Preakness Memories from Some Pimlico Lifers

No shortage of racing memories have been made at the track they call Old Hilltop. That hill in the infield isn’t around anymore, but there are plenty of people at Pimlico this weekend whose memories of the track and the race go back decades, and who were happy to talk to us about their memorable…

Preparing for the Preakness: the Pimlico gate crew

Shortly before 6:20 tomorrow evening, nine horses and jockeys will head towards the starting gate at Pimlico Race Course. The noise of more than 100,000 people will accompany them as they step into small metal stalls, standing patiently until the gates are sprung and they take their first strides in an attempt to win the…

Brian Nadeau Handicaps the Preakness

Pimlico: The GI, $1 million Preakness at 1 3/16 miles #1 Orb: Kentucky Derby hero made it five in a row in Louisville when he sat off a suicidal pace in the slop, rallied wide and rolled home as tons the best and will look to take the next step towards racing immortality in Baltimore.…

A Hope For NBC’s Preakness Coverage

Let’s get this out of the way: Michelle Beadle blocked me on Kentucky Oaks day, after this exchange (you can click to enlarge):   It seems a little mild to warrant being blocked, but Beadle can hardly be blamed for having an itchy block finger, given some of the abuse that she has to put…

Who do you like? Betting the 2013 Preakness

While no one would suggest that making money on the Kentucky Derby is an easy proposition, at least the big field offers a variety of ways in which to cash a juicy ticket. The Preakness, on the other hand, offers a different kind of wagering challenge. Orb, this year’s Kentucky Derby winner, is the morning…

The Preakness: The Lost New York Years

The Preakness is Maryland’s race: it’s “Maryland, My Maryland” and black-eyed Susans and blue crabs. It’s so important to the state that when financial difficulties threatened racing in Maryland,the governor stepped in to make sure that the Preakness would stay in Baltimore. But 120 years ago, when financial woes imperiled the racing industry in Maryland, nothing…

Welcome Back to Belmont

On Sunday afternoon, a bouquet of roses lay outside barn 20 on the Belmont backstretch, their colors nearly matching the red paint on the sign identifying the barn as the home of the Phipps Stable. The bouquet wasn’t quite as imposing as the blanket of roses that had been presented the day before, its meaning…