Baltimore crowds showed up on a scorchingly hot day for the 147th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico last Saturday. Renovation is set to begin next year at the historic racecourse and will continue until 2026, making 2022 the last year to see some of the oldest parts of the racetrack, which first opened in the late 1800s. Our series of black and white photographs go behind the scenes with the workers who tend to the stars of the show, the thoroughbreds.
First walk at 5:45 A.M 
Early morning walk with trainer 
Getting a nose rub 
Before the ride 
Morning at the stables 
First rinse 
Morning scrub down 
A quick quiet moment before the day’s first race 
Shaking off the first wash of the day 
Keeping cool in the morning 
Morning coffee and a rub down 
A quiet morning moment 
Bucking the morning wash 
A good wash 
A rinse after sunrise 
Security officers recive their 6:30 A.M. briefing 
Waiting for the windows to open at 6:50 A.M. 
Security officers head to their posts at 7 A.M. 
A view from the old grandstand, which is slated to be torn down, of the track’s first hose down 
A security officer at is early morning post 
Cleaning off the mud 
A jockey jokes with a collegue in the paddock following her race. 
Traffic comes to a stop as a horst is walked to the track. 
Cooling off after a late day race 
Walking through the stables before the main event 
The horses are a blur as they pass the finish line. Baltimore owned Early Voting, ridden by jockey Jose Ortiz won the 147th Preakness Stakes. 
Preakness winning jockey Jose Ortiz greets fans before heading to the Winners Circle
Come back tomorrow for our gallery capturing the spectators who bring the energy that drives the iconic Preakness Stakes.
Photos by J.M. Giordano
