Governor's Pride ties record

BALTIMORE - Governor's Pride didn't care much that the $50,000 C. Edmund O'Brien Stakes was taken off the saturated turf course and run on the sloppy dirt as he tore around Pimlico today and tied the five-furlong track record.

With eight of the 11 entrants in the race scratched, the front-running Governor's Pride had Dr. Max and Rudirudy at his mercy. Governor's Pride kicked mud in their faces from the start, zipping a quarter-mile in 22.14 seconds and finishing six lengths in front in 56.96 seconds.

The time was exceedingly fast, considering how slowly the track played throughout the day.

"I just held on," jockey Mark Johnston said. "If I had asked him, we could have broken the track record.'

"This is probably the quickest horse I've ever trained," said trainer Tim Ritchey, who brought Governor's Pride from Delaware Park for the race. Governor's Pride won for the seventh time in 12 starts, increasing his lifetime earnings to $188,770.