Derby

[UPDATE] Tom Chuckas, the president of the Maryland Jockey Club, said he "does not see the need to change" the way the Preakness field is selected. -------------- The path to the Kentucky Derby has changed. Since 1986, graded stakes earnings have been the key to any horse hoping to qualify for the field of 20 in Kentucky. But Churchill Downs, which owns and operates the race, has introduced a new method for ranking horses in an attempt to make the preliminary stages of the chase for the Triple Crown easier to understand.

Really, the frustration began at last year's Belmont. That's when Animal Kingdom, Graham Motion's finest horse to date, was cut off and, while veering away, clipped heels and almost tossed his jockey. It took a thunderous run at the end - the colt's specialty - to place sixth after winning the Kentucky Derby and finishing a close second at the Preakness. Animal Kingdom was injured in that race, suffering a fracture in his left hind leg that would require surgery. He spent the rest of the year resting and rehabbing.

In his bid to win horse racing's elusive Triple Crown, I'll Have Another today was named a 4-5 favorite for Saturday's Belmont Stakes. Immediately after the No. 11 post position and odds were announced, I'll Have Another's connections tweeted, "We drew post # 11 -- Brilliant. " Trainer Doug O'Neill said after the draw, "Unbelievable ride. Whole journey is just because of the great I'll Have Another. " O'Neill left minutes later to oversee his horse's acclimation to the new Belmont Stakes Barn.

The Hereford Optimist Club will once again host "Kids All-American Fishing Derby" on May 26 at the ponds at Friendly Farm Restaurant in Upperco. Kids can fish from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in waters that are only open for public fishing once a year. Children in middle school or younger are eligible to fish. There will be prizes in various age groups for largest fish and most number of fish caught. Door prizes will also be given out. Children must be accompanied by an adult and provide their own fishing equipment and bait.

Mike Smith appeared dazed in the moments after his horse, Bodemeister, was again beaten by Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another - this time by a neck in Saturday's Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course . The veteran jockey wore the frozen smile of a man hardly able to fathom what had just transpired. "I swear I don't know how he ran me down, man," Smith said after trainer Bob Baffert approached in the fading sunlight. "You did a good job," the 59-year-old trainer told the 46-year-old jockey, a fellow Hall of Famer and former Preakness winner who recently passed 5,000 career victories.

Doug O'Neill took a seat under a small awning, in front of cameras and reporters Wednesday morning. After a week and a half of passing time chatting with the few stragglers who came by his barn, it was time for the Kentucky Derby winning trainer to face the horde in town for Saturday's Preakness. He took questions on his record - he's had a history of horses breaking down, and has been charged four times with “milkshaking” a horse - and was asked again about how his colt, I'll Have Another, will do this time around against Bodemeister, the runner-up at Derby.

Almost immediately, there was talk of lucky numbers. Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another drew the No. 9 post at the draw for the 137th running of the Preakness. After his horse raced from the 19th position -- and became the first to win from that spot -- in Kentucky, Doug O'Neill saw no problem. "Anything with a nine is fine for us," the gregarious trainer of I'll Have Another said. Bodemeister, meanwhile, drew the seventh spot. That, friends joked with trainer Bob Baffert, could work; his son Bode, after all, is 7 years old. But when the talk of good fortune and happy circumstance subsided, slivers of evidence revealing how the race will be run were left.

You would never know the Preakness Stakes is just four days away. At Pimlico's Barn D, current base of trainer Doug O'Neill and his team of assistants and workers, Tuesday was as light as could be. A couple of guys set off in the van, only to run out of gas not far from the track. They ended up having to push it to a nearby gas station. This came only after a long, spirited discussion about who had the keys. Other highlights of the morning included a visit from the team that cares for the Budweiser Clydesdales, and O'Neill admitting that he's not a big fan of steamed crabs.

I'll Have Another's path to the Triple Crown will be crowded. His competition at the Preakness, the second leg, could include the five horses who followed him across the line at the Kentucky Derby. That hasn't happened since 1958. In fact, the last time even the top five Derby finishers all raced in Baltimore was 1992. Bodemeister, the pacesetter and runner-up last Saturday, remains undecided. Trainer Bob Baffert - a five-time winner of the Preakness - is in California and does not plan to visit Bodemeister or Derby sixth-place finisher Liason until the weekend.

If you're looking for a great new alter ego, try joining Charm City Roller Girls. That's what Silver Spring native Lily Bradford did after frequently attending their events. "I had been living in Baltimore for a few years, and felt disengaged from the city," she said. "I decided to put myself outside my comfort zone and challenge myself to learning a new skill set late in life. " The Bolton Hill resident rolls on two local teams - during the home-team season, she's with the Mobtown Mods fighting for the Donaghy Cup, and right now she's hitting the road with Female Trouble.