INFIELD ACTIVATION
The Visit Baltimore mobile visitor center , also known as Smalltimore , was unveiled for the first time during Preakness 149 . Activations throughout the day included a giveaway of dried flower boutonnieres from local florist Crimson and Clover , self-care products from Mount Royal Soaps , and made-to-order snowballs featuring homemade egg custard and other flavors from The Peggy at Walther Gardens , the oldest continually operating snowball stand in the country .
IPW PREAKNESS PARTY
In early May , the Visit Baltimore PR team saddled up to host a Preview to Preakness Media Mixer in Los Angeles during one of the travel industry ’ s biggest conferences , U . S . Travel ’ s IPW . The event gave attendees a taste of one of Baltimore ’ s signature events with Baltimore-themed bites created by Chef Bakari Bernard — who learned how to make crab cakes from his mentor , a Baltimore native — snowballs from The Peggy at Walther Gardens and cocktails by Sagamore Spirit . Additional activities included a headwear-making station and a horse race carnival game to get everyone in the Preakness spirit . In all , the team made connections with 23 content creators and journalists representing publications such as Travel & Leisure , Fodor ’ s Travel , Tripadvisor , Black Meetings & Tourism and The Points Guy .
OVERALL PREAKNESS RESULTS FROM 1 / ST :
• Tickets for all premium hospitality areas were sold out with a total attendance of 63,423 .
• 7 million total viewers watched the race on NBC .
CLIENT ENGAGEMENT
The Visit Baltimore sales team hosted clients to showcase the full scope of the second leg of the triple crown . On Friday , local meeting planners kicked off the festivities at Black-Eyed Susan Day . The rest of the weekend the team hosted city-wide clients to experience a classic Baltimore crab feast followed by a day at the races taking in front row views of the finish line , infield music and activities and even a picture in the winner ’ s circle .
• Average viewership on NBC ’ s Preakness window was up 7 % vs 2023 .
• 18-49 demographic up 10 % year over year .
• The 2024 Preakness on NBC was the most watched since 2021 and second most watched since 2018 .
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