Pimlico Race Course

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Horse Racetrack
Pimlico Race Course

Location	Baltimore, Maryland
Owned by	Magna Entertainment Corp.
Year opened	1870
Race type	Thoroughbred
Website	www.pimlico.com
Principal Races
Preakness Stakes (G1)
Dixie Stakes (G2)
Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2)

Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes.

Pimlico officially opened in the fall of 1870, with the colt Preakness winning the first running of the Dinner Party Stakes. Three years later the horse would have the 1873 Preakness Stakes named in his honor. The track is also noted as the home for the match race in which Seabiscuit beat War Admiral in the second Pimlico Special, on November 1, 1938, before a crowd of 43,000. It is currently owned by Magna Entertainment Corp.

The Preakness Stakes and the Pimlico Special are run at a distance of 1 3/16 miles. The Pimlico track record for that distance is held by Farma Way, who set it while winning the Pimlico Special in 1991.

1 Physical attributes
2 Racing
3 Non-Racing Events
4 External links

[edit] Physical attributes

The track has a one-mile dirt oval and a seven furlong turf oval. There is stabling for about 1,000 horses, and the attendance capacity, including the infield, is over 120,000.

[edit] Racing

The following graded stakes are run at Pimlico:

Grade 1 - Pimlico Special not carded in 2007
Grade 1 - Preakness Stakes
Grade 2 - Dixie Stakes
Grade 2 - Black-Eyed Susan Stakes
Grade 3 - Adena Stallions' Miss Preakness Stakes
Grade 3 - Allaire du Pont Breeders' Cup Distaff Handicap
Grade 3 - Gallorette Handicap
Grade 3 - Hirsch Jacobs Stakes
Grade 3 - Maryland Breeders' Cup Handicap
Grade 3 - Safely Kept Breeders' Cup Stakes
Grade 3 - William Donald Schaefer Handicap
Grade 3 - Barbaro Stakes
Ungraded - Federico Tesio Stakes

[edit] Non-Racing Events

Audience at Virgin Festival 2006

Pimlico Race Course has been the only United States site for Virgin Festival since it began in 2006. The first Virgin Festival, held on September 23, featured bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Who. Virgin Festival returned to Pimlico in 2007, as a two-day festival held on August 4–5 and featuring popular acts such as The Police, Beastie Boys, Smashing Pumpkins, Modest Mouse, and more. Virgin Festival will return to Pimlico for the third time on August 9-10, 2008 with five headliners: Foo Fighters, Kanye West, Stone Temple Pilots, Jack Johnson, and Nine Inch Nails.