Preakness Offers Trainer Bonus For 10th Straight Year

For the 10th consecutive year, a total of $100,000 in bonus money is on the table for trainers that run a minimum of five horses in more than a dozen stakes races offered during Preakness weekend, May 15 and 16, at Laurel Park.

The blockbuster weekend features 15 stakes, seven graded, worth $4.2 million in purses. The trainer with the most points will receive $50,000, second is worth $25,000, third $12,000, fourth $7,000, fifth $4,000 and sixth $2,000.

Points are accumulated for finishing first (10 points), second (seven), third (five), fourth (three) and having a starter (one) in the stakes races, led by the 151st running of the $2 million Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, May 16.

Trainers must have a minimum of five starts to qualify for the bonus.

Other graded events on Preakness Day are the $250,000 Dinner Party (G3) for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles and $150,000 Gallorette (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and older at 1 1/16 miles, each scheduled on turf, and the $150,000 Maryland Sprint (G3) for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs on the main track.

Supporting Preakness undercard stakes are the $150,000 Chick Lang for 3-year-olds and $125,000 Skipat for fillies and mares 3 and up, each sprinting six furlongs, and $100,000 Sir Barton going 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-old non-winners of an open sweepstakes, all on dirt,  along with the $100,000 James W. Murphy for 3-year-olds going one mile and $125,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint at five furlongs, each on the grass.

Preakness Eve, May 15, will be highlighted by the 102nd running of the $300,000 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan (G2) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles and two supporting graded-stakes -- the historic $250,000 Pimlico Special (G3) for 3-year-olds and up going the Preakness distance of 1 3/16 miles and $150,000 Miss Preakness (G3) for 3-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs.

The Black-Eyed Susan undercard also includes the $125,000 Allaire du Pont Distaff for fillies and mares 3 and older going 1 1/8 miles on the dirt as well as the $125,000 Hilltop for 3-year-old fillies going one mile and $100,000 The Very One for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting five furlongs, both on the turf.

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen was the leading Preakness weekend stakes trainer four times in its first seven years, earning the top bonus in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022. In 2024, Cherie DeVaux became the first female trainer to take the honors; last weekend she made history as the first to win the Kentucky Derby (G1).

Brad Cox (2019), Mike Maker (2020), Maryland-based Graham Motion (2023) and Brendan Walsh (2025) have also won the top prize.

There will also be bonus money totaling $50,000 for trainers with the most points in non-stakes races during Preakness weekend. The points are accumulated in similar fashion with $25,000 going to the leader, $10,000 to second, $7,500 to third, $4,000 to fourth, $2,500 to fifth and $1,000 to sixth.

Trainers must have a minimum of three starts to qualify for the bonus. Mike Trombetta earned the top prize in 2025.

Nominations are free for all stakes, with the exception of the Preakness, and close Tuesday, May 5. To make a nomination, email stakes coordinator Michele Enck at michele.enck@marylandracing.com or call 800-638-1859.

Entries will be taken and post positions drawn Sunday, May 10 for the Black-Eyed Susan Day program and Monday, May 11 for the Preakness Day program. The post-position draw for the Preakness will be held in the Sports Book at Laurel Park.