Race

The headline on The Sun's article about promotions within the Baltimore Fire Department ("Two top fire jobs to blacks," Nov. 16) was disgraceful. It should have been, "Two top fire jobs to most qualified. " Since when is the color of one's skin a "qualification" for anything? Racism in this country will never disappear as long as it is used as a prerequisite for any type of employment. Shame on the writer of that headline. D. Pazourek, Sparks

CONCORD, N.C. — Tony Stewart drank so much water that weekend he forgot to eat. So, 50 laps into the 300-lap Coca-Cola 600, his second race of the day, Stewart was hungry. By the end of the nearly 1,100 miles Stewart ran in May 1999 at two tracks in two states, racing two totally different types of cars, he was so exhausted and undernourished he couldn't even drive himself home. His girlfriend drove with a sick Stewart collapsed in the car. "When you're done with the 600 after running Indy, and the flight and helicopter rides and police escorts and all that during the day, you're very, very content to lay your head on a pillow," Stewart said.

A day after the lack of oversight at Maryland race tracks came to light in a hearing before the Maryland Racing Commission at Pimlico Race Course , the commission's executive director, Mike Hopkins, said steps are already being taken to improve the situation. One of the biggest issues in the hearing that resulted in upholding the disqualification of the Rick Dutrow Jr.-trained King and Crusader from the Dec. 17 Maryland Juvenile Championship at Laurel Park was the disregard for a regulation mandating slips for each horse being treated before a race to be reviewed by the stewards or their representatives within an hour of each race.

A plan to bring competitve automobile racing to streets around the Inner Harbor is expected to win city approval on Wednesday, potentially bringing Baltimore in league with Sao Paulo, Brazil, Long Beach, Calif., and other spots that host world-class motorsports on downtown roads. After the city Board of Estimates signs off on a contract with the Baltimore Racing Development Corp., Baltimore will be poised to become a stop on the Indy Racing League circuit in August 2011 and for as many as four years after that.

Gwen Jocson couldn't help but notice the symmetry when she reflected on her first competitive race in more than a decade. Jocson, 43, began her relatively brief but highly successful career with a victory in 1989, then capped it with a win in a race Friday afternoon. "Well, I won my first race and I won my last race. If I hadn't won this race, I'd have to go back to riding and get back even. It felt great because it was for a cause," Jocson said. Injuries prematurely ended Jocson's career.

Listening to the speech that Ken Ulman made on Monday, June 3 I was struck by his passion for Columbia. It is the same passion I have felt living in Columbia for 40 years. I too have loved this planned city that treats people equally. As proud as I am seeing one of our own named to the top of the ticket I am imbued with a sense of unease. One of the reasons many people came to Columbia was to live in a well thought out and carefully planned community. Columbia was the antidote to the hodgepodge exemplified by routes 1 and 40 and to escape the insidious and unethical practice of redlining!

Gov. Martin O'Malley's aide Joseph C. Bryce says that Maryland is in a race with other states to host offshore wind farms ("O'Malley wind plan meets resistance," March 24). How is this a race? What does the winner get? The "losers" will gain a lot of free experience, but I fail to see the advantage of being first. What's the rush, isn't there enough wind for all? There certainly is in Annapolis! David Plaut, Reisterstown

Something for each of us to ponder: Do you think the outcome of this November's gubernatorial race between Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. would turn any different if the current many-months long electioneering were limited to only 60 days? And think of the huge savings and how that money could be better spent to serve the needs of the citizens of Maryland. Norman Shillman, Baltimore

Dennis Paul nearly didn't make it to the start of Saturday's American Le Mans Series race. Considering that Paul has served as the starter since the circuit began in 1999, and has only missed two races in North America, his absence might have been noticed in Baltimore. Paul lives in New Orleans, where he teaches pharmacology at the Louisiana State University medical school. Paul arrived in town late Friday night, and thought for awhile that his flight might not make it out because of Hurricane Isaac.

Rachel Alexandra won the $400,000 Lady's Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park, N.J., Saturday, beating Queen Martha, who placed, and Ask the Moon, who finished 7 3/4 lengths back to show. Rachel Alexandra, who won the 2009 Preakness in Baltimore, was sent off as a 1-10 favorite and paid $2.20 to win. Saturday's win was the fillly's second this year and her second at Monmouth Park. Last year, she was a six-length winner of the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.