October 3, 2020 
Swiss Skydiver gamely fought off a challenge from Kentucky Derby winner Authentic to win by a nose in a photo finish, becoming only the sixth filly in its 145-year history to win the Preakness Stakes Saturday at a spectator-free Pimlico in Baltimore.
Jesus’ Team, a 40-1 longshot finished third, with Art Collector rounding out the top four.
The final official time of 1:53.10 was just off Secretariat’s 1973 record time, adjusted by the Maryland Racing Commission in 2012 to 1:53 flat after several years of controversy over a faulty timer.
The COVID-19 jumbled Triple Crown season is certain to carry an asterisk in record books due to the changing order and dates of the races and the shortened Belmont Stakes.
Swiss Skydiver was slowed at the start out of post 4 when Art Collector veered slightly out of post 3, then back toward Mr. Big News in post 2. Mr. Big News was thrown off stride and never really recovered.
Robby Albarado was able to regain control thanks in part to a slow first quarter. Favored Authentic and stablemate Thousand Words led the 11-horse field with Swiss Skydiver gaining position going into the backstretch. Albarado found a slender opening between the leaders and moved through going into the far turn to challenge Authentic for the lead.
The filly snared the lead coming into the stretch of the 1 3/16–mile trip. Swiss Skydiver fought off Authentic’s challenge, holding less than a head lead across the finish line. Deemed a photo finish, the filly was the clear winner, officially by a nose.
The filly won the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga in August in a romp. Art Collector later embarrassed her in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, leading to doubts about her ability to race against colts.
Trainer Ken McPeek said they brought her to Pimlico for a rematch because “she just keeps getting better and better. Just to be around a horse like this every day is a real honor.”
This year’s Preakness is part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win & You’re In” Series. Swiss Skydiver gains automatic paid entry into the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland.
Previous filly winners of the race include Flocarline (1903), Whimsical (1906), Rhine Maiden (1915), Nellie Morse (1924) and Rachel Alexandra (2009).
She is only the 12th filly to win a Triple Crown race.
Albarado’s daredevil backstretch move was in keeping with the filly’s pedigree as a daughter of Daredevil (out of Expo Gold by Johannesburg). Her 78-year-old owner, Peter Callahan, named his $35,000 purchase in a nod to granddaughter Callie. During a college semester abroad, Callie sent Callahan a photograph of her leaping out of a plane in a skydive over the Swiss Alps.
