2023 Preakness: Secretariat ran the fastest Preakness ever 50 years ago. What other records stand out?

When Secretariat won the Preakness on the way to his Triple Crown, the news appeared alongside stories about Watergate on The Baltimore Sun’s May 20, 1973, front page. In the half-century since, no horse has finished the 1 3/16-mile track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore faster than his 1 minute, 53 seconds. Decades of debate over a timer malfunction, however, meant the record wasn’t officially recognized until midway through the Obama administration.

What other surprises lurk in the record books of a 150-year-old race? On the occasion of the golden anniversary of Secretariat’s 1973 run, we simulated a race among the five fastest Preakness winners, ran the historically long odds of the filly in that bunch, measured Preakness’ most lopsided wins with distances from other sports, and considered the longevity of jockeys in an event in which the athletes they’re riding can compete only once.

Four horses have finished the Preakness within half a second of Secretariat’s record.

Many expected Secretariat’s run around Old Hilltop 50 years ago could be a record one — the horse ran what’s still the fastest Kentucky Derby two weeks earlier and ran what’s still the fastest Belmont Stakes three weeks later. And independent hand clockers said it was, reporting a time more than a second and a half faster than the official time of 1:55. Officials at Pimlico quickly admitted that their electronic clock had malfunctioned, but rules stipulated they defer to the official timekeeper, who clocked the run at just three-fifths of a second faster than the clock. Greater precision and acceptance of video replay technology helped persuade the Maryland Racing Commission to accept an appeal from Secretariat’s then-90-year-old owner in 2012 and change the official time to 1:53, securing the record.

Four Preakness horses have come within a half second of Secretariat’s time. The closest raced just three years ago. With the coronavirus pandemic forcing 2020′s race to be run in October in weather cooler than a typical Preakness, Swiss Skydiver finished in 1:53.28 seconds.

Represented by the red circle in the animation above (the symbols approximate the dominant color in the silks of each horse’s jockey), Swiss Skydiver was just the sixth filly, or female, to win the Preakness.

The horse with the most lopsided Preakness victory won by 11 1/2 lengths — about the distance between each baseball base.

In horse racing, the margin, or how far behind the runner-up was when the winner crossed the finish line, is measured in horse lengths. One length is the measurement of a horse from nose to tail — about 8 feet — according to Pimlico’s horse racing dictionary. Going from last to first, Secretariat finished his record lap two and a half lengths ahead, far from the widest margin in a Preakness. That record belongs to Smarty Jones, who in 2004 finished 11 1/2 horse-lengths ahead with a time of 1:55.59. This is roughly the distance between each base on a Major League Baseball field.

When the margin is less than a length, it’s described by a fraction of a horse. Six Preakness winners won by a nose, 12 won by a head and 10 won by a neck. Can a close finish lead a horse to speed up? There is overlap between Preakness’ fastest time and shortest margin lists with Swiss Skydiver winning by a neck in 2020 and Curlin (2007) and Tank’s Prospect (1985) each winning by a head.

By default, a horse can compete in the Preakness only once. Many jockeys return, however; some have become fixtures.

While a horse will never compete at Preakness more than once since only 3-year-old horses are eligible, many jockeys have returned. The average Preakness jockey has competed in the race about 2 1/2 times, according to Preakness data from 1909 to 2022. Around 29% of Preakness jockeys exceed that average. For most Preakness jockeys, however, competing in the second jewel of the Triple Crown is a once-in-career event.

Jockey Mike Smith has participated in the most Preakness races, with his first of 19 in 1984 and his most recent in 2021. Smith rode two Preakness winners — Prairie Bayou in 1993 and Triple Crown winner Justify in 2018.

Eddie Arcaro — who is tied for fourth most Preakness’ run — holds the record for most Preakness wins. Arcaro has ridden a winning horse at Preakness six times, including two Triple Crown winners.

A Mage victory on Saturday would give the colt a chance to join Secretariat and 12 other Triple Crown winners.

The Preakness is the second race in the Triple Crown, between the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. Secretariat and Justify are among 13 horses to win all three.

Ahead of the 2023 Preakness on Saturday, all eyes are on the favorite, Kentucky Derby winner Mage. A long shot in the Derby, Mage faces seven new horses, with all of his Derby opponents opting out of the Preakness.