Preakness coverage: Bob Baffert-trained National Treasure wins the 148th Preakness Stakes

As politicians mingled and wooed donors and business executives at the 148th Preakness Stakes on Saturday, they once again considered how to keep the thoroughbred horse racing industry in the state alive.

DJ Zack Bia took the stage at 3:35 p.m. to a larger audience and sunnier day. He played a mixture of pop, EDM and rap songs for a noticeably more intoxicated crowd.

The popular “Play Hard” track by David Guetta hyped the fans, but the real highlight came immediately after. Once Bia dropped Lil Uzi Vert’s ear-catching “Just Wanna Rock” single, attendees of all ages were inspired to take the infield for a dance. Full families and college kids alike did their best to do the popular social media dance, bringing smiles to everyone watching.

Toward the front of the crowd, a small mosh pit started. Attendees jumped and danced as Bia let classics from the 2010s such as Sheck Wes’ “Mo Bamba” and Kendrick Lamar’s “m.A.A.d city” ring through the speakers.

Bia then teased the fans with a preview of a Bruno Mars song. He played about a minute-long snippet of Mars’ 2010 smash single “Billionaire” as they impatiently awaited the singer’s performance.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s historic Triple Crown in 1973, and he still holds the track record in the Preakness Stakes.

To commemorate the occasion, Pimlico is hosting a Secretariat exhibit from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on the colt’s sweep of America’s top series for 3-year-olds. Outside the clubhouse entrance stands a sculpture of the horse mid-stride.

On the first floor of the grandstand Saturday afternoon was Brendon Sullivan, 41, standing with a replica of a WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt strung across his shoulder.

“Drunk people either love it or they want to fight you,” he said. But for the most part the Preakness crowd has been nice.

Already Saturday, he and girlfriend Amber Vaillancourt, 36, had done about a dozen photo ops. People want to take pictures with the belt to send to their grandkids or to post on social media, they said.

The staff loves it, too, they said. When people ask if the belt is real, Sullivan tells them his wrestling name is “Brady Hammers” and Vaillancourt sometimes pretends she’s his manager. But really he bought it online for around $400.

There’s no reason you can’t love both wrestling and horse racing, they said. Today is Sullivan’s “Triple Crown,” he said. He’s already been to the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, and this is his first Preakness.

At their first Preakness, best friends Majorie Harris and Carla Carroll had already made a successful bet. Saturday afternoon, as Ryvit raced to first place in the The Chick Lang Stakes, the two cheered and high-fived one another. They’d randomly bet on the horse last minute and pocketed about $64. How did Harris make the choice?

“I have no idea,” Harris said. “Maybe it’s the spiritual connection I have with animals.”

The two had started riding horses at 6 and 7 years old. Horses are gentle creatures, Harris says, and she loves them. They are obedient and fiercely loyal and magnificent. When you get to know a horse, they said, there is an immediate connection.

The friends now have a dream: to own their own stable one day for former racehorses, to keep them safe and give them a great life after they retire.

The two stood on the first floor of the grandstand, dolled up with a floral theme. They each named their outfits— flowers everywhere for Harris, spring and bloom for Carroll. Harris wore a dress with a flower pattern in light pink and purple, with big white peonies on her hair to honor her grandfather. Carroll wore a pink and black dress and a hat with what looked like carnations.

The bets have been placed and the preparations are over. It’s time to take to the track. Here are scenes from all the horse racing at Pimlico during the 148th Preakness Stakes.

Fans filled Pimlico, facing chances of rain, to take in the sights at the running of the 148th Preakness Stakes.

Havnameltdown, favored in the Chick Lang Stakes on Preakness day, was euthanized after throwing jockey Luis Saez and suffering an injury on the far turn in the sixth race on Saturday.

Saez, a leading jockey in the U.S., was strapped to a backboard and taken away via ambulance to a local hospital. He was conscious and complaining of leg pain, according to Pimlico officials.

Men and women alike dressed the part with fancy hats and dapper attire at The Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

The muted baby pink suit, matching cap and floral tie were custom made for a horse race in England, Steven Hettinger said.

He had initially envisioned a bright red suit as a nod to his alma mater, the Ohio State University. But thinking the end result was too much, he opted for something a bit more discreet. He is glad he did.

“I got a lot of compliments,” he said, adding that one person said he was the best-dressed person of the race in England.

No compliment could top that, besides maybe being the best dressed in the Oscars, he said.

All it took was one race back in college and he was hooked. He has traveled the world chasing the sport, attending races in Hong Kong, Singapore, Ireland and Australia. Baltimore, though, is a special place— he has been traveling to Pimlico since 1989 to watch Preakness. It has become an annual trip where he stays in the Timonium area and comes to the track.

“I love coming to Baltimore,” he said.

Sometimes he is lucky, Hettinger said.

“He makes more money out of this than at his actual job,” joked a man next to him, who has known Hettinger and come to the race with him for years.

DJ Quicksilva took the stage and immediately captured the eyes and ears of attendees. More gathered to surround the stage immediately once he began his mix.

Quicksilva shouted out the Orioles and Ravens, causing the crowd to erupt with cheers. He followed that up by mentioning people celebrating their birthday today and played 50 Cent’s “In da Club,” drawing more applause from the crowd.

Fan favorite singles from the 2000s, such as Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” and Usher’s “Yeah!”, gave attendees even more lively music to dance to. The hometown DJ is the perfect boost of energy that Preakness LIVE needed.

London DJ Martin 2 Smoove has been spinning since 10:30 a.m. to a relatively calm crowd. Pink, orange and green lights highlight the stage as crew members still set it up.

Fans are scattered in front of the stage nodding their heads to Smoove’s mix of songs including tracks from Doja Cat, The Weeknd, Beyoncé and more.

Retro basketball jerseys and short sleeve button-ups are the popular look for the men in the crowd, while dresses, rompers and jeans are preferred by the women on this cloudy day.

Dante Bucci, a Philadelphia native, traveled two hours for the second year in a row just to see the musical performances. This year’s headliner is pop star Bruno Mars.

“It was a great time last year and I’m looking forward to this year even more, especially getting the chance to see Bruno,” he said.

Trainer Kenny McPeek is busy this Preakness weekend. Between Friday and Saturday’s races, he has seven horses competing, one of which, Rattle N Roll, won the Grade 3 Pimlico Special on Friday.

McPeek has been in horse racing for the past 38 years and has built a sprawling business that encompasses training, breeding, purchasing, and even a racing news app called Horse Races Now. He also has deep ties to Pimlico, where he worked his first Preakness in the late 1980s.

In 2020, his filly Swiss Skydancer battled Kentucky Derby winner Authentic down the stretch during the Preakness Stakes, winning by a neck. The three Triple Crown races were run out of order that year due to the pandemic.

Her time of 1:53.28 is the second fastest in the race’s history, behind only 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat. She’s one of only six fillies to win Preakness.

As the horses started to pile into the paddock in preparation for the third race of the day, McPeek had to run: There was too much to do. He pointed to a tall, brown horse making his way into a stall.

“That’s one of my horses,” he said as he turned to leave.

The sun is peeking out through the clouds, the cars are filing into the grassy lots outside of Pimlico Race Course in North Baltimore and the big hats are going on. It’s Preakness day in Baltimore.

The second leg of the Triple Crown wasn’t for hours and the Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness favorite Mage was relaxing in the barn. But the die-hards were beginning to trickle into the grandstands.

A rumor that Kentucky Derby winner Mage might be in doubt for the Preakness Stakes was persistent enough that his owner took to Twitter to comment.

Ramiro Restrepo, one of Mage’s owners, said that Mage bumped his forehead in his stall on Thursday and received veterinary care, but will be ready to come out of the gates Saturday. Restrepo called the wound “superficial” and said his training wasn’t interrupted.

Calmly sitting in her guest services booth the morning of Preakness, JoAnn Litsinger isn’t too worried about today. She’s a 45-year veteran of Maryland horse racing.

When she was 16, she started selling hot dogs and sodas at Bowie Race Track in 1977. She even married a jockey. And now, Litsinger works year-round in the racing industry helping bettors withdraw cash and place wagers online.

“I’ve been here for so long that I’m used to the craziness,” Litsinger said.

Plus, she added, things have significantly died down since the track banned attendees bringing their own alcohol.

“It’ll be a good time,” she concluded.

Around 9 a.m. the morning of Preakness, three bespectacled men shuffle into Pimlico.

Horace Liles, Sam Newman and John Taylor do this every year. For several decades now, the men have been making the same trip from North Carolina to Baltimore in hopes of winning big.

Liles has been coming for the longest — totaling 50 years at the Preakness (“Every year except for COVID,” he clarified.)

His first was in 1974. Liles was 24 years old and had to sardine into a small motel room with four other friends. After his first decade, he invited Newman to join. Then, 10 years later, Taylor finally got his invite.

“He’s a rookie,” Liles joked.

They were all co-workers, and have since retired, but their annual trip continues. There used to be five of them: One has since passed and the other is physically unable to make the journey.

So today, they’ll each have a drink in their honor — toasting to a lucky race day, but also knowing there is always next year.

Every year since 2015, there is a special fan on the sidelines at Preakness. Dr. Kelly Ryan doesn’t pick a horse. She’s there for the jockeys.

Ryan, a MedStar Health sports medicine doctor, leads a medical team at Pimlico Race Course that provides emergency and routine care for those who ride and care for the horses.

One of the top contenders in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, First Mission, was scratched Friday morning, leaving Maryland’s prestigious Triple Crown race with a field of just seven horses.

It first appeared that Mage’s job of defending his Triple Crown chances wouldn’t be getting any easier at Preakness, but some twists in the plan have knocked out strong contenders and left Mage as the only Derby runner to wheel back.

This will be the first year since 2018 that the Kentucky Derby winner has a chance to win Preakness and head to Belmont with a shot at the Triple Crown.

There are more businesses are owned and operated by merchants in the Pimlico and Park Heights business corridor surrounding Pimlico Race Course. They share a desire to offer their products and services to the many thousands of people who come to their community for the Preakness.

A letter to Gov. Wes Moore on how to bring the state together with a song

Maryland's hopes for the first state-bred champion since 1983 rest on Coffeewithchris, born in Woodbine and trained in Laurel. The long shot also represents a chance for the Salzman family to have a moment in the spotlight amid a business that is shifting around them.

Organizers of the Preakness Stakes are trying to make the event more welcoming to Baltimore’s Black residents, including in nearby neighborhoods.

Jockey Willie Simms, having won the Kentucky Derby twice and the Belmont Stakes twice in the 1890s, capped off his Hall of Fame career by winning the Preakness aboard Sly Fox in 1898. He remains the only Black jockey over his career to have won all three races that make up what for decades has been recognized as the Triple Crown of U.S. horse racing.

Last year, having headliners Megan Thee Stallion and Lauryn Hill made it seem like organizers were trying to build a connection with Black Baltimoreans. Pop juggernaut Bruno Mars and electronic dance music duo Sofi Tukker as next weekend’s stars feels like an intentional shift.