Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course is one of the most famous tracks in North America. So where’s the love?

The venerable track, currently owned by Magna, is not hosting any of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge races. In fact, with the decision not to run the Pimlico Special this year, there was only one Grade I stakes race on the 2007 calendar: the Preakness.

That’s still more than most tracks could ever hope for. The second leg of the Triple Crown brings millions of dollars to Pimlico, which otherwise isn’t nearly the same tourist destination as other racing communities. The facility itself can barely contain the giant crowds that show up for the weeklong Preakness festivities.

Pimlico sports a mile-long dirt track and a seven-furlong turf course. It first opened in 1870; that year’s Dinner Party Stakes (now the Dixie Stakes) was won by Preakness – therefore the Preakness Stakes, which first ran three years later.