$5,536,944 wagered on 12-race “Preakness Preview Day” program
LAUREL, MD – The new Maryland Jockey Club set a handle record of $5,536,944 on Saturday’s “Preakness Preview Day” program at Laurel Park.
The 12-race card featured five stakes, including two “Win Today, See You in May events” and a hybrid onsite and online Handicapping Contest.
The $150,000 Federico Tesio, won by Pay Billy, offered a fees-paid guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the Grade 1, $2,000,000 Preakness, the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, to be held at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, May 17.
The $150,000 Weber City Miss, won by Complexity Jane, offered a fees-paid guaranteed berth into the Grade 2, $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico on Preakness Eve.
Three other $100,000 stakes were also on the program, the first stakes races contested on turf in Maryland in 2025.
There were 105 entrants on Saturday for an average of 8.8 starters per race. Comparatively, 72 horses started on the 11-race Federico Tesio card on April 20, 2024, an average of 6.5 runners per race. That card handled $2,889,322, for an average handle of $262,666 per race.
This year’s “Preakness Preview Day” card averaged $461,412 per race.
