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From the Backstretch

It oughta be an Excellent race

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Posted: Friday May 14, 1999 02:23 PM

Horse play: Excellent Meeting stretches her legs at Pimlico. AP

By Mark Beech, Sports Illustrated

BALTIMORE -- With the dingy confines of historic Pimlico Race Course as the backdrop, Preakness Week casually entered the home stretch Thursday, moving inexorably towards post time on Saturday afternoon. Casual is the way most things happen at Old Hilltop, in stark contrast to the frenzied hoopla that engulfs Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby Week. As important a race as the Preakness is, the pace of the week that precedes it fits perfectly with the character of the track: There isn't the slightest hint of pretense.

That's probably because there isn't room for it. Start with the grounds themselves, which can best be compared to old urban ballparks that were built to fit into the city that surrounded them. Pimlico, which occupies the highest point in the city of Baltimore, rises abruptly from a sprawling asphalt parking lot nestled not-so-comfortably in the blue-collar neighborhood of Park Heights. Viewed from behind, the dingy, yellow, metal shell of the grandstand looks more like it houses a factory than one of the most prestigious racing centers in the United States. The stakes barn, where the Preakness runners stay, sits about 100 yards behind the grandstand. Like almost every barn on the Pimlico backside, it's wedged in between chain-link fences, manure pits, parking lots and row upon row of television trucks.

Perhaps the charmless nature of the stable area is what makes the view from Pimlico's clubhouse so consistently appealing. At no other Triple Crown race are the stands so close to the action. From inside, the clubhouse appears to literally hang over the first of Pimlico's infamously tight turns. Beyond the backstretch, the view is a dead ringer for the New York borough of Queens, with trees and tightly bunched row houses running the length of the straight and back to the horizon.

Pimlico may be quaint, grimy and cramped, but there is no denying the thrilling history that fills the place. In one form or another, there has been racing here since 1870. And in 123 runnings, the Preakness has seen plenty of historic moments, from Real Quiet 's convincing win last year, to Sunday Silence 's length-of-a-nose victory after a thrilling duel through the stretch with Easy Goer in 1989, to Secretariat 's awesome sprint from last to the lead around the first turn in 1973 -- the greatest move ever made by a racehorse.

Here's hoping Saturday's race provides some more memorable moments.

NOTES FROM THE BACKSIDE