Won The Preakness

When the late Eugene V. Klein, owner of the San Diego Chargers football team, named a bay colt Tank's Prospect, it was a tribute to Paul "Tank" Younger, one of the ablest fullbacks in the history of the Los Angeles Rams. At the time, Younger was working for the Chargers, in charge of making personnel decisions."You hear the reason more colts and fillies aren't named for people is some kind of jinx is thought to be involved," he said. "They don't fare too well. But this one was exceptional."

Harford County has had many big-time sports moments in its glorious history. Perhaps none were bigger, however, than the one that happened 30 years ago this week. That's when Harford County's own Deputed Testamony won the 1983 Preakness, bringing home the second of the three jewels of the Triple Crown of thoroughbred horse racing contested each year. The Triple Crown, for horse racing novices, is the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May, the Preakness down the road at Pimlico in Baltimore on the third Saturday in May and the Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., on Long Island three Saturdays later.

History waits for Preakness favorite Rachel Alexandra on Saturday, and it's not good history. The 3-year-old filly drew the 13th and outside post Wednesday for the Preakness Stakes, drawing a groan from the crowd of invited onlookers inside an air-conditioned tent at Pimlico Race Course. Scott Blasi, assistant trainer for the super filly under Steve Asmussen, did not share the sentiment, believing the outside post will allow the horse to dictate the pace. "They groaned and I smiled," Blasi said.

History waits for Preakness favorite Rachel Alexandra on Saturday, and it's not good history. The 3-year-old filly drew the 13th and outside post Wednesday for the Preakness Stakes, drawing a groan from the crowd of invited onlookers inside an air-conditioned tent at Pimlico Race Course. Scott Blasi, assistant trainer for the super filly under Steve Asmussen, did not share the sentiment, believing the outside post will allow the horse to dictate the pace. "They groaned and I smiled," Blasi said.

When trainer D. Wayne Lukas comes to the Preakness, he stays in the same hotel each year.But he never makes his reservations early."You can point for the Kentucky Derby, but you can't plan beyond it," he said. "You never know if you're going to make it to Step 2."But Lukas usually does.Since he ran his first horse in the Preakness in 1980 -- and won the race with Codex -- he has had at least one runner 11 of the previous 13 years in the second leg of the Triple Crown and has hit the board 50 percent of the time.

It was a typical workout for Papa Clem on Pimlico Race Course's main track Tuesday - underwhelming if not slightly disappointing. The Kentucky Derby's fourth-place finisher ran a leisurely five furlongs in 1 minute, 5 seconds, a time his trainer said he wished were faster. But the result didn't come as a surprise for Gary Stute, who said his horse doesn't prepare for races well, yet has a way of turning it on when needed. "All of his workouts before the Derby were bad except the last one," said Stute, whose father, Mel, won the Preakness 23 years ago with Snow Chief.

When trainer Rick Dutrow arrived at his Pimlico Race Course barn yesterday morning to see Preakness winner Big Brown, he was wearing a smile and a Triple Crown hat. "The hat?" he said. "It doesn't mean anything. It was just around." It was the smile that never seemed to leave his face that told the story. His 3-year-old colt had easily won the Preakness on Saturday, setting the stage for an assault on the Triple Crown at Belmont Park. If Dutrow and jockey Kent Desormeaux, who began their careers in Maryland, and Big Brown can get the job done June 7, they will become the first Triple Crown winners since Affirmed in 1978.

Preakness Stakes winner Bernardini will not run in the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown, on June 10. Darley Stable, which owns the bay colt who won the Preakness by 5 1/4 lengths, made the announcement in Lexington, Ky., yesterday, saying Bernardini deserves a rest. Before capturing the Preakness on Saturday, Bernardini won the Withers Stakes three weeks earlier on April 29. His other two races were March 4 and Jan. 7. Already missing from the Belmont is Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, who was seriously injured after the start of the Preakness and is convalescing after leg surgery at an animal medical facility in Kennett Square, Pa. With Bernardini and Barbaro out, it will be just the third time in 36 years that the Belmont will be run without the Kentucky Derby or Preakness winner.

Bob Lewis is 72 years old, but his eyes are sharp. Officials needed a photo-finish replay to determine the winner of the 122nd Preakness, but Lewis knew instantly that his horse, Silver Charm, had won."I did see it," he insisted over and over to his wife, Beverly, more than an hour after the race. "I just knew it! I've seen a lot of photo-finish pictures and I had no doubt."Beverly looked at her husband, with whom she will celebrate 50 years of marriage this summer, and laughed. "Well," she said, "why didn't you tell me?"

The entrance of Coronado's Quest into the Preakness meant the exit of Victory Gallop, second in the Kentucky Derby.Elliott Walden, trainer of Victory Gallop, said yesterday that his colt will wait for the Belmont Stakes."

