On This Day

Pimlico Race Course opens in Baltimore

Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London. The racetrack is nicknamed "Old Hilltop" after a small rise in the infield that became a favorite gathering place for thoroughbred trainers and race enthusiasts.

Pimlico was owned by the Stronach Group from 2011 until 2024, when ownership transferred to the state-run Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA).

Historical Significance

Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.

Events Before

  1. US postage stamps featuring scenes are issued for the first time, depicting a post horse and rider, a locomotive, a shie

    US postage stamps featuring scenes are issued for the first time, depicting a post horse and rider, a locomotive, a shield, an eagle, and a ship, the Adriatic

  2. Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table of the elements to the Russian Chemical Society

    Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table of the elements to the Russian Chemical Society

  3. Cincinnati Red Stockings become baseball's first professional team with ten salaried players

    The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players.

  4. US Abolitionist Harriet Tubman marries civil war veteran Nelson Davis in Auburn NY

    Harriet Tubman (1822–1913) was an American abolitionist and political activist. Tubman escaped slavery and rescued approximately 70 enslaved people, including members of her family and friends.

  5. Hudson's Bay Company cedes its territory to Canada

    The Hudson's Bay Company (abbreviated HBC and colloquially Hudson's Bay) is a Canadian holding company of department stores and commercial property.

Events After

  1. Belgium disbands its salt tax

    Belgium disbands its salt tax

  2. Second German Empire is proclaimed by Kaiser Wilhelm I and Otto von Bismarck

    Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and…

  3. US President William McKinley (27) weds Ida Saxton (23) at the First Presbyterian Church in Canton

    US President William McKinley (27) weds Ida Saxton (23) at the First Presbyterian Church in Canton

  4. The Rugby Football Union is formed at a meeting of 21 clubs at the Pall Mall Restaurant, London, England

    The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England.

  5. Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his famous expedition to Africa

    Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his famous expedition to Africa

More from the 1870s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on October 25, 1870?
Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London.
Why is Pimlico Race Course opens in Baltimore significant?
Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.

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