It didn’t matter who rode Lookin At Lucky. The colt owned the stretch.
Lookin at Lucky blew past Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver at the top of the stretch before repelling three rivals in the final yards to win the 135th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on Saturday.
It was redemption for the Derby favorite who finished sixth in Louisville after a terrible trip when he was blocked twice. This time, Lookin for Lucky stayed well off the early leaders that set a blistering opening half mile pace. Jockey Martin Garcia, riding in his first Preakness, perfectly waited until the final turn before moving Lookin At Lucky. In just his first race aboard the colt after predecessor Garrett Gomez was fired for a poor Derby ride, Garcia hustled Lookin At Lucky from four wide — and in fifth place overall on the turn — to first entering the stretch.
“[Garcia] rode a perfect race,” said trainer Bob Baffert, who won his fifth Preakness.
Lookin At Lucky finished 1 3/16 miles in a mediocre 1:55.47 while paying $6.80 as second choice. First Dude was second, Jackson Bend third. Super Saver finished eighth as the choice.
“He came up empty today,” said Super Saver jockey Calvin Borel.
Surely the Preakness also will be remembered for gorgeous weather and another small crowd as Pimlico officials continue to suppress infield fans and try to enforce orderly behavior.
Infield attendance was probably triple last year’s meager 5,000 or so — I don’t pretend to believe Pimlico’s announced attendance that has always been inflated. But that means maybe 15,000 people on the grass when it used to be 70,000 cramming every inch before last year’s ban on bringing in alcohol.
It’s hard to criticize track management for banning incoming alcohol since practically no sports venue permits it. Certainly I’m not advocating public drunkenness, either. But this isn’t working.
The Mid-Atlantic’s largest annual sporting event has shrunk from 100,000-plus people overall to maybe 50,000. The infield has great music and more room than before — when it was like the Fourth of July at the beach. There’s still a bikini contest, which replaces the, let’s say, drunken no-attire predecessors.
But the college kids that made the Preakness an annual semester blowout are gone. In a sport desperate for new fans, the traditional first-timers are gone. And, that’s just another step toward the grave for a dying sport.
The Preakness is more than racing. It’s an event and Pimlico officials opted for a conservative approach despite a “Get your Preak on” slogan that irked some and bottomless $20 beer mugs that surely flowed.
This isn’t your daddy’s Preakness. Maybe that’s a good thing. But maybe it isn’t.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
