The Greatest Preakness Stakes Performances Ever – How Many Do You Remember?

By Author: Lee Lane-Edgar
Total Articles: 365
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When I think of the greatest performance in the Preakness Stakes, Secretariat immediately springs to mind. He managed to accomplish two remarkable things. First, he made a move around the first turn which catapulted him from last to first in about 12 seconds in one of the most visually breathtaking moves ever (some horse racing insiders have referred to this as “The Move” - sorry, Michael Jordan). His jockey Ron Turcotte would later say that he moved his hands ever so slightly but that it was enough to prompt Secretariat to make his move, almost as if he were impatient to go and was looking for even the most imperceptible signal from his jockey as an excuse to let loose.

The second reason is that he set a track record in winning the race. The timer had experienced a malfunction during the running of the race, clocking his winning time at 1:55 flat. Pimlico track clockers adjusted the time to 154 2/5, which was 2/5 second off the track record. The Daily Racing Form’s clocker timed him running it in a track record 153 2/5 seconds and for the first time published their own time of the race which noted their disagreement ...
... with the official time.

But what other performances are worthy of note?
The above mentioned Preakness track record was set by Canonero II in the 1971 Preakness. His win was a great performance as it showed that his upset in the Kentucky Derby was no fluke, running the race in 154 flat, a mark that officially stood for 14 years. Canonero II’s winning time of 1:54 took three-fifths of a second off the old Preakness record set by Nashua in 1955.

No one would dispute that Affirmed and Alydar battling head to head for a quarter of a mile in 1978 for the Black-Eyed Susans ,or Easy Goer and Sunday Silence doing the same in 1989 would qualify as two of the greatest Preakness races ever. Both winners, Affirmed and Sunday Silence had to withstand a long challenge from a formidable rival, and both dug deep enough inside themselves and found the will to win.

1997 provided one of the most thrilling Preakness Stakes ever, when Silver Charm, his rival Free House, and Captain Bodgit hit the wire in a three-way photo, for the tightest three-way finish ever. Silver Charm was given the nod but would ultimately fail in the Belmont.

In more recent memory, Smarty Jones ran perhaps one of the most dramatic Preakness Stakes in 2004, winning it by a record margin 11 ½ lengths, and earning a huge Beyer Speed Figure of 118. The anticipation that he could become the next Triple Crown winner with just one more race definitely added to the excitement.

As great a race as Smarty Jones’s was, I think of the following year’s Preakness as the best that I have seen personally. In 2005 Afleet Alex had disappointed a bit by finishing third in the Kentucky Derby to a couple of huge long shots and it was hoped that he could redeem himself in the Preakness. The pace was set by the talented Scrappy T., winner of the Withers Stakes and held the lead going into the far turn. Afleet Alex was bottled up down at the rail, looking for room to let loose, finally found a spot, swung out wide, and took dead aim at the frontrunner.

Little did the spectators foresee what was to come next. Scrappy T. blew the turn and veered out, right in front of Afleet Alex who was coming so fast that he could not avoid slamming into him. The result of the collision was Scrappy T. losing his balance and Afleet Alex stumbling. Fortunately, Afleet Alex didn’t go down though his jockey almost fell out of the saddle. In fact, he miraculously picked himself right back up as if nothing had happened, overtook Scrappy T. in midstretch, and drew off to a powerful 5 length win.

Some of the comments afterwards were, “unbelievable athleticism, it seemed like a miracle that he could come back from that, one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen an athlete do.”
What is your favorite Preakness moment?