Preakness Day!

- It’s a beautiful day at Pimlico. They insist there's a 30% of some showers later in the day, but the track is fast for the 10:30 A.M. first race post time. The turf is soft.

- A half interest in Closing Argument has been sold to a partnership including Becky Thomas’ Sequel Stallions.

- Barclay Tagg on Funny Cide’s 4th place finish in the Pimlico Special, won by Eddington: "I don't care what anybody says, he doesn't like the mud.” [Baltimore Sun] Favorite Offlee Wild didn’t like it either. Neither do I.

- Here's one person who seems skeptical that High Fly can get the distance today.

Veteran jockey and neophyte author Jerry Bailey analyzes races with rare candor. He said up front yesterday that his Preakness mount, High Fly, is being stretched at the distance.

"He's a mile-and-an-eighth horse," Bailey said. "A mile-and-a-quarter [in the Derby] was beyond him, and even the Preakness could be. But this track is friendly to speed horses, so he might hang on."

Bailey said when High Fly hit the front in the stretch in the Derby, he knew he would not win. "He was giving me everything, but he was struggling," he said. [NY Post]