120th Preakne

1. Itron

* Horse: Is among the longest of the long shots. The colt has won nine of 14 starts, but most were in sprints at small or new tracks in Texas.

* Owner: David Albert. Grew up in San Antonio very close to the Strauss family, which has been in racing for decades. He is a Dallas businessman who lives on his Quick Style Farm in Perrin, Texas. Served two years during World War II.

* Trainer: Roy Frazier. Has been training horses mostly in Louisiana and Arkansas for 20 years. Broke into racing as a jockey at the age of 16. He opened Roy Frazier Stable in 1975.

* Jockey: Ricky Frazier. Is the son of Roy Frazier, who rode as a jockey for many years before turning to training. Was leading apprentice rider at Aqueduct in 1981. Suffered broken neck in a spill at Fair Grounds in 1984. His 92 wins and six stakes victories are a record at Louisiana Downs. Was leading rider in Sam Houston Park's inaugural Spring meet in 1994.

* Earnings

............ S .. 1 .. 2 .. 3

....... 7 .. 2 .. 0 .. 1 $24,108

1994 ....... 8 .. 7 .. 0 .. 0 $159,879

Lifetime .. 15 .. 9 .. 0 .. 1 $183,987

2. Our Gatsby

* Horse: Has finished no lower than second in last five starts. Finished second in last start at Derby Trial.

* Owner: Charles Heider. Is a resident of Omaha, Neb., and has had success with stakes winners Answer Do and Westchester Lane. His primary business is banking. He purchased Our Gatsby in the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company March sale of 2-year-olds in training.

* Trainer: Donnie Von Hemel. Started under his father and went out on his own as a public trainer in 1984. Graduated magna

cum laude from Fort Hays State. His biggest moment was sending Clevor Trevor to the Kentucky Derby in 1989.

* Jockey: Kent Desormeaux. Became only the fifth Maryland-based jockey to win the Eclipse Award. His 1994 purse earnings of $11.1 million put him fifth nationally, capturing his third Eclipse Award. Has not raced in the Preakness since 1990, when he finished seventh atop Kentucky Jazz.

* Earnings

............ S .. 1 .. 2 .. 3

....... 5 .. 2 .. 3 .. 0 $183,570

1994 ....... 5 .. 2 .. 1 .. 0 $86,380

Lifetime .. 10 .. 4 .. 4 .. 0 $269,950

3. Mystery Storm

* Horse: The Oaklawn Park invader who runs best on the lead. Finished fifth in the Arkansas Derby, which ended a streak of four first-place finishes.

* Owner: David Beard. Became the world's largest retailer of farm-raised catfish, and is the owner of the Catfish King restaurant chain. His first stakes winner was Green with Envy. Other stakes winners with Forli Light, Affirmed Classic, Niall Cat, Sergeant Durham, Flippable and Twelve Mile Limit.

* Trainer: Larry Robideaux. Has been a mainstay in Louisiana and Arkansas. Won with his first horse trained, Iowa Boy, in 1960.

* Jockey: Craig Perret. Has six Derby mounts and in one three-race stretch, he finished second to Alysheba with Bet Twice in 1987, third to Sunday Silence and stablemate Easy Goer with Awe Inspiring in 1989 and first with Unbridled in 1990. Has placed second, third and fourth in the past three years at the Preakness.

* Earnings

............ S .. 1 .. 2 .. 3

....... 5 .. 4 .. 0 .. 0 $185,000

1994 ....... 4 .. 1 .. 0 .. 1 $6,420

Lifetime ... 9 .. 5 .. 0 .. 1 $191,420

4. Talkin Man

* Horse: Finished 12th in the Kentucky Derby. Won Wooden Memorial and Gotham Stakes this year.

* Owner: David Wilmot. He had served as president and then chairman of The Molson Companies Ltd. Wilmot was a director of the Bank of Nova Scotia nad Inco Ltd. A native of Ontario, he is the vice president of of the board of trustees of the Ontario Jockey Club.

* Trainer: Roger Attfield. He is one of the most celebrated trainers in Canada, winning five Sovereign Awards as the country's top trainer. He also trained last year's Canadian Horse of the Year, Alywow.

* Jockey: Mike Smith. He led the nation's jockeys in earnings with a record $15.9 million. He established a record for stakes victories with 67, breaking his own record of 62. Smith also won his second straight Eclipse Award as the nation's top jockey. Finished second in 1993 Kentucky Derby aboard Prairie Bayou, then followed that with his only Preakness victory.

* Earnings

........... S .. 1 .. 2 .. 3

...... 3 .. 2 .. 0 .. 0 $450,000

1994 ...... 6 .. 3 .. 1 .. 0 $227,967

Lifetime .. 9 .. 5 .. 1 .. 0 $677,967

5. Tejano Run

* Horse: Finished second in the Kentucky Derby, 2 1/4 lengths behind Thunder Gulch. Is one of the most well-regarded horses in the Preakness field, but hasn't won a race this year. Hasn't won in his five starts.

* Owner: Roy Monroe. A native of Anderson County, Ky., he operates Metro Tool and Manufacturing, a tool and die company in Lexington. The best horses he's raced are Warside, a multiple-stakes winning filly, and Tejano Run.

* Trainer: Ken McPeek. Received his trainer's license after obtaining a business degree from Kentucky in 1984. Trains approximately 30 horses in his public stable. His father, Ron, is a Kentucky breeder.