Though sandwiched between and sometimes overshadowed by the youngest and glitziest (the Derby) and the oldest and longest (the Belmont) of the Triple Crown races, the Preakness has a storied history, one as colorful as the hats that light up the grandstand annually for the biggest and most spectacular event on the Baltimore and Maryland calendar.

As the poet Nash?s clever ditty suggests, it is no surprise that the history of both the Preakness and Pimlico dates to an elegant 19th century party for horsemen and entrepreneurs and held after the races at Saratoga, the only race track in the country that predates Pimlico. In honor of the evening, it was proposed that atwo-mile stakes race for 3-year old colts and fillies be held in the fall of 1870.

Owen Bowie, the governor of Maryland and a noted horseman, stunned the guests by suggesting what was then a staggering purse of $15,000. He then topped that with an early version of the premise “if you build it, they will come” by pledging to build a model race track if the race were held in his home state.

On Pimlico?s opening day, Oct. 25, 1870, the first “Dinner Party Stakes” (later to become the Dixie Handicap and the eighth-oldest stakes race in America) was won by Preakness, who was one of only two male entries in the race and who eventually would be immortalized by having one of the classic Triple Crown races named after him. This race is also believed to have inspired a couple of racing phrases that remain today.

According to the archives, a wire was stretched across the track from the judges’ stand with a small silk bag filled with gold pieces. Following the tradition of the times, winning jockey Billy Hayward untied the string holding the bag and claimed the money. It is believed this custom brought about the term “under the wire” at the finish line, along with the designation of “purse” money.

Constructed on 70 acres west of the Jones Falls, which was purchased by the Maryland Jockey Club for $23,000 and build for $25,000, the race track at Pimlico (original spelling on original charter was “Pemblicoe”) was an instant hit with the social and horsemen sets. The infield featured a small rise that became a favored gathering place for trainers and enthusiasts to view the races ? leading to Pimlico?s affectionate nickname of “Old Hilltop,” and though the hill has been long gone, the colorful moniker remains.

To inaugurate its first spring meet, Pimlico introduced its new stakes race for 3-year olds, which ran on May 27, 1873, two years before the first Derby. The race, which attracted 12,000 spectators and a field of seven, was won easily by Survivor, who breezed to a 10-length triumph ? the largest margin of victory in the Preakness until Smarty Jones obliterated the field by 11 lengths in 2004.

For 17 years the Preakness prospered at Pimlico, fortified by large crowds and good horses, but the racing landscape changed late in the 19th century, and Pimlico went dark in 1890, when the race was moved to Morris Park in New York. The Maryland Jockey Club stayed involved, running steeplechase and trotting races, but it wasn’t until 1909 that the Preakness returned to its home for good after 15 years at the Gravesend race trace in Brooklyn, NY. Those 15 so-called “lost” years were officially enrolled in the race’s history in 1948, with the 1890 race added in the 1960s.

Pimlico managed to survive the 15-year hiatus, even evading a 1910 anti-gambling movement that swept the country, prohibiting the sport everywhere except Maryland and Kentucky. Colonel Matt Winn of Churchill Downs allegedly credited Pimlico?s Billy Riggs as the savior of Eastern racing for introducing “less sinful” pari-mutuel machines as opposed to the controversial bookmakers. Pimlico would later become the first racetrack in the country to utilize an electric starting gate.

Some traditions that continue today can be attributed to the return of the Preakness in 1909. That was the year a lone bugler, inspired by the spirit and enthusiasm of the day, began playing the state song ? and thus “Maryland, My Maryland” became part of the pre-race tradition. It was also the year that the concept of “painting the winning colors” atop the weather vane, honoring the winning horse, was introduced.

The phrase “Triple Crown” was coined in the 1930s, solidifying Pimlico?s place in racing tradition, but for many years the Preakness had the appearance of being the stepchild of the prestigious races, with modest attendance and handle figures. A lot of that changed when Chick Lang became the track’s general manager in 1969 and ushered in promotions designed to get the Preakness closer to the level established by the Derby, which regularly drew six-figure crowds.

