Baltimore's Preakness at Pimlico

Welcome to Baltimore. Welcome to Pimlico. Welcome to the Preakness Stakes. It has survived a few hurdles to make it this far.

For 135 years, the nation's best 3-year-old Thoroughbreds have competed in what is known as the second jewel in horse racing's Triple Crown; one mile and three-sixteenths run around the compact turns of "Old Hilltop." The Preakness is Maryland's signature sporting event, with a history as rich and storied as that of its more glamorous predecessor, the Kentucky Derby. That history is also rife with turmoil, from a 15-year stretch beginning in 1889 when the race was run at a racetrack in Brooklyn, N.Y., to the recent financial debacle that threatened to place Pimlico Race Course and fellow Maryland Jockey Club racetrack Laurel Park on the auction block at the beginning of the year.

Here are four themes influencing the setting of Preakness 135 as the second jewel of the Triple Crown approaches another crossroad: