The National Museum of Racing’s Historic Review Committee have elected the racehorse Preakness and trainer William Lakeland for induction into the Museum’s Hall of Fame this August, joining contemporary selection Heavenly Prize.
The class of 2018 will be joined by the Pillars of the Turf Committee’s selections, which will be announced May 23. The induction ceremony will take place August 3 at 10:30 a.m. (EDT) at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion in Saratoga Springs. The event is free and open to the public.
Preakness, the namesake of the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, was a foal of 1867 and was bred by R. A. Alexander at Woodburn Stud in Kentucky. A $4,100 yearling purchase by Milton H. Sanford, Preakness captured the Dinner Party Stakes (now known as the Dixie) at Pimlico on October 25, 1870.
It was at the Dinner Party when the idea of creating a signature race at Pimlico for three-year-olds was hatched, a race later named in honor of the Dinner Party’s inaugural winner.
Among Preakness’ other major victories was the 1875 Saratoga Cup, in which he dead-heated with Springbok in a time of 3:56.25 for 2 1/4 miles, a record that stood for 23 years. Preakness’ career record was 39-18-12-2, $39,820.
A native of Manchester, England, Lakeland trained for such noted owners as James R. Keene and Marcus Daly. His most famous charges were Hall of Fame inductees Domino and Hamburg. Lakeland was born in 1853 and died in 1908.
