The Chatter

Your Preakness Primer

Ron Cassie — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:41:29 +0000

Things you need to know — and some you don't — for Saturday's big race at Pimlico.

So, here’s a few things you should know if you’re heading to Pimlico for the 138^th Preakness Stakes Saturday — as well as some things you may not need to know — but we thought were interesting.

The Race:

Kentucky Derby winner Orb, co-owned by Baltimore County’s Stuart Janney III, is considered the top horse in the race and likely will go off as an even-money favorite. However, Orb drew the post position — unlike in auto racing — not the best place to start.

Rosie Napravnik, 25, who launched her riding career in Maryland, will become the third woman to compete in the Preakness, sitting atop Mylute, currently listed at 5-1 odds. Julie Krone, with a victory at the 1993 Belmont Stakes, is the only female jockey to win a Triple Crown race.

Kevin Krigger, 29, will ride Goldencents, at 8-1 odds Friday morning, hoping to become the first African-American jockey since 1898 to capture the Preakness. Goldencents is trained by Doug O’Neil, who trained I’ll Have Another, the 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner.

Departing, who has won four of five career races, at 6-1 odds, and Itsmyluckyday, who has won five of 11 career races, at 10-1, are the other horses among the nine entered, listed at 10-1 odds or better.

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has three horses in the race: Will Take Charge (12-1), Oxbow (15-1) and long shot Titletown Five (30-1).

The full line-up can be found here.

The History

Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness Stakes, launched its first race in 1870 and is the second-oldest track in the U.S. after Saratoga. Legendary horses such as Man O’War, Seabiscuit, Citation and Secretariat have competed here.

The area called Pimlico got its name from English settlers, although the original spelling appeared as “Pemlicoe” in the first charter settlement, according to a history at Preakness.com.

The Preakness Stakes took its name in honor of the colt Preakness, who won on the day Pimlico opened on Oct. 25, 1870.

Forty years ago this month, Secretariat nailed down the second leg in his famous Triple Crown run at Pimlico. Starting slowly, in the back of the pack, Secretariat roared into first place in likely the greatest 200-yard burst of speed in horse racing history. Not initially awarded the course record at the 1973 Preakness because of a clock malfunction, Secretariat did receive recognition for setting the mark last year — 39 years later — following a video analysis of the race.

The Skinny

Can I still get tickets? Yes, online here — or by phone at 410-542-9400. Seats, standing room only and infield tickets remain available.

Gates open: 8 a.m.

Don’t: Bring outside beverages, backpacks, duffel bags or coolers.

Do: Bring beach blankets, lightweight chairs and lunch (for infielders).

Live music: All day on two stages. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis take the main stage at 1:15 p.m., followed by Pitbull at 3:45.

Preakness Stakes race time: 6:20 p.m.

Great Moments in Preakness History

Amy Mulvihill — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:16 +0000

We revisit some of the best Preakness races.

UPDATED 5/17/13: Last year, I wrote a blog curating some of the best moments in televised Preakness history. While we all wait with baited breath to see if the locally owned Derby champ Orb can join the hallowed ranks of Secretariat and Native Dancer, we thought it would be fun to revisit the post. Feel free to leave your own favorite Preakness memories in the comments below! Please also note that two of the videos I posted last year (the Native Dancer and Seattle Slew ones, to be precise) have since had their embedding disabled. Both videos can still be watched on YouTube however and a link will take you there when you click on them. Sorry for the inconvenience. -Amy Mulvihill

I rode horses growing up, so the Triple Crown was a big deal to me. Generally indifferent to sporting events, the three-part series—the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes—was my Superbowl, World Series, and Stanley Cup all rolled into one. My best friend and fellow horse nut lived across the street from me and, every year, we would gather around her TV or mine to watch the races.

The Derby is generally considered the most prestigious of the three races, but the Preakness is where champions emerge. Any horse can have a lucky race and come away with with a win at the Derby, indeed their have been many random, one-hit wonder Derby winners over the years. But to win again, under such intense scrutiny, only two weeks later, that's when you can begin to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.

With that in mind, I spent this morning combing YouTube for what I think are the greatest Preakness races in its 139 year history. And, of course, watch tomorrow to see what new history is made.

Let's start with a local winner, Sagamore Farm's Native Dancer. Known as the Grey Ghost of Sagamore Farm, this Glyndon-trained colt won every race he ever entered except one. Unfortunately, that one was the Kentucky Derby, robbing him of a Triple Crown victory in 1953. The Preakness was his chance at redemption, and he seized the moment. After that racing season, Native Dancer retired to Sagamore Farm and became one the sport's best sires. To this day he is one of only 11 Maryland-bred colts to win a Triple Crown race. (The video below is an overview of Native Dancer's career, featuring snippets from the Preakness.)

Jumping ahead two decades, here's Secretariat's Preakness, which is incredible. Notoriously bad out of the gate, "Big Red" is last going into the first turn. And then, suddenly, he's not. Secretariat's jockey, Ronnie Turcotte, doesn't use the whip once. He didn't need it. Even without it, Secretariat was pulling away from second place Sham at the end. Poor, overshadowed Sham. It's important to note that, in any other year, the Triple Crown might have been Sham's, but he had the bad fortune to run against Secretariat, who was just that much better than everyone else. In fact, Secretariat broke the race's record that day but because of a malfunctioning timer was only officially awarded the record last year after advances in technology allowed race officials to determine an accurate time. An interesting article on the long-simmering racing controversy can be found here. (Sorry about the cheesy "inspirational" music playing in the video's background. The clean version wouldn't allow me to embed.)

The '70s saw two more Triple Crown winners, Seattle Slew and Affirmed, who won in 1977 and 1978, respectively. Seattle Slew, was trained as a two-year-old at Andor Farm in Monkton and remains the only horse to win the series with an undeafeated record. Affirmed, the most-recent Triple Crown winner, was known for his rivalry with Alydar, whom he manages to hold off in a thrilling stretch run seen below.

Now we're into my lifetime and a race I vividly remember. Racing afficianos and media types had all but given the 1989 Triple Crown to Easy Goer, a large, chestnut colt who had raced sensationally as a two-year-old. But Easy Goer lost the Derby to Sunday Silence, a black colt with a white blaze from undistinguished stock. Easy Goer's loss was attributed to the sloppy, wet track at Churchill Downs that Derby day, and many expected him to reassert his dominance at the Preakness. But Sunday Silence was a fighter. He might not have had the flashy bloodlines that Easy Goer did, but he had grit.

Finally, here's another nail-biting stretch battle won by Curlin in 2007, which saw the colt tying the track’s then-official record set by Tank's Prospect in 1985 and Louis Quatorze in 1996. Of course, last year’s revision of Secretariat’s Preakness time means that Curlin is now in a three-way tie for second-fastest Preakness ever.

Oriole Bird among America's favorite mascots

Jess Blumberg — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:47:29 +0000

According to Forbes, the Oriole Bird is one of the 10 most popular mascots in the country.

We've always loved the Oriole Bird—whether he's pretending to chew your hat off or dressing up as an old man for Father's Day—though we admit we're a little biased. But, according to Forbes magazine, a new study found that our hometown mascot is among the 10 most popular in the country.

The Marketing Arm's Davie Brown Index, which is based on a survey of public perception of celebrities, measured mascots' popularity based on: awareness, likeability, attention-getting, photo-friendliness, interaction, and fun. Fans were asked if a mascot happened to be an "absolute favorite" or "one of my favorites."

The Oriole Bird was a newbie on the list and rated as both "trendy" and "traditional." The survey says "the Bird's buzz shot up last year with the Orioles ascent to the playoffs." The Bird appears among old stand-bys like the Phillie Phanatic and San Diego Chicken.

Hot O’s Begin Eight-Game Homestand

Ron Cassie — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:35:06 +0000

The first-place New York Yankees come to Baltimore early next week.

