Every year thousands of people come to Baltimore, Maryland on their vacation. The city has plenty of attractions, museums, architectural highlights, shopping malls, and shows to keep a vacationing Oakville real estate broker busy. However if you want to see something really unique, you'll want to plan your vacation for the third Saturday in May. That's when the annual Peakness Stakes horse race is held. To learn more about Peakness Stakes and why you might want to come to Baltimore to see it, read on.

The Peakness Stakes is one of the races that make up the fabled Triple Crown of American horse racing. Held only two weeks after the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky and only three weeks before the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York, it's a ticket to everlasting fame for a horse and its owner. Everyone, from small children to visiting Ontario lawyers get caught up in the excitement. Since the race is held on Saturday, nearly everyone is off work and able to attend.

The race is held at the Pimloco Race Course in Baltimore, which is 1 and 3/16 miles in length. The other famous race that's held there each year is the Pimloco Special, which is the race that Seabiscuit won so famously in 1938. The track is dirt and the facility has enough horse fence to accommodate 1000 horses. The spectator areas can hold about 120,000 people and is usually filled to capacity on the day of the Peakness Stakes. The traditional adornment for winning horses at the Peakness Stakes is a blanket made of black-eyed Susan flowers.

Horse lovers attend the Peakness Stakes to get a look at some of the finest Thoroughbred race horses in America. A horse only has one shot at winning the Peakness Stakes - and by extension, the Triple Crown - because only three year old horses are eligible. The race has been running since 1873 and the prize money for the winning horse's owner is over a million dollars. That's enough money to get even a commercial mortgage broker excited. Although the Peakness Stakes runs every year, only eleven horses have ever won the Triple Crown, including Secretariat in 1973, who has since become the subject a Hollywood film.

There's more to do at the Peakness Stakes than watch the horses, however. You can buy snacks, socialize, and even win enough money betting that you'll effectively win a car. There are also other events held on the week of the race, including a parade, a marathon, a concert series, a hot air balloon festival, and a children's celebration. The Peakness Stakes week is a fun time for the whole family, so if you're looking to vacation in Baltimore, that's the week to go.