GIII Pimlico Special

LAUREL, MD--Annually, the third Saturday in May draws all eyes to Maryland for the second jewel in the U.S. Triple Crown, the GI Preakness Stakes. This season is no different, however, a major adjustment brings the Classic to Laurel Park while Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore gets a complete overhaul. Like the now defunct original structure of its sister track 30 miles north, Laurel exhibits the wear and tear of the years. Several areas of the venue have been renovated while others are now cordoned off or boarded up. However, one...

Nine stakes--of which five are graded--worth $2.5 million in purses will highlight the 148th running of the GI Preakness S., which will be contested this year on Saturday, May 20. Overall, 15 stakes--including the 99th running of the GII Black-Eyed Susan S. on Friday, May 19--will be contested over two days of racing at Pimlico. Other graded stakes on the Preakness undercard are the GIII $200,000 Dinner Party S. for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles on the grass, GIII $200,000 Chick Lang S. for 3-year-olds at six furlongs,...

WinStar Farm LLC and CHC Inc.'s Fearless (Ghostzapper) will attempt to give newly elected Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher his third GIII Pimlico Special S. victory after winning previously in successive years with Revolutionary (2014) and Commissioner (2015). Victorious in the GII Gulfstream Park Mile Feb. 27 in his first start in eight months, the 5-year-old rallied to be second by a half-length to Silver State in the 1 1/8-mile GII Oaklawn H. Apr. 17. "[He's doing] very good," Pletcher said. "He was very good in his first start and...