The Orioles, winners of seven of their last 10 games while taking recent road series against the Angels, Royals and Twins, return to Camden Yards tonight for an eight-game homestand.

First up, the San Diego Padres for two games. Then, division rival Tampa Bay for three weekend games.

And finally, the first-place New York Yankees — a game ahead of the O’s at the moment in the American League East — for three games early next week. Is it too soon to call a three-game match-up against the Yankees a big series? Sure. So what. If the O’s continue to play well against Padres and Rays, the Yankee series should make for some early season fun.

At the moment, however, the problem for Orioles isn’t the Yankees, but their own starting pitching. Lefty Wei-Yin Chen had to leave Sunday’s win over the Twins with a strained oblique. Overall, the starting rotation, while generally keeping the O’s in ballgames through five and six innings, isn’t going deep into ballgames.

So far, the O’s have ridden their strong bullpen and a resilient offense, led by Chris Davis, Adam Jones and 20-year-old Manny Machado for most of the year, to a 23-15 record. It'd be nice to get the rotation rolling as well.

Tonight the hope is Chris Tillman (3-1, 3.76 ERA), pitching well in his last three starts, will give the rotation a lift against San Diego Padres. Start time is 7:05 p.m., folks.

Wednesday, by the way, with temperatures expected to reach into the 80s, might be a good day to skip work for the afternoon — the first pitch is scheduled for 12:35 p.m.

O's Win 4th Straight; Tied for First on Wednesday

Ron Cassie — Thu, 09 May 2013 05:47:47 +0000

Surging Orioles look to sweep Royals at Camden Yards Thursday night.

For the first time this season, the Orioles have put together a four-game winning streak, moving to 21-13 on the year with their win over Kansas City last night. More good news?

With the Minnesota Twins knocking off the Boston Red Sox, the surging O's have also moved into a tie for first place in the American League East.

J.J. Hardy homered Wednesday — for the third time in four games — and Manny Machado continued to deliver in the clutch, driving in a run, to lead the Orioles to a 5-3 win. Chris Tillman won his third game of the early season and closer Jim Johnson picked up his 13th save.

As Johnson told reporters after the game, the O's have picked right up where they left off last season when they reached the playoffs for the first time in 15 seasons.

"I feel like we really haven't lost a step from where we finished [in 2012] or how we finished last year," Johnson, who notched his 34th regular season save in a row to match Randy Myers (1997) for the club record, told MLB.com. "But I think ... guys are really starting to get a good feel for what's going on and what's expected of them. All 25 are going in the same direction."

Tonight, the Orioles put Freddy Garcia, who pitched well in his last start, on the hill as they look for a series sweep against Kansas City. The Royals will trot out former O's starter Jeremy Guthrie.

Good seats remain available last time we checked.

Let's go, O's!

City Schools Chief Alonso Stepping Down

Ron Cassie — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:12:22 +0000

Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Andrés Alonso is leaving at the end of the school year.

Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Andrés Alonso will be leaving at the end of the school year, officials confirmed today.

Alonso steps down after leading the city school system for six years. Chief of staff Tisha Edwards will serve as an interim CEO through the next school year while the Baltimore City School Board searches for a permanent successor, according to reporting Monday morning in The Washington Post.

Schools spokeswoman Edie House-Foster confirmed Alonso’s departure. School officials said Alonso is leaving to return to New Jersey, take care of his aging parents, and accept a professorship at Harvard University.

NFL Draft: Ravens Take Florida Safety; Dunbar's Austin Goes in First Round

Ron Cassie — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:35:56 +0000

Ravens pass on controversial Notre Dame linebacker, shore up secondary instead.

With the departure of two beloved future Hall of Famers from their defense — linebacker Ray Lewis to retirement, safety Ed Reed to the Houston Texans — the Ravens had holes to fill at both positions during the first round of last night's NFL Draft.

