Preakness Race Later Today

The Preakness, which is the second leg (or is it jewel) of horse racing's Triple Crown for three-year-old thoroughbreds, will take place later today at the Pimlico race track in Baltimore, Maryland.  I suppose this means that during the pre-race show on NBC/Sports from 2:30 to 5 pm we're going to go through more of the same cuisine/fashion/alcohol promotions...this time for the state of Maryland instead of for Kentucky two weeks ago before that leg (or jewel).  Of course, we don't have to watch any of that stuff, do we?  The race, to be broadcast on NBC, is scheduled to begin at 6:48 pm, giving everybody (at least in the eastern U.S.) a chance to fill up their afternoons with more constructive and enjoyable endeavors...

Justify, the Kentucky Derby favorite and winner of that twenty-horse race, is the heavy favorite in the eight-horse field for the Preakness.  Second place Derby finisher Good Magic is the clear second favorite for this event.  The rest of the field are either longshots who finished back in the pack two weeks ago or horses that didn't participate in that race.  The Preakness is the shortest of the Triple Crown races, not a problem for Justify, which ran strong at the head of the pack throughout the Kentucky Derby.  For all the hoopla that goes on with these races, the event itself is very short...one inopportune bathroom break and you've missed it...

I don't gamble, but in observing horse racing it's interesting to see how many people are hooked on it...I know someone who by his addiction to this insidious activity trained me from childhood in a reverse sort of way to avoid it, and I am much the happier today for that.  Still, it costs nothing to pick out a horse and root for it.  For today's 2018 Preakness I'm going for Justify in order to set up the possibility of a Triple Crown showdown at the upcoming Belmont Stakes, the final leg/jewel...