Sir Barton

Trainer Phil Marino withdrew Lead Em Home as a Preakness horse yesterday and entered him instead in Saturday's $100,000 Sir Barton Stakes, assuring Torrid Sand his place in the field. "The owner left it up to me. I think I was using my better judgment by taking him out," Marino said. "I may drop-kick myself by doing it. Believe me, he could have done all right in the Preakness. "The Sir Barton is going to be almost as tough as the Preakness. This is my horse's home track and he loves it."

Only 30 horses have made it to the Belmont Stakes with a chance to win the Triple Crown. Eleven have succeeded. This is whyI'll Have Another's quest to become the 12th at Belmont Park on June 9 will captivate a nation that long ago stopped paying close attention to the way thoroughbred horses run. Every contender vying to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 is a Cinderella - a term not commonly used to describe...

It looks as if Marylanders will have a rooting interest in the Belmont Stakes.Maryland-bred Woods of Windsor is going to bypass the race in favor of the June 19 Ohio Derby.But Pimlico-based trainer Leon Blusiewicz is planning to run Raglan Road, winner of the Sir Barton Stakes on the Preakness undercard, in the June 5 classic. In the Sir Barton, Raglan Road, owned by Paul Fitzpatrick of Plantation, Fla., beat Premier Commander by a length."What I'm hoping is that my horse is peaking, when the others are coming back [tailing off]

The last man to take a horse to Belmont with a chance to snag the elusive final gem in the Triple Crown has some advice for Doug O'Neill. Stay true to the horse. "I think trainers going around asking other people what they should do, looking for how to handle it, that's stupid," Rick Dutrow, trainer of Big Brown in 2008, said in a phone interview Sunday. "It's got to be about your horse. Whatever anybody else did doesn't matter. You know your horse. " O'Neill, trainer of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I'll Have Another, has already disregarded common wisdom over the past three weeks.

Early returns from the first Colonial Downs harness meeting are not promising.Opening night, the track drew a crowd of 6,153 and handled $924,018, not bad figures compared with last fall's thoroughbred stand.But the numbers fell off dramatically during the next two cards -- to 2,003 attendance and $401,698 in handle last Sunday, a money figure lower than any single day of the thoroughbred meet.The figures include totals bet on Colonial's races at simulcast outlets around the country."It's uncharted water here.

ELMONT, N.Y. - With the defections yesterday of Midway Road and Outta Here, the challengers to Funny Cide in the 135th Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park number a half dozen. A field of seven would be the smallest since 1997, when Touch Gold spoiled Silver Charm's Triple Crown bid. Entries will be taken and post positions drawn tomorrow for the race scheduled at 6:38 p.m. Saturday on NBC. Barclay Tagg, trainer of Funny Cide, has set this morning for the gelding's final breeze before his assault on history in the Belmont, the 1 1/2 -mile "Test of the Champion."

If it's true that every dog has his day, then yesterday was it for 1,650 pooches at the finale of the Maryland Kennel Club's 79th All-Breed Dog Show in a crowded Fifth Regiment Armory.Dog owners, judges and canine aficionados came from as far as California and Florida to take part in the nation's fourth oldest dog show.More than 5,000 humans were on hand for the two-day affair, petting, prodding and admiring the four-legged contenders representing 126 different breeds -- from Afghans and Alaskan malamutes to Rhodesian Ridgebacks.

Eclipse Award winner Serena's Song, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes champion last year, and Mecke, the favorite in the Grade II $200,000 Early Times Dixie, headline a star-studded field on today's Preakness undercard.Serena's Song has drawn only four rivals to test her in the first big race of the afternoon (fourth on the card), the Grade III $200,000 Pimlico Distaff at 1 1/8 miles.Despite a three-race losing streak, she figures to be a short-priced choice for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, particularly after her easy victory in the 1995 Black-Eyed Susan over the same Pimlico track.

1991--Strike the Gold1990--Unbridled1989--Sunday Silence1988--Winning Colors1987--Alysheba1986--Ferdinand1985--Spend A Buck1984--Swale1983--Sunny's Halo1982--Gato del Sol1981--Pleasant Colony1980--Genuine Risk1979--Spectacular Bid1978--Affirmed1977--Seattle Slew1976--Bold Forbes1975--Foolish Pleasure1974--Cannonade1973--Secretariat1972--Riva Ridge1971--Canonero II1970--Dust Commander1969--Majestic Prince1968--Forward Pass1967--Proud Clarion1966--Kauai King1965--Lucky...

Donald Barr, the trainer, never lost confidence in Inner Harbour - despite the colt's poor racing luck, despite Barr's losing the horse to another trainer, despite the morning promise unfulfilled on long afternoons. Yesterday, Inner Harbour rewarded Barr for perseverance by romping to a four-length victory in the $100,000 Annapolis Stakes, a 1 1/8 -mile race for 3-year-olds at Laurel Park. "I always had a lot of faith in this horse," said Barr, stabled at Laurel. "I think he's capable of running against the better horses in the country."

