Curlin is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the American Horse of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. He retired in 2008 as the highest North American money earner with over US$10.5 million accumulated. His major racing wins included the 2007 Preakness Stakes, 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic, and 2008 Dubai World Cup. In August 2008, Timeform assigned a 134 rating for Curlin, calling him the best horse in the world on dirt. Curlin was elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in 2014, his first year of eligibility.

The 2007 Preakness Stakes was the 132nd running of the Preakness Stakes thoroughbred horse race. The race took place on May 19, 2007. It was a photo finish between Curlin and Street Sense, which was won by Curlin by a head, the shortest margin of victory in Preakness history. The Maryland Jockey Club reported total attendance of 132,221, this is recorded as second highest on the list of American thoroughbred racing top attended events for North America in 2007. This figure represented a record attendance for The Preakness Stakes.