De Luxe Preakness

The De Luxe Preakness, manufactured by Bally in 1937, is a one-ball payout machine built with electro-mechanical (EM) technology typical of Bally's products in the late 1930s. It followed the company's 1936 'Preakness' machine, continuing Bally's line of horse-racing themed payout games; Bally also issued a nearly identical Model 206 version just eight days after this Model 205 release, and it is unclear whether the two ever differed meaningfully.

Gameplay on the De Luxe Preakness centers on a horse-racing theme, with players sending a ball into the playfield to accumulate points on the one-ball payout format common to the era. The machine features a simple, functional layout with minimal art and decoration, characteristic of coin-operated payout equipment of the time, and relies on electro-mechanical components that were becoming standard across the industry.

Little is known about the machine's designer or other notable features beyond what Bally's own records describe. Nonetheless, the De Luxe Preakness remains an interesting artifact from the formative years of coin-operated payout machines, illustrating the close relationship between horse racing and early pinball themes.