It was a typical workout for Papa Clem on Pimlico Race Course's main track Tuesday - underwhelming if not slightly disappointing. The Kentucky Derby's fourth-place finisher ran a leisurely five furlongs in 1 minute, 5 seconds, a time his trainer said he wished were faster. But the result didn't come as a surprise for Gary Stute, who said his horse doesn't prepare for races well, yet has a way of turning it on when needed. "All of his workouts before the Derby were bad except the last one," said Stute, whose father, Mel, won the Preakness 23 years ago with Snow Chief.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -Mine That Bird trainer Chip Woolley and co-owners Mark Allen and Leonard Blach have been so stunned by the horse's victory in the Kentucky Derby that they'll need a few days to consider whether to run him in the Preakness. Woolley told reporters Sunday that it's no sure thing that Mine That Bird will be headed to Baltimore. He, Allen and Blach will have to talk it over, see how the horse recovers from his historic upset Saturday at Churchill Downs and hopefully make a decision by midweek.

When trainer Rick Dutrow arrived at his Pimlico Race Course barn yesterday morning to see Preakness winner Big Brown, he was wearing a smile and a Triple Crown hat. "The hat?" he said. "It doesn't mean anything. It was just around." It was the smile that never seemed to leave his face that told the story. His 3-year-old colt had easily won the Preakness on Saturday, setting the stage for an assault on the Triple Crown at Belmont Park. If Dutrow and jockey Kent Desormeaux, who began their careers in Maryland, and Big Brown can get the job done June 7, they will become the first Triple Crown winners since Affirmed in 1978.

Preakness Stakes winner Bernardini will not run in the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown, on June 10. Darley Stable, which owns the bay colt who won the Preakness by 5 1/4 lengths, made the announcement in Lexington, Ky., yesterday, saying Bernardini deserves a rest. Before capturing the Preakness on Saturday, Bernardini won the Withers Stakes three weeks earlier on April 29. His other two races were March 4 and Jan. 7. Already missing from the Belmont is Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, who was seriously injured after the start of the Preakness and is convalescing after leg surgery at an animal medical facility in Kennett Square, Pa. With Bernardini and Barbaro out, it will be just the third time in 36 years that the Belmont will be run without the Kentucky Derby or Preakness winner.

Elation was tempered with concern among the winning team of Bernardini after its relatively inexperienced dark bay colt easily won the 131st Preakness Stakes yesterday by 5 1/4 lengths. While jockey Javier Castellano, trainer Thomas Albertrani and blood stock manager for Darley Stable, John Ferguson, were obviously excited about winning the second jewel of the Triple Crown, much of the talk was about injured favorite Barbaro. Barbaro, winner of the Kentucky Derby and the favorite yesterday, broke his right hind leg in two places just after leaving the gate and was immediately pulled up by jockey Edgar Prado.

Nick Zito had experienced every stroke of bad luck that can beset a horse in a race - stumbles, poor positioning, traffic problems, bumps, inclement weather. Until the Kentucky Derby. That's when The Cliff's Edge, the Derby's morning-line favorite, lost his front shoes and came home fifth after running next-to-last in the 18-horse field early in the race. "I've never had that happen," Zito said of the shoe incident after his two Preakness horses, The Cliff's Edge and Sir Shackleton, galloped over the Pimlico track yesterday morning.

If the Triple Crown series is any omen, this could be a good year for Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.Arkansas is now 2-for-2 for in the Triple Crown races.Lil E. Tee, owned by W. Cal Partee of Magnolia, Ark., won the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and Pine Bluff, owned by John Ed Anthony of Hot Springs, Ark., won the Preakness yesterday.Anthony said he knows Clinton, who seems headed for the Democratic presidential nomination, "very well," but declined to comment when he was asked if he's a Clinton supporter.

Nick Zito had experienced every stroke of bad luck that can beset a horse in a race - stumbles, poor positioning, traffic problems, bumps, inclement weather. Until the Kentucky Derby. That's when The Cliff's Edge, the Derby's morning-line favorite, lost his front shoes and came home fifth after running next-to-last in the 18-horse field early in the race. "I've never had that happen," Zito said of the shoe incident after his two Preakness horses, The Cliff's Edge and Sir Shackleton, galloped over the Pimlico track yesterday morning.

The horses were coming off the trucks near the Pimlico stakes barn yesterday morning, and Robert and Beverly Lewis were lined up among a crowd waiting to see their horse, Charismatic, the Kentucky Derby winner.A beautiful chestnut was led by, and Robert Lewis leaned forward, looking at him."Is that Charismatic?" he was asked.Silence. And then, "I don't know. I don't think he's big enough."The Lewises do have 90 racehorses spread around the country, and until his surprising Derby victory two weeks go, Charismatic wasn't one they necessarily would recognize.

The entrance of Coronado's Quest into the Preakness meant the exit of Victory Gallop, second in the Kentucky Derby.Elliott Walden, trainer of Victory Gallop, said yesterday that his colt will wait for the Belmont Stakes."