Speed

Deputed Testamony is 32-years-old. His dark brown coat is shaggy, and his biggest excitement is going into his paddock at Bonita Farm for three or four hours of grazing each day. He is a pensioner, an icon. The oldest living winner of a Triple Crown race. But when Billy Boniface looks at the horse in his paddock, he sees the striking colt that was born and trained at the family farm and raced to victory in the 1983 Preakness - the last horse bred or trained in Maryland to do so. "Oh my gosh, I still get goose bumps when I look at him and remember that day," said Boniface, who was 18 then and had just taken over the breeding operation at the farm.

Before glossy race cars careen around downtown streets over Labor Day weekend, another high-speed race must be run. The team promoting Baltimore's Grand Prix - a group announced by city officials this week after the collapse of two other race organizers - has less than four months to hawk sponsorships, market the event, sell tickets and set up the racecourse and grandstands. Sports marketing experts say Race On, the new organizers that include racing champion Michael Andretti, must make those tasks their top priorities and also reassure racing fans that the event is on despite months of setbacks.

Sunday's opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers, has gotten a good deal of attention for injecting its receiving corps with a good deal of speed. The Ravens have taken notice, but their strategy heading into Sunday's season opener for the AFC North rivals remains unchanged. “We just play the same,” cornerback Lardarius Webb said. “It's about technique and playing ball. Most wide receivers in the league have speed, and most teams draft receivers because of their 40 time. Most of the people we guard run a 4.3. If you've got a 4.2, it's a little bit different, but you have to respect everybody's speed.

A proposal to speed the approval of new prescription drugs has patient advocates and biotech firms — including many based in Maryland — hoping that Congress will deliver a rare dose of bipartisanship this year. Lawmakers are proposing a 6 percent increase in the fees that pharmaceutical firms pay the Food and Drug Administration to offset the cost of approving new drugs. If the measure is not signed into law by the end of September, the FDA would lose the ability to charge any fees and be forced to lay off 2,000 workers, significantly slowing review times.

The Sun cannot be seriously reporting on the effectiveness of speed cameras ("Highway work zones are deemed safer now," April 15). Maryland highways chief Neil J. Pedersen said Wednesday at a news conference that "his employees and contractors have noticed a decrease in the number of vehicles going more than 10 mph over the speed limit in work zones." Mr. Pederson also said "police have also noticed fewer crashes." "Noticed" is how we are to measure success, what someone "notices"?

Wide Receiver Torrey Smith, the Ravens' second-round pick out of Maryland, got into the game a couple of times Sunday, but I'm not sure he understands his role, or the plays that are called. Smith is supposed to be one of the fastest, if not the fastest, player on the roster, yet a couple of us in the pressbox repeatedly watched him jog through plays. It's hard to see this on the TV screen because the cameras don't show the entire field. But there were at least two occasions when he came soft off the line of scrimmage and ran without a purpose.

Two of the city's six mobile speed cameras were moved to new locations this week: One on northbound Van Dusen Road, between Laurel Park Drive and Olive Branch Way; and another on Sandy Spring Road, near Phillip Powers Drive. The cameras were installed and activated Monday, July 18, in anticipation of schools opening next month, according to city officials. Other speed camera locations in the city include one on Seventh Street, at Main Street; two on Cherry Lane; and a second camera on Van Dusen Road.

I remember seeing the movie "Speed" in 1994 and thinking the premise — a load of commuters in a city bus rigged to explode if its speed falls below 50 miles per hour — was a little far-fetched. But that was before today, when I was viciously held hostage by my vehicle's electrical system. Of course, Sandra Bullock could certainly play me in this sequel, but she'd have to spend months at the gym snack bar enjoying muffins and fruit smoothies to achieve my current fitness level.

For two years, what was Timbergrove Road has been closed to traffic. It had become a major alternative (as had Kingsbury Road) to accessing Reisterstown Road via High Falcon Road or Hammershire through what were normally quiet neighborhoods. On Thursday, July 19, amid much fanfare, the Cherry Hill Bridge opened. Spanning 513 feet over the Gwynns Falls and railroad tracks, it now takes you directly past the community of Timber Grove, which had previously been a dead end that necessitated going through it, and into Chartley.

Mac Nachlas' letter extolling the virtues of a still unverified finding by the European Institute for Particle Physics that some objects may exceed the speed of light - while vilifying the supposed failures of the space station and other projects - was a stunning example of ideologically based wrong-think ("Faster than light? Research will benefit America in ways we can't foresee," Sept. 27). By admitting that only hindsight is 20/20, then saying that pursuing the scientifically unknown should be our main objective, he contradicts his own premise.

