Pimlico Race Course Track Conditions for the Preakness Stakes

An exercise rider walks Preakness entrant Big Drama on the track at Pimlico Race Course. (AP images)"]

The condition of the dirt surface at Pimlico racetrack will surely be a factor for Saturday’s Preakness Stakes.

Track conditions will depend on the weather, and Friday’s forecast is a 40% chance of rain, with a high temperature of 76 degrees. Saturday calls for a 40% chance of rain with scattered thundershowers, with the temperature expected to be somewhere in the low 80’s.

If the track is wet it could be a bit laboring, but a little bit of moisture could make it ideal for Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. He skipped over a wet track at Churchill Downs to beat a similar field. A dry track would better benefit Rachel Alexander, who will likely be coming off the pace in the mid-stages of the race. Dry conditions will also be more advantageous to Pioneerof the Nile; he’s run most of his races so far on synthetic surfaces.

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