Tickets go on sale today for the 2026 Preakness Stakes, which will be held on May 15-16 at Laurel Park while the State rebuilds the clubhouse and backstretch at the Pimlico Race Course.
General admission is $246 and Turfside Terrace seats are $1,698.
Laurel Park is owned by 1/ST Racing & Gaming, and attendance is being limited because, unlike Pimlico, the infield at Laurel is too wet to support at large crowd — The Racing Biz described it as “largely a lake” — and because the grandstand has no seats due to an unfinished renovation project. In addition, traffic is limited because there is only one road in and out of the facility.
By way of comparison, the 2025 Preakness Stakes attracted 46,173 spectators, and the 2025 Preakness weekend overall, including the Black-Eyes Susan Stakes, drew 63,000 spectators.
In 2017, the Preakness Stakes drew 190,000 spectators.
The current plan is for the 2027 Preakness Stakes to return to Pimlico. The clubhouse at Pimlico is not expected to be rebuilt by then, however, so some sort of work-around will be needed to accommodate spectators and bettors.
