Preakness Stakes

Gov. Martin O'Malley scored the behind-the-scene tour most Preakness fans wish for: an up-close look at the 11 horses in the Stakes Stables. Tom Chuckas, president of the Maryland Jockey Club, walked the governor around the barns, packed high with hay and lined with flower baskets, that house the Preakness racers. O'Malley shook hands with the chiropractor and trainer for I'll Have Another. "He's ready to go," Larry "Thumper" Jones, the chiropractor, said of the Kentucky Derby winner.

There were still drunken 20-somethings. Still crowds making a ruckus. And people throwing up after one too many beers. But this year - unlike at recent Preakness Stakes when infield crowds gained a reputation for debauchery and rowdy stunts like port-a-potty races - racegoers said the party was less out of control. The infield drew both casual fans, who came just to hang out, and well-dressed and well-heeled racing patrons - the type you usually find in the VIP tents or grandstands.

The largest crowd in Preakness Stakes history watched the thrilling victory of a horse that's now on a Triple Crown hunt, jammed to pop band Maroon 5 and basked under a Saturday sky whose only clouds were the wispy letters of an advertisement sprayed from a plane. Bettors in the Turfside Terrace, a massive white tent along the home stretch at Pimlico Race Course , watched anxiously as the 137th Preakness ended just as many had predicted - with Derby champ I'll Have Another and also-favored Bodemeister vying for the win. When I'll Have Another surged late to win by a nose - and continued his bid for what would be the first Triple Crown triumph since 1978 - they erupted into cheers, clutching their betting tickets and hugging.

Let's come right out and say it: This was the best Preakness we've had in years. What a day it was at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday. You had a great crowd: a record 121,309. You had a handle of $80,463,005, sixth highest in Preakness history. You had Chamber of Commerce weather: temperatures in the mid-70s under a bright sun and cloudless sky. You had an absolutely thrilling Preakness Stakes, Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another catching favorite Bodemeister in the last three strides to keep his Triple Crown hopes alive.

What time is the Preakness Stakes run? At about 6:20 p.m. How long does it last? Usually 2-3 minutes. How much are Preakness tickets? InfieldFest tickets are $60; Mug Club is an extra $20. Other ticket prices vary. Call 410-542-9400 or go to preakness.com. What is Pimlico's address? 5201 Park Heights Ave. in Baltimore What time does Pimlico open? Gates open at 8 a.m. Saturday for the infield, Top of the Strech and the facility; 10 a.m. for the Village and Turfside Terrace.

Doug O'Neill caught the red eye out of Southern California on Wednesday night, boarding a plane that would offer him a few moments of peace. Not that the trainer of Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another has wilted under the scrutiny of sudden popularity. He's described his experiences as "cool," even the part where he answers the same questions over and over. And about his accommodations at Pimlico, the host of the Preakness Stakes that has, in recent years, been a popular place for trainers to avoid?

As Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another vanned out of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport with a police escort Monday afternoon, he was greeted by local horse fans trying to make him feel instantly at home. "People were lined up and chanting, 'I'd love another,'" said assistant trainer Jack Sisterson, who accompanied the horse on a flight from Louisville, Ky. "His ears are pricked and he's bobbing his head, 'Yeah, that's me!'" At Pimlico Race Course , cameras from local television stations were lined up along print media to record the arrival of the gorgeous, Doug O'Neill-trained chestnut as he came off the trailer and pranced to his stall.

As preparations begin on Old Hilltop for the 137th running of the Preakness Stakes, the star of the field already has a confirmed arrival date. Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another will show up Monday, much earlier than originally expected - and before most horses in recent years have begun their acclimation to Pimlico. Trainer Doug O'Neill, fresh off a long night of celebrating and on about three hours of sleep, said Sunday morning at Churchill Downs that he and the colt's connections had reversed their original decision to keep I'll Have Another at Churchill Downs this week.

Every April, camera crews from ABC's "Wide World of Sports" would turn up on the horse farms a few miles from where I grew up for the annual running of the Maryland Hunt Cup, part of the spring steeplechase horse racing series that graces Maryland's equestrian country from Monkton to Glyndon and beyond each spring. Portrayed as a grand tradition of what I call the lockjaw set (people of inherited means who talk in low growls though their back teeth have been soldered together), the event never failed to draw a substantial crowd of local commoners.

On those recent warm days, was there anyone in Baltimore who didn't think ahead to an afternoon in the infield at Pimlico? We're just 60 days from the 137th running of the Preakness Stakes. Over at the Sun's Preakness page , you can catch up on all the pertinent news surrounding this year's event. No, we still haven't found Kegasus. (Eh, who am I kidding: we haven't really been looking for him either.) The field for the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, is beginning to take shape.