Louis Quatorze

Secretariat wins again. More than 39 years after the super horse won the Preakness on his way to a Triple Crown, the Maryland Racing Commission ruled Tuesday that he had set what was then a track and is still a race record, covering the mile-and-three-sixteenths in 1:53. Secretariat now holds the race record in all three Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont) events. "It's nice to finally have this recognized, because the sport depends on accuracy," said Secretariat owner Penny Chenery, who helped pushed for the adjustment.

Secretariat wins again. More than 39 years after the super horse won the Preakness on his way to a Triple Crown, the Maryland Racing Commission ruled Tuesday that he had set what was then a track and is still a race record, covering the mile-and-three-sixteenths in 1:53. Secretariat now holds the race record in all three Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont) events. "It's nice to finally have this recognized, because the sport depends on accuracy," said Secretariat owner Penny Chenery, who helped pushed for the adjustment.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Louis Quatorze and Skip Away, one-two finishers in the Preakness, established themselves yesterday as the country's top 3-year-olds, winning races in two states with determined stretch rallies.Here at historic Saratoga Race Course, Louis Quatorze out-battled Will's Way in a prolonged stretch duel to win the $150,000 Jim Dandy Stakes. Twenty-five minutes later at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, Skip Away overcame a wide and adventurous trip to capture the $750,000 Haskell Invitational Handicap.

Secretariat wins again. More than 39 years after the super horse won the Preakness on his way to a Triple Crown, the Maryland Racing Commission ruled Tuesday that he had set what was then a track and is still a race record, covering the mile-and-three-sixteenths in 1:53. Secretariat now holds the race record in all three Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont) events. "It's nice to finally have this recognized, because the sport depends on accuracy," said Secretariat owner Penny Chenery, who helped pushed for the adjustment.

After crossing the finish line, after one streak had ended and another one had been extended, Pat Day fired his left fist into the air. He spread his fingers as wide as he could.Five. Five fingers, one for each victory in the Preakness . Yesterday's victory aboard 8-1 Louis Quatorze was Day's third in a row. And that ended another streak -- six straight wins in Triple Crown races by trainer D. Wayne Lukas. In this, there is great irony. Lukas bumped Day off one of his Preakness horses, Prince of Thieves.

The sun broke through early in the afternoon, well in time to provide a perfect backdrop for the 121st running of the Preakness Stakes. Then, it was just a matter of coming up with a perfect ending.Federal worker and once-a-year race buff Joe Paslow-ski of Alexandria, Va., said that had to involve jockey Pat Day. Said so as he was counting his money next to the ticket window on the second level of the Pimlico grandstand yesterday."I liked the name of the horse, and I liked the fact that Pat Day was on him," Paslowski said.

After crossing the finish line, after one streak had ended and another one had been extended, Pat Day fired his left fist into the air. He spread his fingers as wide as he could.Five.Five fingers, one for each victory in the Preakness.Yesterday's victory aboard 8-1 Louis Quatorze was Day's third in a row. And that ended another streak -- six straight wins in Triple Crown races by trainer D. Wayne Lukas.In this, there is great irony. Lukas bumped Day off one of his Preakness horses, Prince of Thieves.

Curlin's winning time tied the Preakness record because earlier races were not timed to hundredths of a second. Curlin (2007) 1:53.46 Curlin nipped Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense by putting his head in front on the final stride. Louis Quatorze (1996) 1:53 2/5 Louis Quatorze quickly gained the lead and set all the fractions over a drying-out track termed fast. Tank's Prospect (1985) 1:53 2/5 Tank's Prospect took the lead during the final strides. Chief's Crown held the lead through the stretch.

Bill Condren didn't say a word during the 121st Preakness. He and fellow owner Joe Cornacchia simply stood in their box along the front stretch and worried.Their horse, Louis Quatorze, led, but they had seen a horse of theirs lead the Preakness before only to be disappointed.Yesterday, there was no disappointment. Louis Quatorze, under jockey Pat Day's adept hands took the early lead, held off a challenge from Skip Away and then stretched out to win by 3 1/4 lenghts in a Preakness record-tying run of 1 minute, 53 2/3 seconds.

Someone mentioned to Nick Zito that horses he trained were now 1-for-6 in the Preakness."Don't say that like it's bad," Zito said. "One-for-6 isn't bad, you know."It's a whole lot better than 0-for-5, which was Zito's record in the Preakness before Louis Quatorze ran away from the field yesterday at Pimlico.The victory was Zito's first in a Triple Crown race other than the Kentucky Derby, which he has won twice with Strike the Gold in 1991 and Go For Gin in 1994.Those victories elevated Zito, 48, into the upper echelon of thoroughbred trainers.

