BALTIMORE - If Barbaro wins the Preakness, he will be cheered by more than 120,000 people at Pimlico and millions watching on television. He will be the most celebrated racehorse in America. On the brink of sweeping the Triple Crown, he will elicit comparisons to the greatest Thoroughbreds of all time.
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DRF Past Performances
NEW YORK - Barbaro is the most likely winner of the 131st Preakness Stakes. He is obviously a very good horse, potentially even more than that. His 6 1/2-length Kentucky Derby victory margin was the largest in 60 years. He is lightly raced, fresh, and improving. He owns the field's best Beyer Speed Figure. He is tractable, possesses both tactical speed and the stamina to finish strongly, and in Edgar Prado has a top rider in peak form who practically owned Pimlico when he rode there.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The most glaring trend gleaned from the last 50 years of Derby winners running in the Preakness is this: They either win, or they make very little impact.
In 1956, Needles won the Kentucky Derby with a steady run on the turn and through the stretch to beat Fabius by three-quarters of a length. Two weeks later in Baltimore, the same run fell 1 3/4 lengths shy of catching the quicker Fabius.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - There is a realm of psychoanalytic theory that pays special attention to the "middle child" born to a traditional family.
According to the text "Psychology: A Personal Encounter," the middle child is often "plagued by feelings of parental neglect, inadequacy and inferiority." They tend to "crave demonstrations of affection, a sign of insecurity" and can have "difficulty defining a personality. . . that will give them the attention and affection they need."
Welcome to the Preakness Stakes, the middle child of the Triple Crown.
WASHINGTON - When ESPN telecasts the selection of post positions for the Preakness on Wednesday, the show will illustrate the existence of a mass delusion within the Thoroughbred sport. It is a delusion that has already proved costly to the nation's second-best 3-year-old, Brother Derek.
Under the made-for-TV procedure used for the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, trainers get to choose their own post positions. A random draw determines the order in which they make their selections.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - If recent racing history has taught us anything at all, it's that Alex Solis is not shy about turning the tables on expectations and spoiling a perfectly good party.
This goes contrary to the nature of the man himself. Kind-hearted, affable, and always ready with a smile, Solis has arrived at his 42nd year possessed of an inner peace that belies his riotous profession. He jogs mountain trails and meditates, visits sick friends on his day off, and needs very little excuse to open a bottle of vintage wine for anything loosely defined as a special occasion.
NEW YORK - When the New York Racing Association unveiled the new Grand Slam bet it began offering at the Belmont meeting that opened May 3, it sounded like a silly wager the public would spurn. The second part has been the case so far, with the first seven Grand Slam pools handling a paltry $10,132 to $19,311.
The wager itself, however, may be more interesting than it first appeared and perhaps is worth a second look.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - It's too late to shop for Mother's Day and too soon to spend anything on dad, which makes this the perfect time to peel off a quick $55 for a selfish splurge on a work of remarkable beauty.
"Saving Leslie Jones" (Long Wind Publishing) looks like it might be just another a coffee table book about pretty horses. Fools people, too, who merely flip through the 112 pages full of colorful photos and gracefully arranged text. It would appear to fit comfortably in that unread stack over there, alongside "Origami Gardening" and "Lighthouses I Have Known."