In the early 1970s, Lang opened the infield to the casual fan. Heretofore restricted to a “Corporate Village,” the infield would eventually more than double attendance, which hadn’t reached 40,000 before 1968 but skyrocketed to more than 75,000 for the first time in 1975. Now, it routinely exceeds 100,000 ? most of it in the infield.

“The whole idea was to get young people to come to the track and have a good time,” said Lang, long since retired. “It wasn’t easy at first because the owners didn’t want to do it, and a lot of the others [working at Pimlico] were against it, too. It took three or four years to get it started, and I’d have to say it’s one of the things I’m proudest of ? I got a lot of “thank yous” for a lot of years whenever I walked through.”

There can be little doubt that the festival that is the infield is now a Preakness fixture. The real worry is whether or not the Preakness itself will remain a fixture on the Baltimore sporting scene.

The onetime “model” track, despite occasional makeovers, is now more of a relic ? as ancient as it is historic. Saturday marks the 100th consecutive year the Preakness has been run at Pimlico, where the rise in the infield is long gone, but “Old Hilltop” remains, however tenuous its future might be.

The most valuable trophy in sports

The Woodlawn Vase, created by Tiffany and Co.in 1860 with an estimated value of $1,500 was appraised in 1983 for $1 million and is said to be the most valuable trophy in American sports. After serving as the prized trophy for various classic races, the vase was given to the Maryland Jockey Club in 1917, under the condition that the owner of the winning horse in the Preakness would keep it until the next year.

In 1953, after Alfred G. Vanderbilt?s Native Dancer won the race, Mrs. Vanderbilt preferred not to accept responsibility for the vase’s safekeeping, and since then a smaller sterling silver replica valued at $30,000 has been awarded to the winning owner on a permanent basis.

The original is on display at The Baltimore Museum of Art and is brought to Pimlico Race Course under guard for the annual running of the Preakness.

Did you know?

>> The fastest official time for a Preakness run at 1 3/16 miles (since 1925) is 1.53.2 by Tank’s Prospect (1985), Risen Star (1988) and Louis Quatorze (1996). The Racing Form also credited Secretariat with the same time in 1973, but there was a clock malfunction, and the track recognized a time of 1.54.2. >> The slowest winning time, somewhat surprisingly, was run by 1948 Triple Crowd winner Citation, who was clocked at 2.02.4.

>> The Preakness favorite has won 57 percent of the time (75).

>> The Preakness has been run on a Saturday every year since 1931, but this was not always so. The race has been staged every day of the week except Sunday ? Tuesday (14), Friday (13), Monday (6), Wednesday (5) and Thursday (4) ? and is now a fixture on the third Saturday of May.

>> The current order of Triple Crown races has been in place since 1931. But on 11 occasions the Preaknesswas run before the Kentucky Derby, and twice they were run on the same day. Once, in 1890, the Preakness and Belmont were on the same card at Morris Park, N.Y.

>> Nine Preakness winners have sired Preakness winners: Bold Ruler (Secretariat); Bold Venture (Assault); Gallant Fox (Omaha); Man o?War (War Admiral); Polynesian (Native Dancer); Citation (Fabius); Native Dancer (Kauai King); Secretariat (Risen Star) and Summer Squall (Charismatic).

>> Only two Triple Crown winners, War Admiral (1937) and Count Fleet (1943), went undefeated as 3-year-olds.

>> While Eddie Arcaro leads all jockeys with six Preakness wins (in 15 starts), Pat Day set a record by winning three in a row ? on Tabasco Cat (1994), Timber Country (1995) and Louis Quatorze (1996).

>> The first Triple Crown winner ? Sir Barton (1919) ? won the Derby on May 10 and the Preakness four days later.

>> The Preakness has been run at 1 3/16 miles since 1925. But since its inception in 1873, it has been contested at seven different distances. The race was initially run at 1 1/2 miles (1873-1880 and 1889), then at 1 1/4 miles (1889), 1 1/16 miles (1894-1900 and 1908), 1 mile and 70 yards (1901-1907), 1 mile (1909-1910) and 1 1/8 miles (1911-1924).

A Baltimore native who has covered the local and national sports scene for more than 40 years, Jim Henneman writes a weekly column for The Press Box and can be reached at [email protected].