Preakness Stakes Draws Record Attendance For Third Straight Year

A crowd of 140,327 turned out for yesterday's running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, the "third straight year" of record attendance. Betting on the Preakness, won by Cloud Computing, was $60.2M, down 1.7% from the record of $61.3M "set last year." Betting on the 14-race card was $97.96M, a record that was up 3.2% "compared with the previous record" of $94.9M set in '16 (DRF.com, 5/20).

The race "drew a diverse crowd of famous faces." Under Armour for the fifth year had a "large tent" for entertainment purposes, while Pimlico owner Stronach Group had a "cozy 'chalet.'" Actor Kevin Spacey, Victoria's Secret model Josephine Skriver and Patriots coach Bill Belichick were among those at the Stronach Group tent. The Corporate Village in the track's infield also saw a "busload of notables," including former Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams, former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and ESPN's Herm Edwards (Baltimore SUN, 5/21).