Favorite

Orb's path to the finish line in the second leg of the Triple Crown remains uncrowded. Normandy Invasion, the fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, dropped from contention for Saturday's 138th running of the Preakness on Sunday. Trainer Chad Brown and owner Rick Porter decided to stick with their original plan and point the horse toward prestigous races for 3-year-olds later in the summer. That leaves Orb, the colt co-owned by Baltimore County resident Stuart Janney III and Ogden Mills "Dinny" Pipps' stable, with only seven confirmed challengers at this point.

Joel Rosario rode anyway. Upon returning to the jockey's room last May 20, he learned that his brother Marino , a police officer in his native Dominican Republic, had been killed in a motorcycle accident. Creative Cause -- and a chance to ride in his first Preakness -- awaited. Rosario went out to the track. "I just think it was really sad for me," he said Friday morning at Pimlico Race Course. "It was something that really hurt me. " Rosario took Creative Cause out with Bodemeister on the lead, but sagged to third as I'll Have Another won a duel down the stretch.

Angie Miller and her steely-eyed focus transmitted into the homes of 10-plus million American Idol viewers won her 50,000 followers in the Twitterverse the week of the show's Top 10 reveal -- nearly 18,000 more social media fans than her next highest competitor. More than two months later, the 18-year-old  Beverly, Mass., native tripled her followers, effectively blowing away the other wannabes on the cyberspace portal. Why then didn't the magic of the 140-character phenomenon carry her into Thursday's finale?

Maryland Jockey Club senior vice president for communications Mike Gathagan credentialed more than 1,600 media members for the 138th Preakness. We talked to a few of them to get their take on how Saturday's race might end up. Not surprisingly, they went heavy on even-money favorite Orb, with a healthy dose of Mylute, the top challenger out of the Kentucky Derby ridden by former Maryland leading rider Rosie Napravnik. Jennie Rees, Louisville Courier-Journal 1. Orb 2. Departing 3. Itsmyluckyday Jerry Bossert, New York Daily News 1. Orb 2. Itsmyluckyday 3. Goldencents Tim Wilkin, Albany Times Union 1. Itsmyluckyday 2. Orb 3. Goldencents Gary Mihoces, USA Today 1. Mylute 2. Orb 3. Goldencents Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times 1. Goldencents 2. Orb 3. Mylute Claire Novak, Blood Horse 1. Orb 2. Departing 3. Mylute Gabby Gaudet, Maryland Jockey Club analyst in waiting 1. Orb 2. Mylute 3. Goldencents Richard Migliore, HRTV 1. Orb 2. Departing 3. Will Take Charge

Inside Westminster Abbey, eight 20-foot-tall live trees lined the center aisle during the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William. The trees transformed the space, doing what even the most elaborate floral arrangement could not — providing a natural, living sense of permanence and an air of drama. The move was unexpected, unpretentious and bold. A potted tree on your patio or deck can have the same effect. While not every tree is well-suited for a container, there are a surprising number of options, ranging from crape myrtles to hollies.

(NOTE: To download Liam's full cheat sheet for all of Saturday's races, click here . Following is his analysis on the Preakness Stakes.)   There are always lots of hard luck stories in the Kentucky Derby, and some of those hard luck horses come to the Preakness looking to set the record straight. Several of those guys are here to take on Orb. And a handful more Derby grumblers are skipping the Preakness to set their sights on the Belmont. However, recent history shows that the Derby winner tends to back up the Derby win and beat most if not all of those Derby finishers again.

LOUISVILLE, KY. - This year, Doug O'Neill and his assistants sat in the office at a barn in the far corner of the Churchill Downs backside. Few reporters dropped by, and O'Neill was not asked repeatedly to relive the running of the Kentucky Derby a day before. Last year's winning trainer, with I'll Have Another, O'Neill instead convened with his robust team to discuss plans for the 138th Preakness Stakes, scheduled for May 18 at Pimlico. Their Derby horse, Goldencents, finished 17th.

Each year, contestants in the Kinetic Sculpture Race are required to write a short summary of the amphibious mechanical creatures they plan to build. These descriptions are short stories in miniature, frequently poignant and deceptively profound. Just kidding. But, the synopses are amusing. Here are some of our favorites from this year: •Carver Cobra II: "The last Cobra drowned during water entry at Canton. This one has had swimming lessons." •Going to Hell: "Fire, Brimstone, Devils, Oh My!"

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Not long after the arrival of a clear, chilly dawn yesterday at Churchill Downs, Prairie Bayou stepped sprightly from barn 45 and made the short trek to the track for a gallop. A mob of reporters followed. It happens every spring.Twenty minutes later, when the horse was being bathed in front of the barn after his workout, a clattering crowd of photographers and cameramen closed in, clicking and whirring and recording every move. Just like always.Every horse in the Kentucky Derby gets to play the star for at least a few minutes in the loud, crowded week leading up to the race.

...TC Send us your tattered, your yellowed, your stained . . . your favorite "Far Side."When Gary Larson announced last month that he was about to end "The Far Side's" 15-year run on the comics pages, fans looked to their office walls, desk blotters and refrigerator doors for relief.That's where favorite panels featuring Mr. Larson's cows and other quirky characters had been tacked. And that's where you should look for your favorite submission to The Sun's "Off the Wall" contest of "Far Side" humor.

