The Battle of the Sexes

Well, that is what they are calling today's 134th Preakness at Pimlico in Baltimore.

The battle of the sexes.

In a way, I suppose, that's an appropriate label for today's race, matching as it does the winner of the Kentucky Derby, Mine That Bird, and the fabulous filly, Rachel Alexandra, that apparently has stolen the hearts of the betting public along with Mine That Bird's jockey.

And the guys in the pressbox seem equally taken with Rachel Alexandra. The filly, writes Tim Layden in Sports Illustrated, could be the fastest horse in the field, regardless of gender. And she has Calvin Borel — her regular rider who rode Mine That Bird to a stunning win in the Derby.

In fact, Borel rode Rachel Alexandra to a 20–length victory the day before the Derby

For some reason, it just doesn't seem like the battle of the sexes to me, perhaps because the battle features animals and not humans. If one of the jockeys was a girl, I might feel differently about it. But Mike Smith will be aboard Mine That Bird today.

Kevin Van Valkenburg of the Baltimore Sun says this is Mine That Bird's moment of truth. And indeed it is. In a couple of hours, the horses will run and we will resolve the storyline that I think is the real theme of the day: Is Mine That Bird the real deal? Will he reward the believers? Or will he confirm what the skeptics have been saying?

And there are plenty of skeptics who feel that a 50–1 shot got lucky when a "perfect storm unfolded" on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs two weeks ago.

The odds haven't changed much. According to the Morning Line, Rachel Alexandra is a 8–5 pick. Pioneerof the Nile, the second–place finisher in the Derby, is 5–1. Mine That Bird is 6–1. So is Friesan Fire, which was a favorite at the Derby but ended up far back in the pack. Musket Man, the show horse in the Derby, is 8–1.

All the other horses — there are 13 running today — are getting odds of 10–1 or higher.

I'll be honest. I would like to see a Triple Crown winner. When I was a teenager, they were commonplace. Between 1973 and 1978, there were three Triple Crown winners — Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978). Great horses. I remember watching them run.

Is Mine That Bird worthy of becoming only the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown? We'll find out a lot in less than two hours now.

I'm going to predict that he is. I was impressed with Borel's work as the jockey two weeks ago, but I've seen Smith ride before, and I think he is capable of riding Mine That Bird to victory.

I'm not convinced of Rachel Alexandra's speed, but I've never seen her run. If I was at the track today, I would put $2 on her to show. If she has a duel with Mine That Bird that conjures memories of the epic Affirmed–Alydar battles, I'd be willing to bet her higher at the Belmont in three weeks.

But I'm going to pick Musket Man to come in second.

So my picks are:

1. Mine That Bird


2. Musket Man


3. Rachel Alexandra

Enjoy the race.