Jockey

With nearly every eye at Pimlico fixated on either the uncatchable leader, Oxbow, or the Kentucky Derby winner and heavy betting favorite, Orb, Itsmyluckyday cruised under the radar to earn a little bit of redemption in Saturday's Preakness. After failing to challenge Orb on the muddy track at Churchill Downs two weeks ago and finishing near the back of the pack, Itsmyluckyday finished in second place in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. "We did run our race, but we just weren't lucky enough to win," trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. said.

This was for every guy who ever had a mid-life crisis and tried to do something nobody thought could be done. Fifty-year-old Jockey Gary Stevens took Oxbow to the front early and never looked back on the way to an upset victory in the 138th Preakness Stakes that was truly one for the ageless. Oxbow was a 15-1 shot when he left the gate, and he wasn't the one beating the longest odds at Old Hilltop on Saturday. Stevens became the first grandfather ever to win a Triple Crown race, and he did it against a Kentucky Derby winner - Orb - that was considered almost unassailable.

May. 18, Post Time: 10:45AM Entries and comments provided by the Maryland Jockey Club First - Purse $55,000, AOC $25,000-$20,000, 3 yo's & up, One And One Sixteenth Miles Post, Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Odds 1 Aussi Austin, Rosario, R.Rodriguez, 3-1 2 Bob's Gone Wild, Vargas, J.Lopez, 20-1 3 Jarrod's Commando, Karamanos, C.Garcia, 10-1 4 Warrensburg, Boyce, D.Barr, 20-1 5 Benny Or Local, Cruise, D.Kobiskie,...

Tear it down. Fix it up. Keep it here. Move it there. Many at Pimlico Race Course Saturday, from celebrated trainers to $2 bettors, offered thoughts of what to do with Old Hilltop, the methuselan home of the 138 t h Preakness Stakes. The Maryland Jockey Club, which owns the track, has agreed to renovate both Pimlico and Laurel Park with a share of the state's slots revenue - an estimated $112 million in matching funds, if the organization ponies up the equivalent.

Bob Baffert strode into the Preakness stakes barn Friday morning, shouting toward Orb's trainer Shug McGaughey loud enough so all could hear. "OK, Shug, I'm here to take away that media spotlight for you," he said. Baffert, indeed, is one of the few people in the sport who could have swiped some of the attention from McGaughey and his heavily favored colt this week . Baffert has won the Preakness five times, and on three occasions he's moved on to Belmont with a chance at the Triple Crown.

Sitting in front of a microphone Friday morning, Rosie Napravnik fielded questions about her first race at Pimlico Race Course while donning a hat from her new sponsor, Snickers Bites. For the 25-year-old jockey, it was a fitting juxtaposition, as she's risen to fame after she got her start as a jockey here in 2005. Now, Napravnik returns to race in Pimlico's biggest event on the course where she won her first start as a jockey. She will become the third female to ride in the Preakness and can become the first to win it, but that's not her motivation.

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.

The day after riding in the Kentucky Derby, Kevin Krigger packed his family and gear and headed for Pimlico Race Course - by way of Cincinnati. A woman there had captured his heart. She was Liliane Casey, 88, whose father, Jimmy Winkfield, was the last black jockey to win the Derby, or any Triple Crown race, in 1902. "I had to meet her," said Krigger, 29, who chatted with Casey in the living room of her apartment for nearly 2 1/2 hours. "We had a great time. She educated me as to what her father had gone through in racing.

Anyone who has seen a thoroughbred in full stride has probably wondered: Where would they go if they could roam free? The answer for a 4-year-old gelding named Bullet Catcher who escaped Laurel Park Friday morning is that he followed the road ahead of him. Which saved his life. “We're not really sure why he stuck to the road so closely, or how he happened to hit all the lights and make the right turns,” said Mark Rosenthal, a former jockey and owner of the gelding. “He's a lucky horse.” After throwing jockey Jeremy Rose around 9 a.m. Friday following a workout, Bullet Catcher ran past a security outpost at the back of the track - officials didn't have time to close the gate, Rosenthal said - and veered right toward the open road.

"Black-Eyed Susans! Get 'em here!" Emanuel Sabedra shouted inside the front gates, above the excited throngs and circling planes and buzzing engines of golf carts zipping by. Sabedra, dressed in maroon and gold jockey shirt, has been hawking the $9 cocktails at Preakness for 12 years. By 11 a.m., he had sold five racks of 24. Butch Hoppe, a 24-year-old trucking company owner, had his first taste of the Preakness staple. "It's alright," he said. "I got it for the souvenir cup more than the drink.

