The Preakness Stakes is a prestigious Grade I stakes race 1 3/16 mile (1.91 km) thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, held on the third Saturday in May of each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The Preakness Stakes has been termed "The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans" because a horseshoe of black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia hirta), the state flower of Maryland, is traditionally placed around the winner's neck.