Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom
Preakness is the best weekend of the year for me.
Pimlico Special has always been my favorite race and Preakness right behind it. I love Pimlico.
Derby is just a fun race to watch and look for long shots, but I rate it as a throw away, meaningless race. Too many have no reasons to be in it, just egos of owners, and winners used to be just as lucky as talented. Best thing about Derby is you can find horse later on who finally get placed in reasonable races and look bad on form so you can get prices.
The Belmont, unless the TC in on the line, I have no use for it at all. Such a pathetic race, they had to ruin a month of other weekends to bring in enough other stakes to prop it up. Lose it in the crown and hope no one notices. 
The Preakness is the only TC race I would ever go see in person.
I actually did go in '79 to see Spectacular Bid. Went to the track Friday and the traffic was so bad getting out, I watched the race from my motel room in Hershey and spent the day itself at Chocolate Town!  |
It's been a few years since I went to a Preakness, but I've never been a Pimlico fan. I went to my first Preakness in 1974, when Little Current beat the field by daylight. He's not a well remembered horse because of his 5th place finish in the Derby to Canonade, but he was totally up against it that day. He was last of 23 horses going into the backstretch, but made a good enough run to warrant a Preakness start. After winning the Preakness he went to the Belmont and won there by seven lengths. Those two performances got him the Eclipse Award as 3YO of the Year. Unfortunately he chipped a bone prepping for the Arc d'Triomphe and retired to a good career as a stud. I'll always have a soft spot for him.
One day I'll go and it won't rain.
