137th Preakness Stakes

[Xctrygirl]

[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;6322293]
Saturday for the Preakness should have great weather and with it, after a few years of tinkering with the formula to regain the massive popularity of fans coming out, might get close to its old record. The all-time high was 121,263 for the 2007 running then the exceedingly foolish dramatic changes to the alcohol policy dropping it to a mere 77,850 in 2009.

Last year with some tweaking the officials lured in 107,398 and with a band like Maroon 5 playing the infield they might see something in the low teens. I doubt they are coming to see Kegasus and ‘get their freak on’ …or maybe they are.[/QUOTE]

Last year Train and a couple other big name bands played the infield. I know… that’s what made me go. (All of 40 years old and I do like Train, Maroon 5 etc)

Don’t forget that Adam Levine’s Judging on the Voice has picked up his fan base quite a bit.

And the alcohol rules with the infield last year were pretty easy to work with and plenty of folks were still hammered. Not that big of a change.

Emily

[FrenchFrytheEqHorse]

I’m all of 24 and WELCOMED the new beverage rules at Preakness. My dad and his wife get “grown up” tickets every year, but I go with my friends to the infield (not this year, as I’m stuck on the west coast- boo). The last year we were permitted to BYOB, 3 of my (young, relatively responsible female) friends ended up in the hospital (one got hit in the head with a full beer can and needed 7 stitches, one was physically assaulted by a man that was so drunk he ended up being arrested and charged with public intoxication and battery, and one broke her wrist after being pulled into the middle of a fight between a bunch of middle aged men). Another acquaintance ended up so drunk, she had a blistering sunburn so bad, she was on steroids for 10 days.

The worst part of all of it was the reaction a lot of locals had when they changed the rules. I felt really disheartened about what Preakness meant for Marylanders/Baltimore. As a Baltimorean, born and raised, it really made me sad to see so many young people say “I’M NEVER GOING TO PREAKNESS AGAIN BECAUSE THEY’RE GOING TO MAKE ME PAY FOR BEER”. I know Preakness is a blue collar event, relatively speaking, but the infield had gotten downright dangerous/terrifying toward the end. Aside from the fact that there were 16, 17, 18 year olds getting down harder than their legal peers, some of the worst offenders were in their 30s and 40s. The folks I know who’ve stuck by the race and paid for tickets have been pretty pleasantly surprised by the entertainment, and have certainly been able to party to their hearts’ content.

I just bought a house in Canton and move back to Bmore in June. While I’m going to miss Preakness live this year, I’m having a small gathering of friends here in Seattle to watch the race tomorrow, and will be serving Black Eyed Susans for the occasion. Pretty sure there will be mixed reactions :c).

[Dispatcher]

I missed it–why isn’t Union Rags running?

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=Dispatcher;6323146]
I missed it–why isn’t Union Rags running?[/QUOTE]

Matz and owner Phyllis Wyeth decided almost immediately not to run Union Rags back in Saturday’s 137th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

In my view his running style mixed with a lacking drive would not be suited to the Preakness. He’s better suited to try the Belmont but even there you have the 1 1/2 mi question. If he doesn’t run in another TC race they should be able to enjoy a nice summer at Saratoga with the Jim Dandy and maybe the Travers.

By all accounts with the field in hand you’ll see Bodemeister / I’ll Have Another finish in a 1-2 exacta boxed Creative Cause and the Dutrow trained Zetterholm could fill out a nice superfecta.

[Dispatcher]

Thanks Glimmer!

[Glimmerglass]

Worth pointing out on today’s races Race 9 - Jim McCay Sprint will have Ben’s Cat. Despite his 6th place finish last out this guy still is fast.

[Glimmerglass]

And Rosie picks up her second win of the day in Race 5. She took Race 2 already and finished 2nd in the 3rd race.

With just 3 races she’s gone 2-1-0.

Oh in the 5th race the $2 excta was just over $920 What betting public let’s Rosie go off at 22-1 in Maryland?

[Glimmerglass]

Breaking - Kent Desormeaux off Tiger Walk due to failing a Breathalyzer test at Belmont and Ramon Dominguez picks up the mount.

As tweeted by DRF

Desormeaux confirms he had “little too much wine with dinner.” but had stopped by 8:30 Thu night.

I wish they had opted for Rosie but go figure.

[elsbet]

I agree with you, Glimmer…

What the heck was Kent thinking? Such a bonehead move.

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=elsbet;6323933]
What the heck was Kent thinking? Such a bonehead move.[/QUOTE]

Couldn’t agree more - although deja vu with Kent … people rip on PVal but honestly his behavior hasn’t been as pronounced on the eve of big races.

Reminder - NBC Sports Network is showing the Black-eyed Susan right now live!

And yep I took a loss on Ben’s Cat who appears to have something amiss with him right now. He was closing but that wasn’t good enough to hit the board.

[CVPeg]

Been missing all the Preakness coverage this week (except the Desormeaux debacle) with work and extracurriculars. Now caught up thanks to GG et al.

Had 3 of 6 in my $16 hypothetical (not near a machine/computer) Pick 6 yesterday at Belmont - & probably would have had 4, since one of my singles scratched and it was a Rudy day for me.

My picks for today are I’ll Have Another, Went the Day Well, and Creative Cause, which I’ll combine early. But would also be happy seeing Bodemeister up there - just have a feeling today isn’t his day either.

Although I don’t think of him as a turf trainer, why isn’t Lukas running Optimizer on the turf? Would also think that of Cozzetti, although he has proven to Romans he is consistent on the dirt. I just think Optimizer could be a force to reckon with on the turf.

So it’s ride, yardwork, shower, and Preakness (and first chase the annoying woodpecker away from my house!:eek:) Good luck and have fun, everyone!

[dressagetraks]

Bodemeister and I’ll Have Another exacta. Hypothetically, that is. My state doesn’t let us really bet, and I’m not elsewhere to put a ticket on Bode this time, although he did pay me in the Arkansas Derby.

ETA: I agree on Kent. What on earth was he thinking?

[Glimmerglass]

From the Ridiculous Preakness - You Will Have Another (the bottle stopper with the horse atop it is the standard one used for each Blanton’s bourbon.

[Glimmerglass]

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas finally breaks a loooooong drought - Hamazing Destiny wins the Maryland Sprint Handicap (G3) which I believe is ‘the Coach’ first graded stakes win in something like 115 attempts. Does that mean Optimizer has a solid shot in the Preakness? Eh, no.

Reminder NBC Sports Network is currently live with the undercard races.

[Glimmerglass]

Goodness! Another D. Wayne Lukas win: Skyring takes the James W. Murphy Stakes (Race 9) an ungraded race for Bluegrass Hall a la Calumet owner Brad Kelley

[ThisTooShallPass]

Is it just they angle they are using, as many of the stall shots make this group of runners a tad on the small size. But Teeth of The Dog looked like a near pony.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

I’ll Have Another… the real deal.
We have a legit Triple Crown attempt now. Has a running style that should suit in New York in 3 weeks time.

[pony_grandma]

WOW! I’ll Have Another! what a run

[OriginalWacky]

Whooooooooooooooooooo! Nice race. I even scared the dogs yelling from here. Heheheh.

[ThisTooShallPass]

Poor Bode Baffert. A lot of pressure they are putting a 7 year old under. His literal hysterical screaming tears over the loss is shameful. A child that age should not be put under such pressure.