Preakness 145 date to be unveiled Saturday on NBC

by Press Release | May 14, 2020 | Breaking, Business, Maryland, MD Business

American Pharoah. Photo by Laurie Asseo.

A week ago, the Preakness seemed to be headed for an October 3 date.

But then the Stronach Group threw the brakes on that plan, saying that was one of a handful of dates the company was considering for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

The waiting will end Saturday at 5:00 p.m. when NBC’s nationally televised broadcast, The Middle Jewel: American Pharoah’s Run to the Triple Crown, airs. NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico will open the show and will host a segment in which Belinda Stronach, 1/ST Chairman and President and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan will announce the new date for Preakness 145 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The Preakness Stakes, typically held on the third Saturday in May, was postponed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That’ll be followed by another one-hour Preakness presentation, this online and called the 1/ST Preakness At Home.

The one-hour show, hosted by NBC Sports’ Laffit Pincay III and XBTV’s Zoe Cadman, will air on Saturday, May 16th at 6 p.m. ET on Facebook.com/Preakness. The livestream event will feature appearances by some of racing’s biggest stars including, Hall of Fame trainer and seven-time Preakness winner Bob Baffert and Triple Crown winning jockey Mike Smith along with special messages from Maryland’s own baseball royalty, Cal Ripken Jr. and Jim Palmer. The livestream will include behind the scenes footage, never before seen content and a mashup of some of the best musical performances from previous InfieldFest concerts along with a special performance by the Naval Academy Glee Club.

“The 1/ST Preakness At Home represents our company’s vision to expand and deliver unique entertainment and horse racing content to a new and wider audience,” said Belinda Stronach, 1/ST Chairman and President. “The coronavirus pandemic changed the Preakness celebrations this year, but it gave us the opportunity to enhance an already incredible event and to imagine what new traditions could be incorporated into the Preakness of the future. We look forward to being back at Pimlico when it is safe to do so.”

The 1/ST Preakness At Home will also feature a Drive-InFieldFest, the nation’s first full-scale safe drive-in concert featuring a live DJ set by D-Nice exclusively benefitting first responders that will take place at 1/ST Racing’s Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, produced by 1/ST Live.

Respecting all social distancing requirements, D-Nice’s set will transmit live via guests’ car radios and will also stream live on YouTube via www.1stlivepresents.com.

The 1/ST Preakness At Home campaign was launched in collaboration with Hennegan Brothers Creative on the Preakness social channels featuring vignettes of Bob Baffert, Doug O’Neill and Mike Smith preparing for this third Saturday in May in ways they never have before.