Lukas Soaks In Atmosphere Of His 25th Preakness

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas arrived at Pimlico Race Course before the sun came up Saturday, just to make sure there were no unwelcome surprises awaiting him on the day of his 25th Preakness.

The 76-year-old horse racing legend said he set his alarm for 3:30 a.m. and was at the track at 4.

"I do that every day, no matter where I am," Lukas said. "I just want to make sure everything goes smooth here. By the time we get to this point, all we're trying to do is make sure you don't have anything upsetting happen."

Wearing his trademark cowboy hat and sitting on a small bench in front of the Pimlico Stakes Barn around 8:30 -- a good 10 hours before the second leg of the Triple Crown was scheduled to get under way -- Lukas monitored the behavior of his Preakness entrant, Optimizer, as rowdy fans began pouring through the turnstiles.

"It's a little bit unsettling to finish out the morning because of all the activity on the street," he said. "The horses pick up on the excitement real quick."

He wasn't nervous, and it had nothing to do with the fact that the odds were stacked at 30-1 against Optimizer reaching the winner's circle after the race. Ever since his initial Preakness in 1980, Lukas had maintained an even keel whether he's saddled up the favorite or a long shot.

"I never really got too keyed up, even in the first ones," Lukas said. "I get a warm, fuzzy feeling afterward if we win, but I don't get uptight or nervous beforehand."

Lukas said his sense of calm comes from the days when he was a high school head coach in Wisconsin for nine years.

"I think athletics settle you in," he said.

On this day, his lengthy time at the barn was made easier by having several entrants in the Preakness undercard.

"I always felt like in the Triple Crown series, it helps if you have a few other horses running in other races. It kind of breaks up the day," he said. "We're going to run in three others stakes today. It will move it along a little bit quicker. But it's still a long day of waiting, waiting, waiting."

His wait for a victory in a graded race ended Saturday when Hamazing Destiny won the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint Handicap. Lukas had gone 116 graded stakes without a victory before Hamazing Destiny won for the first time in 11 races since September 2010.

"It's a good way to start the day," he said.

CANDID CAMERA: Broadcast Sports, Inc. does a fine job of affixing cameras to IndyCar and NASCAR drivers. One day, the Maryland-based company hopes to do the same with jockeys at Triple Crown races.

Technology has reached the point where BSI can provide a helmet-mounted POV camera to the NBC correspondent doing the post-race interview. But the helmet, along with backpack containing the transmitter, weighs around eight pounds.

"No way that a jockey is going to carry that much weight," said Clay Underwood, BSI Technology Development Manager. "For a NASCAR driver in a car that weighs a few thousand pounds, adding a few pounds is not that big a deal. Here, it is."

Little by little, BSI has lessened the load. The transmitter used this year is smaller than the one in place in 2011. But it still might be a while before the viewing public can take a virtual ride with a jockey vying to win the Preakness.

"We're always working on miniaturization," Underwood said, "but right now there are physical limitations to what we can do."

STALL 40: Tradition mandates that the Kentucky Derby winner resides in Stall 40 at the Preakness Stakes Barn.

Doug O'Neill, the trainer of I'll Have Another, opted to keep his Derby-winning horse in a Barn D at Pimlico.

So what of Stall 40, the temporary home of such great horses such as Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Spectacular Bid?

Zetterholm, a 20-1 shot in the Preakness, took residence in the prestigious stall. Zetterholm arrived in Baltimore with a three-race winning streak, and owner Anthony Grey hoped some of the history from Stall 40 might rub off onto his entrant.

"I want to win a big one," Grey said. "He's a late April foal, so he's a late-maturing horse. He's a stretch-running horse. Hopefully, it's our turn to shine."

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)