Compared to the Kentucky Derby, fillies have had more success in the Preakness since the race's inception back in 1873. Going into the 2020 season, five fillies who stood as champion of the Triple Crown's middle jewel: Flocarline (1903), Whimsical (1906), Rhine Maiden (1915), Nellie Morse (1924), and Rachel Alexandra (2009).

Fans in the modern era certainly tend to associate Rachel Alexandra with the Preakness. This was due to huge win in the 2009 Kentucky Oaks by over twenty lengths, but also because she was the first filly to capture the Preakness in multiple generations. Watching Rachel Alexandra defeat her male opponents decisively was an event more than eighty years in the making.

Those who watched the Preakness that year likely wondered if another filly would follow Rachel Alexandra to a Preakness triumph. And if that happened, how long would it take.

Well, compared to the gap between Nellie Morse and Rachel Alexandra, the wait was quite short. And the filly who succeeded the 2009 Horse of the Year did so with a link to Southern California racing.

For the first ten months of her career, Swiss Skydiver had been nothing but consistent. With just one off the board finish to her name in ten starts, the daughter of Daredevil established herself as a multiple graded stakes winner. She was also well traveled, having visited eight racetracks across the United States. As part of her 2020 campaign, she made her first start in Southern California when she was entered in the Grade II Santa Anita Oaks following a win in the Grade III Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

Made the 3-5 favorite at post time, Swiss Skydiver started from the rail and took control early. She moved with confidence and elegance, and was easily the best as she defeated the opposition in convincing fashion to extend her good form.

Normally, the Santa Anita Oaks would precede the Kentucky Oaks by roughly a month. But with both races rescheduled from their traditional dates due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Swiss Skydiver took the Santa Anita Oaks in June and then finished second in the Kentucky Oaks in September (while finishing second in the Grade II Blue Grass Stakes and first in the Grade I Alabama Stakes in between those races). The 2020 season had been nothing but excellent for Swiss Skydiver, but her next race would stand as her most towering accomplishment on track.

Sent to take on the males in the Preakness Stakes on October 3, the question as to whether Swiss Skydiver would win inevitably came up. The Kenny McPeek trainee was no stranger to beating the boys, however. All one needs for proof of that is her runner up finish in the Blue Grass Stakes. She was part of a large field that day, with thirteen horses (Swiss Skydiver included) making up the Blue Grass cast. Only one beat her that day at Keeneland.

Fans saw Swiss Skydiver as a longshot to win the Preakness, sending her off at 11-1. The prevailing opinion was that Kentucky Derby champion Authentic, who in turn delivered in upset under the Twin Spires by defeating the favored Tiz the Law, would make it a Derby-Preakness double (Tiz the Law had won the Belmont in June, so no Triple Crown was on the line).

Swiss Skydiver got into early contention at the start, becoming part of the leading group while saving ground on the inside. Following a slow pace around Pimlico Race Course, Swiss Skydiver moved behind Thousand Words down the backstretch when a pathway to the front opened up in front of her and jockey Robby Albarado. Seizing the opportunity, the chestnut filly strode to the front and took a narrow lead going into the far turn. Going around the bend, the Preakness was between her and Authentic. Swiss Skydiver stayed on the inside, but Authentic was not through. Both horses had a chance to win at the top of the stretch, and they did not let up on their duel.

Swiss Skydiver maintained a slight lead on the inside while Authentic tried to get by. Neither one gave an inch as they left the field far behind them. Both were determined and tough as they moved past the thousands in the Pimlico grandstand. The winner was going to earn this Preakness title when all was said and done.

Authentic stayed with the leader down the stretch, doing all he could to get by. The gap was small, but Swiss Skydiver was equally game. In fact, she was slightly more game that day. She countered Authentic's run in the stretch, holding him at bay no matter how hard he tried. She showed great heart at Pimlico, and no one possessed more heart at Old Hilltop than her.

After about one minute and fifty-three seconds, Swiss Skydiver added a new chapter to her story as well as the rarity of a filly winning the Preakness. She became only the sixth female to become a Preakness champion, and that clinched her Champion Three-Year-Old Filly honor at the Eclipse Awards a couple of months later. More than a decade removed from Rachel Alexandra's triumph, Swiss Skydiver made the Preakness her event thanks to her grit and talent. And the fact she is one of the few fillies to take the Preakness makes her one of the race's most memorable winners.

Perhaps lost in the shuffle of her popular and stirring victory was that Swiss Skydiver had done something none of the other fillies before her had done. There have been fillies who have taken the Santa Anita Oaks and Kentucky Oaks, and Winning Colors famously took the Santa Anita Oaks, Santa Anita Derby and Kentucky Derby back in 1988. But no filly had ever taken the Santa Anita Oaks and Preakness Stakes until Swiss Skydiver came along.

Much like Winning Colors more than thirty years earlier, Swiss Skydiver came up with a truly unique and unprecedented combination of prestigious race wins. It must be noted that the Santa Anita Oaks goes back to the days of the Great Depression. An abundance of history has accompanied the longtime staple of the Southland, and Swiss Skydiver needed less than two minutes moving around Pimlico to add to that history.

It is a terrific story that deserves to be told to future generations, for this could very well be something that is seen once in a lifetime.