Heat, Humidity to Build for 140th Preakness Stakes in Baltimore Saturday

By Mark Leberfinger, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

May 14,2015; 11:08PM,EDT

 

 

Heat and humidity will be on the racing card Saturday for the 140th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Kentucky Derby winner American Pharaoh will lead seven other horses around the 1 13/16-mile track for the $1.5 million purse in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. Post time is 6:18 p.m. EDT Saturday.

Midsummerlike warmth and humidity will envelop the Preakness Stakes on Saturday as highs reach near 90 F. AccuWeather RealFeel® temperatures will peak in the mid-90s during the afternoon.
"Folks going out on race day and spending the majority of the time outdoors should stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water," AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Andy Mussoline said. "Wearing plenty of sunscreen and having extra to reapply will be helpful as well."
Clouds will limit an otherwise scorching sun from time to time during the entirety of race day, Mussoline said.
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"The warmth and humidity will help fuel a pop-up shower or thunderstorm during the afternoon and evening that will threaten to interrupt the race," he said. "The showers or thunderstorms will be spotty enough that chances will favor the race will stay dry."
In this photo taken Saturday, May 2, 2015, jockey Gary Stevens (10) and Firing Line, lead eventual winner American Pharoah, ridden by Victor Espinoza, left, during the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
Whether it remains dry or not can be a key factor in deciding the race.
"On a muddy track, some horses just absolutely hate it and other horses, they just love it," Charles Lyman, owner of Maui Meadow Farm, a thoroughbred farm in West Chester, Pennsylvania, told AccuWeather.com before the Kentucky Derby.