With the final selection of the first round, the Ravens ultimately skipped on controversial Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and instead took versatile, hard-hitting Florida safety Matt Elam. In reality, recently acquired safety Michael Huff, who the Ravens signed from Oakland, will take over Reed's spot at free safey and Elam will compete to replace Bernard Pollard (who the Ravens let go after the Super Bowl win) at strong safety, but the bottom line is the Ravens decided to shore up their secondary.

The other big Baltimore draft news last night was the selection of former Dunbar star Tavon Austin, by way of West Virginia University, by the St. Louis Rams with the eighth overall selection.

Considered the most dynamic offensive threat in the draft, the 5-8, 172-pound Austin, who posted a 4.34 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine, accounted for 2,910 all-purpose yards last season — the fourth most in NCAA history.

Austin set a number of Maryland state records while at Dundbar, including most points scored in a career (790), most touchdowns scored (123), and most rushing yards in a career (7,460).

Coincidentally, Elam will likely have to cover Austin on the field this season — albeit in a preseason game — Aug. 29, when the Ravens travel to St. Louis.

A Tip of the Hat

Max Weiss — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:30:00 +0000

Boston magazine's May cover is a stunner

Wow. This cover from our friends over at Boston magazine really took our breath away.

Bravo to the entire art and editorial team at Boston for pulling this together at the eleventh hour, as well for all your excellence coverage of the Marathon bombing during these trying two weeks.

You make us proud to be in the city regional magazine business.

10 Baltimore County Schools Make ‘Best High Schools’ List

Ron Cassie — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:31:50 +0000

U.S. News & World Report releases its annual rankings of top public high schools.

The top six public high schools in the state, according to the recently released, annual U.S. News & World Report rankings, are all from Montgomery County. However, 10 Baltimore County Public Schools also made the “Best High Schools” list of the top public high schools in Maryland.

Towson’s George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology (above photo) was top-ranked Baltimore County Public School, ranked No. 9 within Maryland and No. 242 overall in the U.S. Among other Baltimore County schools, Towson High School was ranked No. 12 in the state and No. 268 nationally, while Eastern Technical High School, in Essex, was ranked No. 13 in the state and No. 272 nationally. Dulaney High School, in Timonium, was ranked No. 17 in the state and No. 368 nationally. Hereford High School in Parkton was ranked No. 21 in Maryland and No. 268 nationally.

Winston Churchill High School in Potomac was the top ranked Maryland school and came in at No. 52 nationally.

River Hill High School, ranked No. 7 in Maryland, was the top-ranked Howard County school, followed by Centennial High School at No. 14. Severna Park High School, ranked No. 8 in the state, was the top-ranked Anne Arundel school, followed by Broadneck High School at No. 11.

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Baltimore School For The Arts, Western High School and City College High School, ranked No. 38, No., 40, No. 41 and No. 54, respectively, were the top-ranked Baltimore City Public Schools in the state.

The categories used in ranking the schools included the student-teacher ratio, college readiness (measured by the number of students taking and passing Advanced Placement exams), Algebra proficiency and Math profiency.

The entire list — and more information on each of Maryland’s ranked high schools and their scores — can be found here.

Overall, the U.S. News & World Report reviewed more than 21,000 public high schools in the U.S., with 64 Maryland schools making its rankings.

We Probably Won't Turn This Into a "Look at the Cute Animal!" Blog

Max Weiss — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:04:56 +0000

But Meet Max

Seriously, will you look at this cute animal?!?

It's . . .clutching a teddy bear of some sort and playing peek-a-boo. It's like a perfect storm of cuteness.

We mentioned to Maryland Zoo PR director Jane Ballentine that maybe if she sent us pictures of newborn animals we might post them sometimes. We never expected to post two in a row. But you know what they say about the best laid plans.

Anyway, in case you were wondering, this is Max, a newborn Coqueral's sifaka, which is in the lemur family.

And here is Max—no big whoop—just being snuggled and kissed by his mom.

Okay we're done (for now).

But we MAKE NO PROMISES!!!