Race

As Orb charged to the wire at Churchill Downs last weekend, he established his clear superiority to the other 18 thoroughbreds on horse racing's biggest stage, the Kentucky Derby. But compared to Derby champions of the past, Orb's time is less impressive - his 2:02.89 run doesn't rank among the top 10 in the race's history. It is slower than the times of many winners from the 1950s and 1960s, and well behind Secretariat's 1973 record. Blame the muddy track? Fair enough, but none of the past decade's Derby winners recorded a top 10 time either.

Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown became the first candidate to join the 2014 Maryland governor's race Friday with a call to close the gap between rich and poor in education, health and economic opportunity. Before a crowd at Prince George's Community College that organizers estimated at 2,500, the Democrat outlined priorities that could have come straight out of the playbook of Gov. Martin O'Malley, Brown's term-limited partner in Annapolis. Brown is the first candidate, Democrat or Republican, to formally announce his candidacy, and he did so in uncompromisingly liberal terms - pledging to maintain Maryland's No. 1-ranked school system, to keep college tuition low and to invest aggressively in infrastructure and career training.

Two more bidders emerged Friday to compete against MGM National Harbor for the right to build a casino in Prince George's County. Penn National Gaming submitted a proposal to the state's gaming control agency for a $700-million Hollywood Casino Resort at its Rosecroft Raceway site. And Maryland Casino LLC, a subsidiary of Greenwood Racing Inc., bid to build an $800 million Parx Casino Hotel & Spa in Fort Washington. MGM National Harbor dropped off its own proposal — outlined in 13 boxes of materials — Thursday for an expected $800-million project.

Two more bidders emerged Friday — one a surprise — to compete against MGM Resorts International for the right to build a casino in Prince George's County, which stands with the state to reap millions of dollars from the project. Penn National Gaming, which operates the Hollywood Casino brand, and Greenwood Racing Inc., which owns Pennsylvania's most successful casino, submitted proposals to Maryland's gaming agency by the 2 p.m. deadline. The winner is expected to be chosen by the end of the year by the Maryland Video Lottery Facility Location Commission, which will review the proposals.

Seeking to emerge from the long shadow of Gov. Martin O'Malley, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown will make official Friday what everyone in Maryland politics has known for a long time: He's running for governor. Brown, 51, will announce his candidacy in his home county of Prince George's, where he started his political career. He enters the race with polls showing him as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in a state where his party enjoys a 2-to-1 advantage in voter registration.

Nicole Stall boarded the first plane to Maryland she could catch when she heard of Benjamin Boniface's death last June. She was there to grieve the death of a boy she had known since his birth. But also to work. In the days after the 20-year-old's death in an early-morning car accident on the farm, she went to the barns where she had fallen in love with horses as a teenager. “I was completely out of it,” said William K. Boniface, known to most as Billy. “She just went out to the stallion barn, kept it running.

Ticket sales for the 138th Preakness Stakes are up nearly 10 percent over last year, with some fans excited that the winner of the Kentucky Derby has a connection to Maryland. Maryland Jockey Club President Tom Chuckas said Monday that ticket sales for the May 18 event at Pimlico Race Course in North Baltimore have increased about 9.5 percent. All 26 tents in the corporate-sponsored village are sold out, Chuckas said, and the tables in the corporate village are almost gone. Chuckas said the jump in ticket sales, which suggests this year's race could see attendance rise for the fourth straight year and top the record of 121,309 set in 2012, was likely the result of several factors, including changing the race's "brand.

Back in February, before we knew about crippling fears of water and low likeability factors and One Mullet to Rule Them All, 11 teams began a race around the world. Stuff happened with cheese and haggis. Alliances formed, craziness surfaced, teeth detached. And now it's time (cue Phil's eyebrow) for the finale of "The Amazing Race" (cue music). The top four teams leave Scotland and all take the same ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland. While driving themselves to a park, Max and Katie's instincts tell them to turn around.

Pimlico Race Course Too Clever by Half wins fifth consecutive race Too Clever by Half won for the fifth consecutive time, taking the $52,000 feature at Pimlico Race Course . The 5-year-old mare was one of three turf winners on the card for jockey Sheldon Russell . Too Clever by Half dueled with Nistletoe for the lead in the five-furlong test on the grass and then opened up a clear lead in midstretch and dug under strong handling to...

Regarding the recent debate over dirt bikes, as president of my community association I can assure you that while the riders' antics may seem "cool" to their peers, the rest of us see them as noisy and a danger to motorists ("Don't penalize city kids for riding dirt bikes," April 25). I personally have had two frightening near collisions with these lawbreakers in recent years. That is why I would welcome legislation making it mandatory for retailers who sell dirt bikes to prominently display signs informing potential buyers that it is illegal to drive dirt bikes inside the city limits.