've definitely had the lime before. So you I gave those to you. I took the shandy. I've had orange before, it's fucking delicious. It's not as good to me for an everydayer as summer, but it's orange is great. Um, my buddy Al's and my buddy Casey all like this as well, but it's hard to beat summer. But anyways, so yeah, well, hopefully we we taught you something about the the preakness. If you like what you hear, please uh help support us. If you'd like, go to our website, history buffoons.podcast.com. There's a link up top. Uh, anything helps us do some research stuff, whatever, blah blah blah. So if you like what you hear, please help us and support us. Otherwise, we just hope you enjoyed this. And um, we're throwing around doing the Belmont already this year.

SPEAKER_03 40:11

Yeah, we'll see because we did this year or next year. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 40:14

We did the derby last year, so I said I would like to do the preakness this year because we did the derby. So I don't know. I'd like to think we're still around next year, so maybe let's shoot for next year. Okay, see what happens. Well, I suppose. All right, buffoons, that's it for today's episode.

SPEAKER_03 40:30

Buckle up because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you next time. Feeling hungry for more buffoonery? Or maybe you have a burning question or a wild historical theory for us to explore?

SPEAKER_00 40:42

Hit us up on social media where History Buffoons Podcast on YouTube, X, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also email us at history buffoonspodcast at gmail.com. We are Bradley and Kate, music by Corey Akers.

SPEAKER_03 40:56

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SPEAKER_00 41:01

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SPEAKER_03 41:04

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