Hilltop Stakes

The Hilltop Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Open to three-year-old fillies, it is contested over a distance of one mile on turf.

The Hilltop Stakes was run on the second Saturday of May each year exactly one week prior to the Preakness Stakes. (In 2015 it was run on Friday, May 15th, the day before the Preakness.) The race is named in honor of the nickname for Pimlico Race Course. The nickname "Old Hilltop" was given to the venerable track in Baltimore, Maryland because of a large hill in the infield that was very prominent and gave race goers a 360" bird's-eye view of the entire track. In 1938 the hill top was leveled so that movie cameras and patrons in the grandstand could see the race on the backside of the track while the horses were racing.

The race was run on the main track on a dirt surface prior to 1988. It was also run on the main track in 1995 and 2003 due to a yielding turf and poor weather. In 1997, Francine Villeneuve became the first female jockey to win the race.