NEW YORK - Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby with such authority, and against what looked like a better field than he will meet in Baltimore Saturday, that I'm not going to spend any time or effort trying to beat him in the 133rd Preakness.
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INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Alex Solis was driving through the Panama countryside late Wednesday afternoon, heading for his father's farm in the rain forest, when his cell phone chirped and a caller from California asked about his chances in the Preakness Stakes.
Talk about a disconnect. In terms of what he will be facing in Baltimore, Solis might as well have been on the dark side of the moon.
WASHINGTON - Whenever a young horse displays special talent, agents will besiege the animal's owner, making offers on behalf of potential buyers who have visions of winning the Kentucky Derby.
Only the very rich can afford to get into such bidding, but even the very rich regularly find themselves overmatched against two of the players in this game. An agent sometimes involved in such negotiations said, "You can't compete with Sheikh Mohammed. And you can't compete with IEAH. They're both willing to pay more than anybody else."
For those convinced the road from the Kentucky Derby to the Preakness Stakes is strewn with nothing but roses and fake black-eyed susans, consider the following journeys:
If you were Dark Star or Proud Clarion, you were lucky to win the Derby anyway, so you could have no beef when the real Native Dancer or the real Damascus showed up in Baltimore.
If you were Chateaugay or Cannonade, you earned your Derby stripes, but with cleaner trips in the Preakness, Candy Spots and Little Current proved best.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - In this week's episode of HBO's "Real Sports," host Bryant Gumbel and his crew could not resist the temptation to use the death of Eight Belles as a way to get into their brief but vivid feature on the practice of selling unwanted racehorses for slaughter. Unless the segment was called "Terrible Ways for Horses to Die," one had nothing to do with the other.
TUCSON, Ariz. - The savage storm unleashed by the media following the Eight Belles disaster still rages unabated, and its fury caught American racing by surprise.
The filly died, tragically, but the story won't. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and an obliging press grabbed the initiative, and left racing fighting a desperate defensive battle, working feverishly to quiet the hurricane.
WASHINGTON - If people concerned about the safety of Thoroughbreds had their way, the Preakness might be a race for 4-year-olds instead of 3-year-olds. It would be run on a synthetic surface instead of dirt. The jockeys would be forbidden to carry whips.
One of the undeniable advantages of a week spent covering the Kentucky Derby in Louisville is its proximity to the town of Lexington. After all, a refugee from the coast can only withstand so much unbridled pre-Derby joy before cracking like a pinata and heading for the nearest interstate.
NEW YORK - It's understandable that few people were in the mood to rhapsodize about Big Brown's Kentucky Derby performance in the wake of the death of runner-up Eight Belles. As Saturday's Preakness approaches, with Big Brown probably 3-5 or less to take the next leg of the Triple Crown, it's time to ask the question: Was this as dominant a performance as it appeared, or was he flattered by what otherwise may have been the worst performance in years by all the colts other than the winner?