Race Fans

The Preakness it's not. No mobs of young people in the infield or fancily dressed women in colorful hats in the grandstand or even live horses running around Pimlico's dirt track. Still, hundreds of dedicated race fans showed up at the Northwest Baltimore track Saturday to watch and bet on simulcast broadcasts of horses running in Delaware, New Jersey and New York, as they waited for a horse with the unlikely name of Drosselmeyer to win the 142nd running of the Belmont Stakes, racing's third leg of the Triple Crown.

The 135th Preakness Stakes was a blur of perfect weather and outrageous hats, bow ties and tube tops, society types and drunken revelers, parking-space hustlers and soul-savers, and for nearly two minutes — almost beside the point — a horse race. More than 95,000 fans poured into Pimlico Racecourse for the event, won by Lookin At Lucky, whose victory means there will be no Triple Crown champion this year. Announced attendance was up by about 23 percent over last year.

The 135th Preakness Stakes was a blur of perfect weather and outrageous hats, bow ties and tube tops, society types and drunken revelers, parking-space hustlers and soul-savers, and for nearly two minutes — almost beside the point — a horse race. More than 95,000 fans poured into Pimlico Racecourse for the event, won by Lookin At Lucky, whose victory means there will be no Triple Crown champion this year. Attendance was up by about 23 percent. A new alcohol policy — rejiggered for the second year in a row —brought some fans back but also led to gripes about long beer lines.

As he watched the Preakness on Saturday, Joe Kelly summoned the racing spirits that move on both four legs and two. Whirlaway, Citation and Secretariat. Arcaro, Hartack and Shoemaker. Horses with hurricane strength. Riders who harnessed their power. At 91, Kelly has seen them all at Pimlico Race Course. "The ghosts are everywhere," he said. One of them, he fears, might soon be the track itself. The fate of both Pimlico and Laurel Park is in question because their owner, Magna Entertainment Corp.

Tears are now a part of horse racing, and we learned just recently that even when old ones dry, new tears inevitably well up. This is why this week isn't really about year-old memories of a fantastic horse named Barbaro and it isn't about the ocean's worth of tears shed on his behalf. If you're looking for someone worth rooting for at Saturday's Preakness, you won't find him in this new batch of 3-year-olds, either, whether you're Flying First Class or you've got a bit of Street Sense.

Laurel -- Darryl Carideo is by himself. Pressed against the outside fence of the track, Carideo will not be swayed from his usual position by either the frigid temperatures or the isolation. The last race ended barely five minutes ago, and the handful of others who come out to watch the horses run live have retreated to the warmer confines of the Laurel Park concourse. Carideo, though, studies his race book. He is waiting for the horses scheduled to run next to come out before finalizing his picks.

With any big sporting event these days, it seems a discussion of the broadcast includes a mention of the many "platforms" available to consumers for viewing or receiving information. This was the case during a conference call this week for ABC's coverage of Sunday's Indianapolis 500 (noon, WMAR/Channel 2 and WJLA/Channel 7). Sure, you can just watch on ABC, but there are also many presentations beyond the telecast - ESPN.com's RaceCast, Mobile ESPN, video blogs, podcasts. But here's part of the deal: Nothing will drive this race - and Indy racing - across whatever platforms you want to pick as much as a strong showing by Danica Patrick.

DOVER, Del. - Stand over there and you'll feel it, says the guy in the Dale Earnhardt Jr. T-shirt. "Over here?" you say. No, closer to the fence, the guy says. You don't want to argue. The last time you argued with a man wearing a knife on his belt, it did not go well. He was a wild-eyed roofer who insisted he never promised the work would be done in a week; your recollection was different, but he was in full meltdown mode and his prevailed. So you stand where the guy in the Dale Earnhardt Jr. T-shirt tells you to, on this windswept piece of cement 20 yards from the track at Dover International Speedway.

Maybe Smarty Jones will capture the second leg of the Triple Crown today, and maybe he won't. But one sure bet at the Preakness Stakes is the free flow of alcohol. "I'm expecting some extra business," said Saeyong Oh, owner of Knight's Liquor on Park Heights Avenue one block from Pimlico Race Course. "I'm hoping for maybe 10 or 15 percent more business. I'll stock extra beer in the coolers." Oh is hoping horse racing fans, in turn, stock their coolers with a stop in his store. For businesses and residents near Pimlico, the third Saturday in May is certain to bring tens of thousands of visitors to the neighborhood.

WASHINGTON - Winston Cup driver Tony Stewart showed up at the National Press Club on Tuesday decked out in a dark-gray suit, blue shirt and gold tie, looking every bit the champion of his sport. "I'm only the second driver ever to be invited and following in Dale Earnhardt's footsteps is an honor," said Stewart before heading to the podium, where he and NASCAR chief executive officer George Pyne spoke to the media. "But I can't wait to get home and get back in my jeans and T-shirt that's really who I am."