Maryland Jockey Club President Tom Chuckas said Saturday that the Preakness brand “has changed dramatically” in the last few years, citing an attendance bump in the infield celebration and increased security all around the racetrack.   “The crowd in the infield is up, and the wagers are coming in,” Chuckas said. “All in all, it's pretty much what we expected, and we'll continue to fine-tune it.”   Speaking with reporters just after the seventh race Saturday at Pimlico Race Cource, Chuckas acknowledged that the Jockey Club has sought to find a balance between catering to old-school horse racing fans and drawing in new crowds who could become racing enthusiasts.

Thanks for Mike Klingaman 's article, which focused on Kevin Krigger and his aspirations to break the over 100-year absence of African American jockey winners at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes ("With the weight of racing history," May 16). One quibble: The article gives the impression that African American jockeys emerged during Reconstruction, when as Mr. Klingaman writes "the sport was young, agrarian and accepting of former slaves and their kin who rode the animals they'd once cared for. " On the contrary, African Americans, both free and slave, basically dominated horse racing from the 17th century up to Reconstruction.

Among the concerns for jockeys at the Preakness today is the weather. Shortly before rain began to fall minutes ago, jockeys were watching the skies. Some know all too well that their horses don't respond to sloppy tracks, and they were holding out hope that the rain stayed away from Pimlico Race Cource. “I hope it stays like this [without rain] and I hope he likes the track.” said John Velazquez, who is riding Itsmyluckyday. “[Itsmyluckyday] is another horse that didn't run very good in the slop at Churchill Downs.” Itsmyluckyday finished 15th at The Kentucky Derby with Elvis Trujilloaboard.

Gary Stevens became the oldest jockey to win the Preakness on Saturday, and the 50-year-old Hall of Famer has Clark Masterson to thank. Masterson, a personal trainer based in Bellevue, Wash., helped the 50-year-old jockey lose 25 pounds and nearly 8 percent body fat during two months of workouts last year. It allowed Stevens to come out of retirement after seven years and resume a riding career that produced eight Triple Crown victories and nearly 5,000 other victories.Running in his 17th Preakness, Stevens rode Oxbow to his third win. Stevens also won the race in 1997 (aboard Silver Charm)

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.

Sitting in front of a microphone Friday morning, Rosie Napravnik fielded questions about her first race at Pimlico Race Course while donning a hat from her new sponsor, Snickers Bites. For the 25-year-old jockey, it was a fitting juxtaposition, as she's risen to fame after she got her start as a jockey here in 2005. Now, Napravnik returns to race in Pimlico's biggest event on the course where she won her first start as a jockey. She will become the third female to ride in the Preakness and can become the first to win it, but that's not her motivation.

Among the concerns for jockeys at the Preakness today is the weather. Shortly before rain began to fall minutes ago, jockeys were watching the skies. Some know all too well that their horses don't respond to sloppy tracks, and they were holding out hope that the rain stayed away from Pimlico Race Cource. “I hope it stays like this [without rain] and I hope he likes the track.” said John Velazquez, who is riding Itsmyluckyday. “[Itsmyluckyday] is another horse that didn't run very good in the slop at Churchill Downs.” Itsmyluckyday finished 15th at The Kentucky Derby with Elvis Trujilloaboard.

John R. Regalbuto Sr., a retired contractor who had been a jockey at Maryland racetracks, died of Alzheimer's disease April 11 at Stella Maris Hospice. The former Essex resident was 80. Born in Vineland, N.J., he was raised on his family's small farm. Friends and family encouraged him to become a jockey, and he practiced at local farms. News articles often noted that his brother, Joseph Anthony Regalbuto, also rode horses. In 1948, he made his debut at Monmouth Park in New Jersey aboard Hasty Mabel.

Bob Baffert strode into the Preakness stakes barn Friday morning, shouting toward Orb's trainer Shug McGaughey loud enough so all could hear. "OK, Shug, I'm here to take away that media spotlight for you," he said. Baffert, indeed, is one of the few people in the sport who could have swiped some of the attention from McGaughey and his heavily favored colt this week . Baffert has won the Preakness five times, and on three occasions he's moved on to Belmont with a chance at the Triple Crown.

Kentucky Derby winner Orb is the even-money favorite for the Preakness, so the biggest topics leading up to the weekend have, obviously, been about his chances and how to beat him on Saturday. “The jockey was just here," Mylute jockey Rosie Napravnik, the fiery 25-year-old, shot back. "Ask him.” Though Napravnik eventually talked quite a bit about her thoughts on Orb and her possible strategies coming out of the gate -- Orb drew post-position No. 1, while Mylute is at No. 5 -- she has her own worries about Mylute.