Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes takes place May 15, 2027 (approx; third Saturday of May - confirm the venue and date on the official site) in Baltimore, United States. The dress code is The infield is casual and party-like. Clubhouse and grandstand lean dressy: spring dresses, hats, seersucker and blazers, echoing the black-eyed Susan theme. Typical cost ranges from 150 to 1200 EUR per person.

Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, United States
Photograph by Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia.

The second jewel of the American Triple Crown, run two weeks after the Kentucky Derby over a mile and three sixteenths, and the race where a Derby winner's Triple Crown bid either survives or dies. The winner is draped in a blanket of yellow-centred daisies standing in for black-eyed Susans, and the infield has a long tradition as a raucous all-day party alongside the buttoned-up clubhouse. Historic Pimlico has been undergoing a full redevelopment, so check where the race is actually being run in any given year.

When
May 15, 2027 (approx; third Saturday of May - confirm the venue and date on the official site)
Where
Baltimore, United States
Dress code
The infield is casual and party-like. Clubhouse and grandstand lean dressy: spring dresses, hats, seersucker and blazers, echoing the black-eyed Susan theme
Cost
Typical cost ranges from 150 to 1200 EUR per person.
Weather
18 - 25C, pleasant late spring with the odd shower
When to book
Tickets open in winter; reserved clubhouse seating and hospitality sell out first, so book by February
Getting there
BWI (Baltimore/Washington), 30 min to venue
Where to stay
Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, Sagamore Pendry Baltimore, Hotel Revival Baltimore
Official site
https://www.preakness.com/

How to attend

Buy through preakness.com. Infield general admission typically runs the equivalent of EUR 60 - 100, with reserved grandstand, clubhouse seats and hospitality substantially higher. Fully open to the public with no ballot. Because of the Pimlico rebuild the host track has moved between years, so verify the venue on the official site before booking travel or hotels.

Tickets are sold publicly by the racecourse, but the official Preakness website refuses every automated request, so no booking page could be confirmed - and the host venue is still moving year to year during the Pimlico rebuild, so check the official site directly before booking travel.

Insider tip

Confirm the venue before booking flights - the race was staged away from Pimlico while the historic track was rebuilt, and the reopening schedule has shifted more than once.

Get inside Preakness Stakes

Booking matters here: tickets open in winter; reserved clubhouse seating and hospitality sell out first, so book by February. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.

Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.