In his first appearance at Pimlico Race Course since the industry's beloved horse, Barbaro, broke down in the first furlong of the Preakness and was hauled away in an ambulance, trainer Michael Matz was able to smile. New memories were made yesterday in the name of an old favorite, as Chelokee, another promising young horse trained by Matz, came from behind and fittingly became the winner of the first Barbaro Stakes, formerly the Sir Barton Stakes. As Matz made his way through a throng of television cameras and photographers waiting to capture his reaction in the winner's circle, Barbaro owner Gretchen Jackson grabbed him by the elbow and gave him a gentle squeeze on the arm. "It was pretty big for me," Matz said.

Pimlico. It's an evocative name, one of the best in sports, conjuring up images of classic moments in horse racing: Seabiscuit taking on War Admiral, the greats of this sport -- Citation and Secretariat, Whirlaway and Sir Barton -- racing to victory in the famed Preakness Stakes. So, could it happen? Could the hooves cease to pound the furrowed dirt just off Northern Parkway? Well, if you consider all the changes in the country and its sporting economy since Pimlico opened in 1870 -- built far out in the country, not in the midst of urban neighborhoods -- you could say it is amazing that the place is still open.

ELMONT, N.Y. - With the defections yesterday of Midway Road and Outta Here, the challengers to Funny Cide in the 135th Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park number a half dozen. A field of seven would be the smallest since 1997, when Touch Gold spoiled Silver Charm's Triple Crown bid. Entries will be taken and post positions drawn tomorrow for the race scheduled at 6:38 p.m. Saturday on NBC. Barclay Tagg, trainer of Funny Cide, has set this morning for the gelding's final breeze before his assault on history in the Belmont, the 1 1/2 -mile "Test of the Champion."

NEW YORK - Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed and ... Saarland? John Ward Jr., the astute Kentucky horseman, believes the next Triple Crown winner will come in an "off year," a year when the 3-year-olds aiming for the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont are not deep in talent. He believes this could be the year. "I think most of our 3-year-olds are very, very late developing," said Ward, who trained Monarchos, last year's Kentucky Derby winner, and saddles Booklet in today's Blue Grass Stakes.

Another horse trained by a Marylander can ascend into the top ranks today when Broken Vow contests the Philip H. Iselin Handicap at Monmouth Park. Trained by H. Graham Motion, who is based at Laurel Park with a string at Delaware Park, Broken Vow holds the distinction of being the only horse in the country who has earned a 115 Beyer Speed Figure three times this year. A Kentucky-bred son of Unbridled and the Nijinsky II mare Wedding Vow, Broken Vow has won eight of 11 races, including the Sir Barton Stakes at 3 and the Grade III Ben Ali Stakes this year at 4. In both the Grade I Gulfstream Park Handicap and Grade II Massachusetts Handicap, he finished third.

Donald Barr, the trainer, never lost confidence in Inner Harbour - despite the colt's poor racing luck, despite Barr's losing the horse to another trainer, despite the morning promise unfulfilled on long afternoons. Yesterday, Inner Harbour rewarded Barr for perseverance by romping to a four-length victory in the $100,000 Annapolis Stakes, a 1 1/8 -mile race for 3-year-olds at Laurel Park. "I always had a lot of faith in this horse," said Barr, stabled at Laurel. "I think he's capable of running against the better horses in the country."

The last man to take a horse to Belmont with a chance to snag the elusive final gem in the Triple Crown has some advice for Doug O'Neill. Stay true to the horse. "I think trainers going around asking other people what they should do, looking for how to handle it, that's stupid," Rick Dutrow, trainer of Big Brown in 2008, said in a phone interview Sunday. "It's got to be about your horse. Whatever anybody else did doesn't matter. You know your horse. " O'Neill, trainer of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I'll Have Another, has already disregarded common wisdom over the past three weeks.

A highly competitive race looms in the Grade II, $200,000 Dixie, the turf showdown over 1 1/8 miles that will headline today's Preakness undercard.Included in the field are Sky Colony, second to Yagli in this event last year, Sharp Appeal, who has Edgar Prado in the saddle, and Elliott Walden-trained Merlin's Ring.Sharp Appeal has the highest lifetime earnings in the field -- more than $500,000 -- and was third in the 1997 Dixie behind Ops Smile. He finished second to Federal Trial in the Hialeah Turf Cup in his most recent outing.

A highly competitive race looms in the Grade II, $200,000 Dixie, the turf showdown over 1 1/8 miles that will headline today's Preakness undercard.Included in the field are Sky Colony, second to Yagli in this event last year, Sharp Appeal, who has Edgar Prado in the saddle, and Elliott Walden-trained Merlin's Ring.Sharp Appeal has the highest lifetime earnings in the field -- more than $500,000 -- and was third in the 1997 Dixie behind Ops Smile. He finished second to Federal Trial in the Hialeah Turf Cup in his most recent outing.

Trainer Phil Marino withdrew Lead Em Home as a Preakness horse yesterday and entered him instead in Saturday's $100,000 Sir Barton Stakes, assuring Torrid Sand his place in the field. "The owner left it up to me. I think I was using my better judgment by taking him out," Marino said. "I may drop-kick myself by doing it. Believe me, he could have done all right in the Preakness. "The Sir Barton is going to be almost as tough as the Preakness. This is my horse's home track and he loves it."