Horse racing: No joke, interesting Preakness takes shape

"The Derby is a race for horses of royal breeding and sleekness: Getting ready to run in the Preakness." That's how Ogden Nash, the Bard of Baltimore and an avid horseplayer, referred to the first two Triple Crown events more than 70 years ago.

Nash made a national reputation as the master of comic and putdown through ditty and doggerel but somehow, Preakness lovers took it as the ultimate compliment. There was a measure of truth, however chauvinistic, in the little two-liner. And it's still appropriate as we study the prospects for the 131st Preakness next Saturday with an expected field of about 12.

Giacomo's Kentucky Derby...