Plot Synopsis

First run in 1873, the PREAKNESS STAKES is hosted by Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the second jewel in horse racing's Triple Crown. The race has been called "The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans" because a blanket of Maryland's state flower is placed across the winning colt or filly. Pimlico hosted the first 17 races, until 1890-1908 when it was moved to Morris Park (New York) and Gravesend (Brooklyn), where the PREAKNESS STAKES was held only 16 of those 19 years. The race moved back to Pimlico in 1909, where it has been run every year since. The PREAKNESS STAKES was televised for the first time on May 15, 1948, with CBS providing live coverage to an estimated 2.75 million people living in homes "on a chain including Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and New York," according to a May 15 report in the "San Antonio Light" newspaper.
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The 149th running of the PREAKNESS STAKES was broadcast on NBC from 4:30-7:30pm ET/1:30-4:30pm PT on Saturday, May 18, 2024. Post time is scheduled for 7:01pm ET/4:01pm PT, with Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (5-2) attempting to win the second leg of the Triple Crown. In addition to Mystik Dan, the 149th Preakness Stakes field features 2024 Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Muth (the morning-line favorite at 8-5) and 2024 San Felipe Stakes (G2) winner Imagination (6-1), who are both trained by Bob Baffert, 2024 Arkansas Derby (G1) runner-up Just Steel (15-1), and 2024 Pat Day Mile (G2) winner Seize the Grey (15-1).

Coverage features host Mike Tirico; analysts Jerry Bailey, the Hall of Fame jockey and two-time Preakness winner, and Randy Moss; handicapper Matt Bernier; host/reporter Ahmed Fareed; reporters Britney Eurton, Donna Brothers, Kenny Rice, and Nick Luck; infield reporter Jac Collinsworth; and race caller Larry Collmus. Steve Kornacki, NBC News' national political correspondent, returns to NBC Sports' Preakness coverage as an insights analyst for the fourth year.