Locations, by school zone, of speed cameras in Baltimore County 1. Arbutus Middle School, 1200 block of Sulphur Spring Road (eastbound) 2. Catonsville High School, 400 block of South Rolling Road (both directions) 3. Dulaney High School, 200 block of Padonia Road (southbound) 4. Dundalk Middle School/Dundalk Elementary School, 7000 block of Dunmanway (westbound) 5. Eastern Technical High School, 1100 block of Mace Avenue (both directions) 6. Halstead Academy, 7500 block of Hillsway Road (southbound)

I am glad that speed cameras have been installed on South Rolling Road. They have encouraged people to drive slower, which helps make it safer for me and other Catonsville High School students who walk to school. I appreciate Del. Jim Malone's and Councilman Tom Quirk's help in getting the cameras installed. It has made a major difference. Brian Neighoff Catonsville High School

• The most speeding cases since the county began its speed camera program four months ago have been in Columbia on Tamar Drive, near Jeffers Hill Elementary School; in Columbia and Ellicott City on Old Montgomery Road, near the Maryland School for the Deaf; in Ellicott City on Centennial Lane, near Centennial High, Burleigh Manor Middle and Centennial Elementary; and, on Rogers Avenue near Hollifield Station Elementary. • The fewest cases of speeding, meanwhile, have been in Clarksville on Route 108, near Clarksville Middle; in Columbia on Oakland Mills Road, near Guilford Elementary; in Ellicott City on Stonehouse Drive, near Hollifield Station Elementary; on Route 103, near Ellicott Mills Middle; and, on Folly Quarter Road, near Glenelg Country School.

All speed limits need periodic review ("State studies raising ICC speed limit," March 23). A rise from 55 to 60 mph on the uncontested, largely merge-free Inter-County Connector is certainly sensible. On the other hand, for the sake of safety and preservation of human life, the limit on I-97 between Annapolis and Baltimore should be reduced to 60 mph. That highway is the site of frequent serious crashes due to its congestion and various merges - and the too-high (65 mph) speed limit.

Karen Druffel can walk outside her door in Elkridge almost anytime and find people from all over the region using the Rockburn Skills Park for mountain bikers and trail runners. The attention is impressive, considering the park is not even supposed to be fully functional until June 2, says Druffel, a volunteer with the nonprofit Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts (MORE), which spearheaded the park's creation. "The community has been phenomenal," she said this week. "We were a bit worried because there are people who are pro-biking and people who are anti-biking.

Early in the season with a young roster, the Boys' Latin lacrosse team is still finding out what it's all about. One thing that was evident in Monday's home game against No. 13 Fallston was the No. 4 Lakers have plenty of players who can score. Nine different Lakers each scored a goal in the first half and 11 scored in all as the Lakers jumped on the Cougars and collecta 14-6 win. Junior midfielder Ben Pridemore led the balanced effort with three goals; sophomore midfielder Tally Bruno had two and sophomore attackman Shack Stanwick was the primary distributor with three assists along with a goal.

Lee Evans did not catch a pass despite being targeted four times by quarterback Joe Flacco in the Ravens' 35-7 thumping of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, but that doesn't mean that the wide receiver was ineffective. Coach John Harbaugh said Evans' speed forced the Pittsburgh defense to monitor him closely, which carved out opportunities for his teammates on underneath and intermediate routes. "Lee opened up a couple crossing routes for us where he takes the top off the coverage, and if they don't run with him, Joe's going to throw to him," Harbaugh said during his post-game media session on Monday.

Lightly traveled and pothole-free, the newly opened Inter-County Connector is an invitation to speed, and that has become a sore spot with commuters. A review of the toll road's speed limit is under way and preliminary results and recommendations are expected in a month, said Doug Hutchinson, the Maryland Transportation Authority's chief engineer. The study will take into account the sharpness and bank of curves, sight distances and accident history on the road, formally known as Route 200. "There are a lot of facets that need to be checked out," Hutchinson said.

SARASOTA, Fla. - While his teammates were enjoying their only scheduled off day this spring, Orioles righthander Jake Arrieta was getting his work in Monday afternoon at the club's minor-league complex at Twin Lakes Park. Despite no Grapefruit League game, it was Arrieta's day to throw, so he tossed four extended innings in the Orioles' Class-A minor league game against the Twins. Arrieta recorded 16 outs in the game, which had added extra outs at the end of innings, and displayed excellent command throwing 45 strikes in 63 total pitches.