Preakness was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by the famed leading sire Lexington out of a mare named Bay Leaf. Preakness was from Milton Holbrook Sanford's Preakness Stables in Preakness, Wayne Township, New Jersey.
Preakness upset the heavily favored colt, Foster, to win the inaugural running of the Dixie Stakes (then known as the Dinner Party Stakes) on October 25, 1870, the opening day of Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. He continued his racing career until age 9 with a record of 40:18-11-4.
After his retirement from racing, he was sold in England to stand at stud. He later became temperamental, as did his new owner, the Duke of Hamilton. After an altercation where Preakness refused to obey the Duke during a breeding session, he retrieved a gun and killed the colt, leading to a public outcry. As a result, there was a reform in the laws regarding the treatment of animals. Mr. Sanford, his previous owner donated his trophy from the Dinner Party Stakes race to the renamed race in his honor.
In honor of winning the first Dixie Stakes, a new stakes race was named in honor of Preakness: The Preakness Stakes.