Tommorow is The Preakness, which is one of the biggest sports days in Maryland. It is probably the only time that Maryland's horseracing industry looks healthy and alive. Very little attention seems to be paid to racing the rest of the year, but the area sure gets hyped for this weekend. I like watching horseracing, but its a hard sport to follow. The viewing opportunities for a casual fan are limited to the big events, and there isn't much reported on the sport in the news.
Preakness is my favorite race to watch though, and not just because I'm a Marylander. The Kentucky Derby is great, but The Preakness creates more drama. It doesn't matter who wins the Derby. Its a huge field every year, and there are multiple horses with a realistic shot of taking the roses. The horse that does come out ahead though is automatically a hero. They will go down in history as a great horse after winning that race, no matter what else they do.
Preakness gives that horse a chance to become a legend. Especially nowadays when it has been so long since a Triple Crown winner.
I think most people would love to see a horse win the Triple Crown. People want another great horse to come along and become a legend. So Preakness is more exciting to me than the Derby because it gives the crowd a favorite to root for.
Belmont to me will become more exciting only if there is a horse that has won the first two races of the Triple Crown. At that point it becomes potentially more dramatic than The Preakness, but that doesn't happen every year. Each and every Preakness there is a Triple Crown candidate that has already been identified. Following that horse through the track is a great thrill, and there is always a lot of excitement for horse racing built when their is a potential Triple Crown winner going into Belmont. Thats what makes Preakness uniqe and exciting to me. Hopefully 2007's race provides another exciting finish on Maryland's most important day of racing.
