To be sure, it?s a happening. Last year, more than 118,000 people jammed Old Hilltop to watch Barbaro?s ill-fated attempt to repeat his Kentucky Derby success. Barbaro captured the hearts and headlines of the nation, much like the story of Seabiscuit who symbolized hope in times of strife during the Great Depression. Many believed Barbaro would become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Triple Crown.

Instead millions watched in agony as Barbaro broke his leg. For several months fans followed every medical update and waited for a miracle. Each day that he lived was a miracle in itself. But after a valiant eight-month battle Barbaro was euthanized. Today, Barbaro will be remembered as a champion, as America tunes into the pageantry, excitement and color of the Preakness.

No sporting event in Baltimore draws more people. Heck, no single event in Baltimore draws more people.

And that?s just the race. Preakness Week, as it?s called in Baltimore, is flooded with tourist-friendly events that draw thousands ? the Preakness Parade, the Balloon Fest, the Frog Hop at City Hall, the Lexington Market crab race. The list goes on. This is Baltimore?s big event.

But the sad state of horse racing in Maryland has many people thinking the Preakness could go the way of the Colts. Same Preakness, different city. The slots issue has yet to be resolved in the Maryland General Assembly, and with stiff competition from Delaware, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, the future of Maryland racing ? and the Preakness and Pimlico ? is in question.

“I have seen quite a few changes, and yet the more things change, the more they stay the same,” said Pimlico?s historical consultant and longtime racing writer Joe Kelly, 89, recalling a 1958 state Senate proposal to shut down Pimlico and merge its racing with Laurel. That bill was defeated by one vote. “The first winner of the Preakness was named Survivor, and that has been prophetic.”

Maryland Jockey Club Chief Operating Officer Lou Raffetto ? and officials at Magna Entertainment Corp., the controlling interest of the MJC ? have stated publicly that the Preakness Stakes belongs in Baltimore.

But the biggest problem for the Preakness are losses that Pimlico and Laurel suffer the rest of the year by not having slots. Even without slots legislation this past General Assembly session, Raffetto remains optimistic.

“We are hopeful it will get done and that we haven?t fallen too far behind our neighboring states in both slots and purse money,” he said.

The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development has estimated the total value of equine assets in Maryland to be more than $5 billion. There are more than 87,000 horses in the state at a value of $680 million, and 20,000 jobs are generated directly by the racing industry. That would be a huge loss if Pimlico were to fail.

In the late 1950s when there was a legislative battle to move racing from Pimlico to Laurel, private citizens were taking out full-page ads in local newspapers to rally support for Pimlico. Will that be necessary for the Preakness?

PREAKNESS FUN IS A SURE BET

For 19 years, the city of Baltimore has successfully partnered with Preakness Celebration Inc., an organization that plans and pulls off the biggest party of the year for Baltimore.

“The month of May in Baltimore means Preakness,” Mayor Sheila Dixon said. The celebration officially starts in April, giving it a healthy chance to permeate through Baltimore and its neighborhoods. From charity 5K runs to free concerts at Belvedere Square and Power Plant Live to the Balloon Fest, “it?s about attracting different people and making it a bigger event,” said Ron Broderick, the Preakness Balloon Fest Organizer. The balloons have been an official part of the Preakness Celebration since it was incorporated in 1988.

“They get 118,000 people [for the Preakness], so maybe they don?t need all this,” Broderick said. “But it has become a community event, and the term is right ? it is a celebration.”

Still, the biggest spectacle about the Preakness is the early-arriving crowd that jams Pimlico on race day ? from the grandstand to the infield.

Nancy Frenkil has been involved in the horse-racing industry for much of her life, and she and her husband, Victor, have been bringing a group of about 30 fans to the race every year. “The Preakness is important to everybody in the industry because it?s on national TV and shows how important Pimlico is to Baltimore and Maryland,” she said. Frenkil and her friends enjoy the race every year with seats in the grandstand, a safe distance from the Pimlico infield and its wild-and-crazy party atmosphere.

“I?m not sure a lot of them even know horses are there,” Frenkil said.

Opening the infield in the 1960s was the brainchild of former Pimlico General Manager Chick Lang. At first, Lang said, he fought resistance from the Cohen family, who owned the track.

“I really had to work on it,” Lang said. “I got my daughter and all the kids in the family to invite everybody they knew, and we gave them the infield tickets. Now they sell for nearly $60.”

It would be impossible to imagine the Preakness without the 60,000plus spectators watching from the track?s interior.

In the first few years, Pimlico hosted early-morning lacrosse games in the infield between local college teams and clubs such as Mount Washington. The crowd grew, and so did the party. “It has helped tremendously,” said Karin DeFrancis, who is the vice president of Maryland Jockey Club, which hosts the Preakness. “It is absolutely a party atmosphere.”

“I call it the coolest adult picnic you will ever go to,” said Mickey Cucchiella, a member of the Mickey, Amelia and Spiegel Show on 98 Rock ? another Baltimore fixture that?s part of the infield party. “You have thePreakness, but then you have the infield party. It?s almost like two separate events at the same location.”

The future of the Preakness and Pimlico is muddled at best. But for now, the Preakness is still in Baltimore, and it is as strong as ever. At 8 a.m. Saturday, the gates opened, and thousands began yet another race-day celebration, and another chapter in the history of the Preakness will be written.

Just how long that history will last is anybody?s bet.

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