When is Preakness Stakes 2023: Date, TV channel, time, distance, race coverage

By Daniel TranMay 15, 2023, 5:16 PM EDT

Following Mage’s storybook win in the 2023 Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes returns in its traditional spot to continue the most high-profile season in horse racing. The race has been called “The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans” because a blanket of Maryland’s state flower is placed across the winning colt or filly.

NBC is home to the 148th Preakness Stakes, providing comprehensive race coverage and analysis live on TV, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock before, during and after. Coverage begins on Saturday, May 20 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. ET on CNBC and moves to NBC from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. ET.

What is the Preakness Stakes?

The Preakness Stakes is the second-most attended Grade 1 thoroughbred stakes races in North America, held in Baltimore, Maryland at Pimlico Race Course. First run in 1873, this 1 3/16-mile (9.5 furlongs) race is the second leg of the American Triple Crown of horse racing.

When is the 2023 Preakness Stakes?

The 148th running of the Preakness Stakes is set for Saturday, May 20, 2023 on NBC, Peacock, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

The weekend kicks off with the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes on Friday, May 19 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. ET on Peacock.

For the Preakness itself on Saturday, television coverage runs from 1 to 4:30 p.m. ET on CNBC and moves to NBC from 4 to 7:30 p.m. ET.

Where is the 2023 Preakness Stakes?

The Preakness is held on the dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland., where it has been held since its inaugural running in 1873.

How can I watch the 2023 Preakness Stakes?

NBC is home to the 148th Preakness Stakes, providing comprehensive race coverage and analysis live on TV, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock before, during and after.

How are horses picked for the Preakness?

Only three-year-old thoroughbreds can qualify for the Preakness Stakes. The winner of the Kentucky Derby, Federico Tesio Stakes, Oaklawn Invitational and El Camino Real Derby automatically qualify for the Preakness Stakes.

Eligibility is also determined by a horse’s earnings in previous races.

Who won the 2023 Kentucky Derby?

With the guidance of veteran jockey and Hall of Famer Javier Castellano and trainer Gustavo Delgado, Mage took a thrilling victory in the 2023 Kentucky Derby. As of Monday, May 15th, Mage is the only Derby entrant to be in the field for the Preakness.

What are the biggest Preakness traditions?

Right after the winner of the Preakness Stakes is announced, a painter climbs a ladder to the top of a replica of the Old Clubhouse and applies the colors of the winning team’s silks to a weather vane shaped like a jockey and horse. After the race, the champion horse is draped with a blanket of black-eyed susans, the state flower of Maryland.

Watch the 148th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 20 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. ET on CNBC and moves to NBC from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. ET. You can also watch on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.

Forte works out, waits for Belmont Stakes clearance

Associated PressMay 27, 2023, 3:14 PM EDT

Matt Stone/USA TODAY NETWORK

NEW YORK — Forte, the early Kentucky Derby favorite who was scratched on the day of the race, worked out in preparation for a possible start in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.

Under regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte worked five-eighths of a mile for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. It was the colt’s second workout since being scratched from the Derby on May 6.

“It seems like he’s maintained his fitness level,” Pletcher said. “It seems like everything is in good order.”

Forte was placed on a mandatory 14-day veterinary list after being scratched from the Derby because of a bruised right front foot. In order to be removed from the list, the colt had to work in front of a state veterinarian and give a blood sample afterward, the results of which take five days.

“There’s protocols in place and we had to adhere to those and we’re happy that everything went smoothly,” Pletcher said. “We felt confident the horse was in good order or we wouldn’t have been out there twice in the last six days, but you still want to make sure everything went smoothly and we’re happy everything did go well.”

Pletcher said Kingsbarns, who finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby, will miss the Belmont. The colt is showing signs of colic, although he is fine, the trainer said.

Another Pletcher-trained horse, Prove Worthy, is under consideration for the Belmont. He also has Tapit Trice, who finished seventh in the Derby, being pointed toward the Belmont.

Judge grants Churchill Downs’ request for summary judgment to dismiss Bob Baffert’s lawsuit

Associated PressMay 25, 2023, 9:36 PM EDT

Abbey Cutrer/USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge has granted Churchill Downs’ motion for summary judgment that dismisses Bob Baffert’s claim the track breached due process by suspending the Hall of Fame trainer for two years.

Churchill Downs Inc. suspended Baffert in June 2021 after his now-deceased colt, Medina Spirit, failed a postrace drug test after crossing the finish line first in the 147th Kentucky Derby. The trainer’s request to lift the discipline was denied in February, keeping him out of the Derby for a second consecutive May.

U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ruled in a 12-page opinion issued Wednesday that Churchill Downs’ suspension of Baffert did not devalue his Kentucky trainer’s license. It cited his purse winnings exceeding $1 million at Keeneland in Lexington and stated that his argument “amounts to a false analogy that distorts caselaw.”

Jennings denied CDI’s motion to stay discovery as moot.

The decision comes less than a week after Baffert-trained colt National Treasure won the Preakness in his first Triple Crown race in two years. His record eighth win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown came hours after another of his horses, Havnameltdown, was euthanized following an injury at Pimlico.

Churchill Downs said in a statement that it was pleased with the court’s favorable ruling as in Baffert’s other cases.

It added, “While he may choose to file baseless appeals, this completes the seemingly endless, arduous and unnecessary litigation proceedings instigated by Mr. Baffert.”

Baffert’s suspension is scheduled to end on June 2, but the track’s release noted its right to extend it “and will communicate our decision” at its conclusion.