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BALTIMORE, MD--In the continued lead up to Saturday's GI Preakness S., the intensity in the air, as well as the increasing media presence, grew noticeably denser Thursday morning at Pimlico. A couple of groups of fans could be seen milling around the Stakes Barn area, in addition to large clusters of media hoping to get in their final interviews in before a jam-packed weekend of racing. Drawing a gaggle of reporters and interested onlookers, morningline favorite Epicenter (Not This Time), who continued with his usual routine and went out for...

As a dark-skinned native of Puerto Rico trying to break into U.S. racing in the early Sixties against a largely white rider colony in New York, Angel Cordero Jr. may have faced more racism than anybody working in racing today. It happened to him inside and outside of the sport. More than 50 years later, much has changed in racing and Cordero said he was proud of the strides Hispanic jockeys have made. At most tracks, they dominate the riders' standings. But Cordero said there remains a problem for the...