Entire Race on the Grounds of Historic Pimlico With Proceeds Benefitting the Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen For The Cure®

BALTIMORE, 04-16-13---The Maryland Jockey Club and sports marketing and event management company Corrigan Sports Enterprises, Inc. (CSE) announced today the return of the “Down the Stretch for SGK” Preakness 5k. The race will take place Saturday, May 11 at Pimlico Race Course with part of the proceeds benefitting the Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure^®.

Runners will be able to compete on the historic Pimlico dirt course, where champion thoroughbreds like Secretariat and Seabiscuit once ran, and finish in the legendary infield.  In 2012, nearly 650 runners took part including Doug O’Neill, trainer of Preakness Stakes and Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another.

“We get a tremendous amount of positive feedback on this event,” said Maryland Jockey Club president Tom Chuckas. “It has to be a thrill to be able to run on the track where the Preakness takes place and to possibly hear track announcer Dave Rodman call your name as you pass the finish line. The Preakness 5k should certainly be on the bucket list of any runner who grew up a racing fan in Baltimore.”

Pimlico has partnered with Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® for the return of The People’s Pink Party. Highlights include the fourth annual Lady Legends For the Cure Race™, the Battle of the Sexes Jockey Challenge and the welcoming of 89 breast cancer survivor guests for festivities that will include a special winners’ circle tribute. The Preakness eve card features eight stakes races, headlined by the $500,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) and the $300,000 Pimlico Special (G3). Grammy-nominated Goo Goo Dolls will headline a concert that begins at 4 p.m.

CSE is well known to both area runners and Preakness attendees. The company puts on the annual Baltimore Running Festival, which attracts more than 25,000 runners from all over the world every October.

CSE president Lee Corrigan said, “The running landscape has become very competitive lately and runners have many unique experiences to choose from. It’s great to be able to partner with the Maryland Jockey Club once again to offer Baltimore area runners the rare opportunity to run on the prestigious Pimlico grounds.”

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and it launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, the organization is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors.

Seventy-five percent of the funds raised from this event will go to the Komen Maryland Affiliate to use for community outreach programs in Maryland and twenty-five percent will be used for life-saving breast cancer research.

“The Preakness 5k is such a unique event and we are proud to be the beneficiary. The funds raised by this event go to provide breast health service for women, men and families in our community who have been affected by breast cancer,” said Robin Prothro, CEO of Komen Maryland. “We are thrilled with the continuation of the partnership with the Maryland Jockey Club and their support of our mission to end breast cancer forever.”

The 5k race will begin at 10:30 a.m. It will start on the parking lot at Belvedere and Park Heights Avenues and circle one mile around the famous Pimlico dirt course. The route will continue around the Pimlico perimeter before finishing in the Infield.

The registration fee is $35 for adult registration and $15 for youth registration. Each finisher will receive a logoed water bottle. For registration and event information visit: https://www.preakness5k.org.  

About Pimlico Race Course

Historic Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness® Stakes, the middle jewel in horse racing's famed Triple Crown, first opened its doors on October 25, 1870, and is the second oldest racetrack in the United States. Pimlico has played host to racing icons and Baltimoreans have seen the likes of legendary horses such as Man o’ War, Seabiscuit, Secretariat, Affirmed and Cigar thunder down the stretch in thrilling and memorable competition. For more information on Pimlico, visit www.pimlico.com.

Pimlico Race Course is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida and is one of North America's top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world's largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is also a major producer of televised horse racing programming through its HRTV cable and satellite network and is North America's premier supplier of virtual online horse racing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.