Kimber Goodwin, the CEO and Founder of Blonde Marketing is the dynamo behind the bands and all the merriment at Preakness and the special Black Eyed Susan Day celebrations. This year, the music maven decided we all needed a good dose of the 80’s to take us back to good times and great tunes. As with every Preakness this year’s events promise to deliver in terms of fun, entertainment and excitement. We first featured Kimber on our site back in 2012, click here for that interview.
Black Eyed Susan Day has a long standing history of helping Baltimore regional women kick off the Preakness in style and fun. One of Pimlico’s oldest stakes races, the Black-Eyed Susan was first run at Pimlico in 1919 as the Pimlico Oaks. The name was changed in 1952 to complement the Preakness and to acknowledge the Maryland state flower. The mile and one-eighth test, for three-year-old fillies is traditionally run the Friday before the Preakness. The race was first graded in 1973 and has been a Grade II event since 1976. The Black-Eyed Susan has long been recognized as the middle jewel of the traditional filly Triple Crown, which also includes the Kentucky Oaks Stakes (at Churchill Downs) and the Acorn Stakes (at Belmont Park). Only three fillies: Wistful (1949), Real Delight (1952), and Davona Dale (1979), all owned and bred by the illustrious Calumet Farm, have ever accomplished this feat.
What you can expect at this year’s Black Eyed Susan Day will be awesome. From 11:30 on, there will be live music, a Hooves and Heels Fashion event from 12-3pm which might feature you if your outfit is up to snuff, and a wonderful Keynote by Speaker Carla Harris in the Preakness Village at the Morgan Stanley Ultimate Girls Power Luncheon. Tickets range from a veritable bargain at $10 in the infield to up to $150 for Turfside Terrace. To purchase tickets click here.