Race

Maryland transportation officials plan to close a portion of the Fort McHenry tunnel to accommodate people participating in a 5k event. The northbound right portion of the tunnel will be closed to vehicle traffic at 7 p.m. for the Fort McHenry Tunnel 5k Run/Walk. It is scheduled to reopen by noon Sunday. Officials say they will send all northbound traffic through one portion of the tunnel. They will also close the northbound I-95 ramp to Keith Avenue during the same timeframe.

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.

There are several issues your editorial on Race to the Top fails to address ("No time to lose," May 22). In a commentary published in the Baltimore Sun November 3, 2010, Laurie Taylor-Mitchell questions Baltimore County Superintendent Joe A. Hairston's plans for the distribution of the funds under Race to the Top, $5 million of which would go to a data collection system and $460,000 for two administrative positions. Under the terms of Race to the Top, funds will not go toward hiring more teachers.

Freedom Green is a full-time mom with four young children and a husband whose job has him working 20-hour days. That is why she runs. "There are times when I need to get away, so that I don't flip out," says Green, 40, of Owings Mills. "I don't want to pour that negative energy on my kids. Running is mom's multivitamin, a way to alleviate stress. "Any day that I get to run, they [children] could be hanging from the chandelier in the front foyer, and I wouldn't care. " Of the 25,822 participants signed up for the Baltimore Running Festival's four prime races on Saturday, 61 percent are women, up from 44 percent in 2003.

Drivers will face parking restrictions and possible delays downtown Saturday as a helicopter crew conducts a survey of the likely route of a proposed Grand Prix race in Baltimore. City officials will post notices warning motorists not to park along certain streets in the Inner Harbor and Camden Yards areas between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to clear the roadways for an aerial and ground survey of the 2.44-mile route.Adrienne Barnes, a spokeswoman for the city Transportation Department, said vehicles that block those streets could be removed - towed to a nearby location or to a city impound lot. She said the survey will involve minimal disruption because it largely avoids residential areas and uses blocks where there is already limited "minimal" parking.

Rachel Alexandra, who won the 2009 Preakness, will run in the Grade II FleuDe Lis at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday. "Rachel Alexandra continues to turn in strong works," owner Jess Jackson said in a statement released this morning. "As long as she continues to progress, we intend to race her with the expectation that she will obtain her fitness level of last year. Our ultimate goal and hope is to enter the Breeders Cup in November." Winless in two starts this year, the reigning Horse of the Year last raced in late April, finishing second to Unrivaled Belle in the Grade II La Troienne at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby weekend.

Grant Whitacre returned to the Laurel Park winners' circle in his first mount since missing nearly the entire meet with a small hairline fracture in his lower back. The Maryland native and former Atholton baseball player, who was injured Jan. 8, guided Temperance Time ($29.40) to an off-the-pace victory in the finale. Boys basketball: Guard Josh Selby , who played his senior season at Lake Clifton after transferring from DeMatha, scored 13 points for the East on Wednesday in the McDonald's All-American game in Columbus, Ohio.

What:Grand Prix of Washington Where:Adjacent to RFK Stadium When:Today through Sunday Who:Sports car competitors from the American Le Mans Series and three other racing series Format:Endurance races of set time or distance TV:Tomorrow, Chs. 13, 9, 2:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m., Chs. 11, 4 Schedule:Today, 9 a.m. to 7:05 p.m., practice and qualifying. Tomorrow, 9 a.m. to 1:10 p.m., practice and qualifying; 2:30 p.m., Trans-Am race; 4:15 p.m., Star Mazda race; 5:25 p.m., Speed World Challenge race.