BALTIMORE _ The 145th running of the Preakness Stakes will be defined by absence _ no third Saturday in May, no crowd, no Triple Crown on the line.
When Belmont Stakes champion Tiz the Law went off as a heavy favorite in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby, he carried with him hopes for a potential Triple Crown coronation in Baltimore. It would have been another historical oddity in a year full of them but at least it would have provided a tasty hook for the postponed Preakness.
Tiz the Law could not surge past Authentic in the Derby, however, and with his defeat, the Preakness, already robbed of its festive atmosphere by the coronavirus pandemic, became just another good horse race.
The narrative fates have been unkind to Maryland's 3-year-old thoroughbred showcase over the last two years; in 2019, Country House skipped the second leg of the Triple Crown after his controversial win by disqualification in the Derby.
But the Preakness will soldier forth, featuring Authentic at the top of a competitive field comparable to the one that ran at Churchill Downs. So with that in mind, here are five stories to watch as the Oct. 3 race approaches:
