Today’s sports landscape is defined by the NFL, NBA and MLB as the athletes and the sports they play are well known by most Americans. There is one sport with a rich history that is older than all of them and that is horse racing. For 139 years, the second leg of the horse racing Triple Crown, the Preakness, has been held in Baltimore, and this is something that every Baltimorean should take pride in.
It is almost a “rite of passage” as a Marylander to attend a Preakness. For years 100,000+ fans would descend on the infield for an all-day party. I personally have always been a fan of all-day parties and attended three consecutive Preakness races myself – the Preakness infield will be something I will always remember. It is certainly no secret what used to go on in the infield and that things got out of control enough for the Preakness to ban bringing your own beer in to the infield. While I will admit things did get a bit out of hand, the infield was part of what made the Preakness a great event.
For decades, horse racing was immensely popular, even more so than the NFL, NBA and MLB. Certainly any city would love to host one of the three Triple Crown races. By no means am I saying that I like horse racing as much as the other sports or that it will ever be included in the conversation as one of the “big three” sports, but I am saying that having Baltimore host one of the three legs each year is really something special.
Living in the area my whole life, I know what it is like to be a Baltimorean. We know what makes our city “Charm City.” We have pride in the athletes and events that represent our city and we let everyone know it.
This Saturday, the eyes of the sporting world will not be on New York, Los Angeles, Boston or Miami. They will be on a race track in Baltimore as they have been on the third Saturday of May for more than a century.
Millions of people have seen the Ravens hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy twice and they have seen the likes of Ray Lewis, Cal Ripken and Johnny Unitas take the field in Baltimore. Those moments and players have come and gone, however Preakness has always been a Baltimore staple. Every year, for at least one day, Baltimore is the center of the sporting world and we need to realize how special that is.
There has not been a Triple Crown winner since 1979. Even if Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome fails to win the Preakness, it will be “Charm City” that will be the winner, as we are year in and year out when the Preakness is held.
Where will you be on Saturday? I know where the eyes and ears of the sporting world will be – the greatest city in America. OUR CITY. It truly will be a special day in Baltimore, as it always is.