Much like the nickname “Shug,” Claude R. McGaughey III's plans after college were a mystery to him. McGaughey, who trains Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness favorite Orb, was a student at the University of Mississippi's business school as the Vietnam War was going on and wasn't enjoying it - he was "piddling around," as he called it. Drawing a high draft number in the 1969 draft, McGaughey decided to leave school. The only way his parents would allow him to, though, was if he got a job. McGaughey reached out to a friend who owned several horses at Keeneland in Lexington for work.

One of the colts entered in Saturday's 138th running of the Preakness Stakes can lay claim to a distinction not shared by seven others:  He's actually finished ahead of the expected favorite Orb in a race. Titletown Five, one of three Preakness entries trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, and Orb were both entered in a seven-furlong, maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds at Saratoga last Aug. 18. Maiden special weights are for horses that have never won a race in their career.

A few low, indecipherable noises escaped from the table where Shug McGaughey, trainer of even-money Preakness favorite Orb, sat during the post-position draw Wednesday. The horse had drawn the dreaded No. 1 gate, meaning eight horses will be closing him in as they race toward the shortest path to the first turn. McGaughey, though, was not among those who thought this meant anything significant. “Some people groaned,” he said. “I didn't groan.” McGaughey acknowledged a preference to start on the outside of the field - where both the jockey and horse can watch the field open up - but said he thought drawing the rail simply didn't matter in a nine-horse field running over a mile and three-sixteenths.

Claude R. “Shug” McGaughey is a man who looks like the embodiment of the nickname that is all anybody calls him by. Short and unassuming, he said this week he made an effort to enjoy the run-up to the Kentucky Derby, a race he has, like any trainer, dreamed of winning. But the Hall of Famer knew, really, that there's only one way to truly enjoy the Kentucky Derby: win it. Running over a sloppy Churchill Downs track that left 19 contenders caked in mud, McGaughey's horse Orb found stable footing and a late lead in the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby today.

Friday's editions included a Q&A with Johns Hopkins sophomore attackman Wells Stanwick. Due to space constraints, here are some more answers from the Baltimore native and Boys' Latin graduate that did not make the cut. How does it feel to be the quarterback of the offense from behind the net? It's definitely something that I've always wanted to do. It's just kind of the position that I play. You always want to control the game from there, and I'm trying to get better at it. I'm probably not exactly there yet, and I'm working on it and trying to be more of a leader on the offensive end as the year goes on and into next year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Todd Pletcher knew there were rumors. He even figured some of them impugned his horses. When you're one of the winningest trainers in the game who just happens to condition a quarter of the Kentucky Derby field, that, he said, "is part of the deal. " Upon hearing the specific rumor concerning Verrazano, the 4-1 second choice on the morning line for Saturday's race, the man worrying about five Derby horses - plus four in the ultra-competitive Kentucky Oaks field Friday - found a reason to smile.

They are the questions brothers and sisters have argued and anguished over since time began: Who is Mom's favorite? Which of us does Dad love most? From the time they are little, boys and girls notice if their mother seems to pay more attention to their oldest sister. They remember that their father went to a brother's athletic events but not their own. They yearn to be loved the way they believe their favored sibling is loved. Although parents dismiss the notion, experts say mothers and fathers often do have favorites.

It's pretty impressive being 18 and headlining a show at Rams Head Live . But Maddie Freeman, one of the three members of the band Say Chance, is no stranger to performing for a big crowd. For about a year and a half, the Towson resident has been performing with her own band, which includes fellow singer Taylor Broom, 18, and guitarist Kelly Rosenthal, 20. But the songwriting, guitar-playing trio got their start when Kelly discovered the other two on Youtube in 2010. While Say Chance has been working on their first full-length album, they have opened for performers such as Delta Rae, Dashboard Confessional, Augustana, and Sara Bareilles.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Kentucky Derby favorite Orb comes from one of the country's oldest racing families, with ties to the greatest horses of the era. The second choice, Verrazano, is a product of Todd Pletcher's new-school empire; he's one of five the trainer is sending to the post. The third favorite, Goldencents, comes from the trainer who, a year ago, lost the chance to run for a Triple Crown when his horse withdrew with an injury a day before the Belmont. All three drew favorable starting spots Wednesday in the post-position draw for the 139th run for the roses, and they were established as the horses to beat by Churchill Downs odds-maker Mike Battaglia.

When his first Kentucky Derby horse, Orb, was named the favorite Wednesday, Stuart S. Janney the III was not there to raise his hands triumphantly for the cameras. He won't be in Louisville at all in the days leading to the race. A short phone call with his trainer each day is all the northern Baltimore County resident requires. The rest, he'd rather avoid. "There's a lot of silliness that happens this week," he said Monday. "And I've got paperwork to catch up on. " Janney is instead in New York, where he spends much of his time at the 5th Avenue headquarters of the Bessemer Trust, the wealth management firm of which he is the chairman.