NEW YORK - From the widely published pictures of an almost-empty Preakness Day infield, you might have thought that interest in one of racing's signature events had plummeted along with the national economy. Attendance was 77,850, down from 112,222 in 2008, a 30 percent decline.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Marty Wygod must have misunderstood the question. When asked how he felt about throwing his talented filly Life Is Sweet against the brick wall known as Zenyatta, he replied like a boy heading to his first World Series.

"Are you kidding? It's very exciting," Wygod said. "It's the kind of thing California needs, even though it is very nerve-wracking. This is the first time I'm going to be really nervous."

The rush to anoint Rachel Alexandra as one of the all-time greats is understandable. There haven't been that many candidates lately, and racing fans suffer from what can only be described as hero-worship deprivation.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Steve Asmussen had better check his workers' comp policy, because he just went from a senior staff that includes chief assistant Scott Blasi and a small circle of trusted lieutenants to just about everyone who watched Rachel Alexandra beat Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in the Preakness Stakes last Saturday.

TUCSON, Ariz. - I first met Ted Bassett during his presidency of Keeneland, probably 30 years ago, at one of the many racing meetings where our paths crossed. My impression then, and ever since until last week, was that he was a tall, gracious, patrician world ambassador for Thoroughbred racing.

Then I read his autobiography, written with Bill Mooney, titled "Keeneland's Ted Bassett: My Life," and discovered that while all my first impressions held true, I really knew relatively nothing about this multi-talented man, or his fascinating career, in and out of racing.

BALTIMORE - When Calvin Borel rode Mine That Bird to a Kentucky Derby victory, even casual fans could appreciate that he had delivered a brilliant, daredevil ride, squeezing through the tiniest of spaces along the rail at Churchill Downs.

Borel's performance at Pimlico Saturday, when he won the Preakness aboard Rachel Alexandra, may have looked relatively undramatic, but his tactical perfection more than accounted for the one-length margin by which the filly beat Mine That Bird.

Larry Jones, reluctant media darling, was looking forward to a relatively anonymous Preakness. The anniversary of Eight Belles's death at the 2008 Kentucky Derby had come and gone. He had survived the experience of running both the sentimental and the parimutuel favorite in the 2009 version of the Derby. And when that favorite, Friesan Fire, came back cut and bleeding after beating only one horse, Jones was relieved that the wounds, this time, were only superficial.

NEW YORK - There are plenty of smart-aleck reasons to oppose Rachel Alexandra, the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the 134th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on Saturday. A filly hasn't won the race in 85 years; she's running back just 15 days after winning the Kentucky Oaks, a plan that the people who owned her until last week dismissed as "insane"; she has never faced the kind of early speed or depth of quality she'll be meeting in the Preakness; and she drew the outside post in a field of 13.

BALTIMORE - Millions of casual fans will be watching the Preakness on television to see if Rachel Alexandra can become the first member of her sex to win the race since 1924. Many of them will surely misunderstand the nature of filly vs. colt confrontations in horse racing. While there are valid reasons to question whether Rachel Alexandra can win at Pimlico, none of these questions involves her gender.

"Good morning!"

The voice on the phone was chipper, full of vim, impossible to bring down. So, of course, I had to ask Pat Day about the 1989 Preakness Stakes.

"Now, you had to go and remind me of that," Day said. "I was so blessed in that race five times, and the race you've picked was not one of them."