It was just his second time at the Preakness, a race the future Hall of Fame trainer would later come to own, so pardon Bob Baffert if he was a little confused by the idiosyncrasies that come with being the second-oldest racetrack in the United States.
In one of the most memorable finishes in the history of Pimlico Race Course, which ran its first races in the fall of 1870, three horses hit the wire together in the 122nd Preakness Stakes. Based at nearby Bowie Race Track, local favorite Captain Bodgit was on the outside with West Coast homebred Free House on the rail.
Between them was Baffert’s Silver Charm, a $16,500 yearling owned by the late Bob and Beverly Lewis that ran second to Free House in a pair of California prep races before edging Captain Bodgit two weeks prior in the Kentucky Derby. Ridden by Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, Silver Charm was no better than third choice in the Preakness.
