Hip-hop performers Jadakiss, Too $hort to headline Preakness Festival 150

CBS News

03-04-2025

Famed hip-hop performers Jadakiss and Too $hort will be headlining the Preakness Festival 150, days before the 150th thoroughbred racing of The Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.
Preakness 150, marking the 150th year of the second leg of the Triple Crown, will have a week-long festival and celebration of the iconic horse race.
Singer and actress Deborah Cox and rapper D-Nice, along with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, are also included in the lineup for Wednesday, May 14, at Pier Six Pavilion in downtown Baltimore.
Too Short, who had collaborations with Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G., is a California-born rapper. A couple of his biggest singles were "Blow the Whistle" and "The Ghetto."
Jadakiss, a New York rapper and had signed with Ruff Ryders, is known for songs like "We Gonna Make It," Still Feel Me," "Kiss of Death," and "Money, Power and Respect."
The new festival will feature cultural events, arts activities, and other programming at prominent locations across the state, made possible through public and private stakeholder partnerships.
Here's a list of events happening during t
he Preakness Festival from May 8 through May 17
.
The 150th running of the
Preakness Stakes,
the second leg of the Triple Crown, will be on Saturday, May 17 at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course.
Seize the Gray edged out Kentucky Derby winner
Mystik Dan and six other horses to win last year's race.
The
Preakness 150 will be the final horse race
at Pimlico Race Course before a major renovation project gets underway in 2026.
The Maryland Stadium Authority was authorized to finance up to $400 million in state bonds for the rebuild, design, and construction of Pimlico.
The planned development
includes a new clubhouse, stables for approximately 700 horses, event space, and a hotel to be constructed by a private partner. The plan also calls for structured parking and workforce housing in the Park Heights neighborhood, according to the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority.
"It was held in Northwest Baltimore, but it was very clear it wasn't for Northwest Baltimore," said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who grew up in Park Heights. "Bringing the surrounding communities into the fold, we've begun to change that narrative."
A separate training facility would be developed with a capacity for about 650 horses, maintaining the current combined stabling capacity of 1,400 horses, which is currently split between Laurel Park and Pimlico.
The redevelopment is expected to create significant economic benefits for Baltimore and the community hosting the training center. Officials project 140 to 160 racing days annually at Pimlico, and the facility will include a 1,000-seat event space and a new hotel.
The Preakness Stakes will relocate to Laurel Park in 2026 while the new facility is built.