One thing about the ponies: They run even in the rain. Not like those nervous Nellies at the Indy 500.
The Preakness Stakes, second leg of the Triple Crown, thoroughbred racing’s highest and most elusive prize, takes place, rain or shine, Saturday at Pimlico in Baltimore (3 p.m., KUSA-Channel 9).
The 1 3/16-mile race, the critical middle run in the Triple Crown, is where many would-be champions fall by the wayside. The heavy favorite in the 10-horse field is Barbaro, which won the Kentucky Derby.
ESPN/ESPN2 are devoting 11 hours of programming to the race, including eight hours on Saturday.
Meanwhile, at Indianapolis, where they run just a tad faster, both days of the qualifying for the May 28 race were rained out last weekend so they’ll try again Saturday and Sunday (3 and 5 p.m. Saturday, ESPN, and 11 a.m. Sunday, KGMH-Channel 7, and 3 p.m. Sunday, ESPN2).
The rules are complicated, centering on who gets to have the pole on race day, but the reschedule is not without precedence. In 1983, all 33 places in the race were filled on the second Saturday of qualifying.
Favorites for the pole: Dan Wheldon, Sam Hornish and Helio Castroneves, all of whom practiced at over 227 mph last weekend before rain washed out the weekend.
The forecast for Saturday is partly cloudy with temperatures in the upper 60s.
Ratings climb
“Sunday Night Baseball” ratings are up 36 percent, according to ESPN.
Still, at a 1.9 rating, the audience is pretty slim.
Sunday’s interleague matchup with the Yankees and the Mets at 6 p.m. should help matters.
Go fish
The only thing I know about bass is what I learned from the Bass-o-Matic sketch on “Saturday Night Live.”
But those interested in landing The Big One will want to tune in to the Bassmaster Classic weigh- in from Fort Worth, Texas (7 p.m. Sunday, ESPN2). It’s a real event.
Around the dial
Don Criqui is replacing Tony Roberts as play-by-play man for Notre Dame football on the Westwood One radio network this fall. Roberts did the broadcasts for 26 years. … More football: ABC will launch college games on Saturday nights, beginning with Notre Dame-Georgia Tech on Sept. 2. Also on the schedule is Nebraska-USC. … The NHL playoffs continue, without the Avalanche, when Buffalo and Carolina meet in the first game of the Eastern Conference finals (noon Saturday, Channel 9). … Talkin’ baseball: The Colorado Springs Sky Sox host New Orleans in Coast League play (7 p.m. Saturday, Altitude). … Quotable: “The only sport I’m not interested in is horse racing. That’s because I don’t know the horses personally.” Nat King Cole.
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-820-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
