The Cuttyhunk Club Kings of the Preakness Held on the third Saturday in May, the Preakness is the middle jewel of the Triple Crown series of racing. Usually held at Pimlico, the second oldest racetrack still in operation in the entire United States after Saratoga, the Preakness Stakes is named for the winning colt of a dinner wager race among prominent racing enthusiasts in Saratoga. The first Preakness in 1873 drew seven starters. John Chamberlain's Survivor easily won, galloping home by a ten length margin -a record which held for over 120 years until broken by Smarty Jones in 2004. Chamberlain was the founder of Monmouth Racetrack in New Jersey and an archetypal 'clubman'. In 1864 Chamberlain and dozens of his rich and influential Jockey Club friends were inaugural members of the elite Cuttyhunk Club. Famous in society, in commerce and sport, the Cuttyhunk Club men embraced the excess and opportunity of post war life through the leisure sports of destination fishing, horses, and yachting. In keeping with the wild energy of the ‘sixties’ was their love of all things sport. Fellow Cuttyhunk Club founders, brothers Pierre and George Lorillard, heirs to the tobacco fortune, were avid and conspicuous turfmen. Pierre won the fourth Preakness with his horse Shirley in 1876. George still holds the record for most consecutive wins (five) at the Preakness. Photo: The Woodlawn Vase - awarded to winning owner of the Preakness Designed in 1860 by Tiffany & Co. (Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com) #Preakness #Horseracing #Pimlico #Saratoga #Cuttyhunk #CapeandIslands #WoodlawnVase (fb)

URGENT! Critical funding for museums and cultural organizations by the NEA is being cut. Grants already approved have been terminated. Please take two minutes to sign the petition to your congressman and let your voice be heard and support vital arts funding- it matters: (fb)