The 2009 Preakness Stakes was the 134th running of the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Graded stakes race, Grade I race run over a distance of ...

, the second leg of horse racing's

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

. The value of the race was $1,100,000 in stakes. The race was sponsored by

BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...

and hence officially was called ''BlackBerry Preakness Stakes.'' The race took place on May 16, 2009. Post time was 6:19 p.m. EDT and was televised in the United States on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television networks A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...

. The Maryland Jockey Club reported total attendance of 77,850, this is recorded as third highest on the list of American thoroughbred racing top attended events for North America in 2009.

Rachel Alexandra Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

won by a

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Inte ...

, holding off the rapidly closing

2009 Kentucky Derby The 2009 Kentucky Derby was the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby. The value of the race was $2,177,000 in stakes. The race was sponsored by Yum! Brands and hence officially was called ''Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.'' The race took p ...

winner

Mine That Bird Mine That Bird (foaled May 10, 2006) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2009 Kentucky Derby at 50-1 odds and came second in the Preakness Stakes and third in the Belmont Stakes. He had earnings of $2,228,637 and was inducte ...

to become the first filly since 1924 to win the Preakness Stakes, and to extend horse racing's longest losing streak to 31 years since

Affirmed Affirmed (February 21, 1975 – January 12, 2001) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the eleventh winner of the American Triple Crown. Affirmed was well known for his famous rivalry with Alydar, whom he met ten times, includi ...

became the last Triple Crown winner in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

Payout

The 134th Preakness Stakes Payout Schedule * $1 Exacta: (13-2) paid $19.60 * $1

Trifecta file:Trifecta.svg, Trifecta A trifecta is a parimutuel betting, parimutuel bet placed on a horse race in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third, in the exact order. Known as a trifecta in the US and Austra ...

: (13-2-3) paid $108.10 * $1

Superfecta {{Wiktionary The superfecta is a type of wager in USA and Canada parimutuel betting in which the bettor, in order to win, must pick the first four finishers of a race in the correct sequence. This is even more unlikely than a successful wager in th ...

: (13-2-3-10) paid $2,903.80

The full chart

The draw for The Preakness Stakes was done on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 near the stakes barn at

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...

. Rachel Alexandra was made the morning line 8-5 favorite, the first filly accorded that status since 1988. Twelve colts and a

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

made up the field. * Winning Breeder: Dolphus C. Morrison; (KY) * Final Time – 1:55:08 * Track Condition – Fast * Attendance - 77,850

Performance

* The first Preakness victory by a filly since 1924 when

Nellie Morse Nellie Morse (1921–1941) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the fourth filly to win the Preakness Stakes. After her retirement from racing, she became a successful and influential broodmare. Background Her sire was Luke ...

won. * Calvin Borel was the first rider to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness on different horses in the same year. * First time since 1906 that a filly ( Whimsical) won as a favorite * First horse to win from post position 13 *

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

were the second best since 1990. Only

Smarty Jones Smarty Jones (February 28, 2001) is a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and came second in the Belmont Stakes. Background Born at Fairthorne Farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the horse was ...

's victory in 2004 was watched by more viewers since 1990

Infield

The 2009 Preakness Stakes included entertainment in the infield. The performers in the infield included

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sou ...

Buckcherry Buckcherry is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1995. The band released two albums, '' Buckcherry'' (1999) and '' Time Bomb'' (2001), before dissolving in 2002. Buckcherry's first album ''Buckcherry'' was DreamWorks first ...

, and Charm City Devils. In addition, there was a professional

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

tournament in the infield. This year also marked the first year in which fans were not allowed to bring their own beverages into the infield, a move which has drawn some mixed reactions. Infield ticket sales were down 17% this year, which some are attributing to the ban, but others attribute to the

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

.Gadi Dechter,
Preakness Sales Slow Out of the Gate: Organizers Hope Derby will Help Spur Interest
" ''Baltimore Sun'', May 3, 2009, (accessed 5/8/09)

References

{{Preakness Stakes

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

Horse races in Maryland

2009 in sports in Maryland

Payout

The full chart

Performance

Infield

See also

References