As many eyes in the sports world focus on Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore Saturday for the 139th running of the Preakness Stakes, it's comforting to know Harford County still has a place in horse racing. Bel Air's Country Life Farm, as Dewey Fox reminded our readers with his fine piece about the Pons family's operation in The Aegis Wednesday, is carrying on the horse breeding tradition that spans the past eight decades or so, helped out of late by the farm's part ownership of Malibu Moon, one of the top stallions in the country, who started his stud career at Country Life and now stands in Kentucky.

Claimed for $7,500 two weeks ago, Sneaky Lil won the $50,000 Shine Again Stakes at Pimlico on Saturday. Abel Castellano led the daughter of 1996 Preakness winner Louis Quatorze on a late charge to win the feature race of opening weekend. The 6-year-old mare pulled ahead in a late burst to win by four lengths. "I started letting her go at the half-mile pole and we were clear on the outside," Castellano said. "I was worried about Over the Moon [the morning line favorite] who was behind us but didn't keep up with us. Then I set my sights on the Grove horse [Touch the Birds]

If Regal Solo, a 6-year-old gelding, wins the Maryland Million Sprint Saturday afternoon at Laurel Park, he would become the first horse to win three different Million races. "He's versatile," his trainer Damon Dilodovico said Wednesday. "He's push-button when his feet are good. And I've always thought he was better at short distances than long. " In 2007 the son of 1996 Preakness winner Louis Quatorze won the Million Nursery for 2-year-olds over 6-furlongs. Last year, he won the 1 1/8 th -mile Million Classic.

College football Navy QB Dobbs invited to play in East-West Shrine Game Navy senior quarterback Ricky Dobbs has been invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game, which will take place at 4 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla. The game will be televised on ESPN2. Dobbs joins Roger Staubach as the only Navy quarterbacks to be selected for the game and is just the 23rd Navy player overall to be picked for the longest-running college all-star game.

Curlin's winning time tied the Preakness record because earlier races were not timed to hundredths of a second. Curlin (2007) 1:53.46 Curlin nipped Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense by putting his head in front on the final stride. Louis Quatorze (1996) 1:53 2/5 Louis Quatorze quickly gained the lead and set all the fractions over a drying-out track termed fast. Tank's Prospect (1985) 1:53 2/5 Tank's Prospect took the lead during the final strides. Chief's Crown held the lead through the stretch.

The agreement reached Wednesday between the racetracks and horsemen not to close Pimlico's stables for the winter emphasized harmony. How long that will last between groups often at odds is anybody's guess, but it's starting out on the right foot. Alan Foreman, attorney for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said he received a call Thursday night from Jim McAlpine, president of Magna Entertainment Corp., majority owner of the Maryland Jockey Club. According to Foreman, McAlpine wanted to get together to begin what the release announcing the Pimlico agreement termed a "regular dialogue to address specific issues affecting each party and racing in general ... and to foster unity in the Maryland horse racing industry."

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Bob Baffert, trainer of Cavonnier, was visibly shaken after his horse pulled up in the homestretch of the Belmont Stakes yesterday and was loaded into an ambulance."

Anyone who expected Pat Day to show rancor at being yanked off one of the Preakness favorites, Prince of Thieves, doesn't know Pat Day.Day, the jockey on the winning horse of the 121st Preakness, Louis Quatorze, and the whole gang involved with the horse were just delirious that things broke their way yesterday at Pimllico.The win was Day's fifth Preakness victory in 11 tries, including three in a row. Imagine not wanting this guy on your horse heading to Baltimore from Louisville, Ky.Of trainer D. Wayne Lukas' maneuver to replace Day on Prince of Thieves with Jerry Bailey, after Bailey lost derby winner Grindstone to an injury and retirement, Day replied, "I've been taken off horses plenty of times.

Point Given, the most imposing Preakness horse when his feet are on the ground, created quite a stir yesterday at Pimlico when he nearly took flight. As he exited the stakes barn on his way to the track, Point Given, an oversized chestnut, reared repeatedly as he headed out for a routine gallop. His exercise rider, Pepe Aragon, held on for dear life. "That's his way of reacting to anything he doesn't like," Aragon said, "or his way of telling us he's feeling good." Point Given apparently reacted to a group of photographers waiting for a glimpse of the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite.

The best Preakness jockey of his generation has an unlikely mount in tomorrow's 123rd running. Baby Hands, as Pat Day is known to trainer D. Wayne Lukas, will be aboard the Lukas-trained Baquero, a 20-1 shot in the morning line.When Lukas announced last Tuesday that he was entering Baquero in the Preakness, it was widely assumed that the trainer simply wanted to put in a "rabbit" to push Coronado's Quest on the lead and set up a late charge by Cape Town, his more highly regarded entrant. But yesterday Lukas denied that, saying that he had planned to run Baquero in the Preakness as soon as he heard that Favorite Trick, whom Day rode to a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, wouldn't be coming to Pimlico.