Gathering for Horsemen & Media to be Recognized, Swap Stories

BALTIMORE – Another long-standing tradition has been restored to the Preakness Stakes (G1) festivities this year with the return of the Alibi Breakfast, a popular gathering of horsemen, media and celebrities alike in an informal yet informative preview of the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

This year’s Alibi Breakfast will be held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, May 19 in the Terrace Dining Room on the second-floor clubhouse overlooking historic Pimlico Race Course. The 147th Preakness for 3-year-olds is set for Saturday, May 21.

Tickets can be purchased at: Alibi Breakfast | Tickets at Your Computer or Mobile Device | Tixr at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore at Preakness | Tixr: Click here for tickets. WBAL’s Pete Gilbert and Scott Wykoff will host.

Tradition holds that the Alibi Breakfast’s humble beginnings go back to a few trainers sipping coffee on the porch of Pimlico’s old clubhouse in the late 1930s, extolling the virtues of their horses and offering up excuses – or alibis – should their horse not win.

It was late longtime publicity director David Woods who came up with the idea for the breakfast itself in the 1940s. Today it is a chance for the media to be recognized for excellence, for owners and trainers to trade often humorous stories regarding their own horses or their competitors, and to enjoy a buffet that includes Maryland crab cakes, fried chicken and waffles and smoked salmon as well as traditional breakfast fare.

For those brave enough, Black-Eyed Susans – the official drink of the Preakness – will also be served.

No horseman has enjoyed more time, or shared more entertaining stories, at the Alibi Breakfast than Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. The 86-year-old Lukas has started a record 45 horses in 30 Preaknesses dating back to 1980, Codex, which was also his first of six winners.

Lukas also won with Tank’s Prospect (1985), Tabasco Cat (1994), Timber Country (1995), Charismatic (1999) and Oxbow (2013). Thirteen times he has entered more than one horse, including three each in 1996 and 2013.

This year, Lukas is considering the Preakness for both the filly Secret Oath, winner of the May 6 Kentucky Oaks (G1), and Ethereal Road, who was entered but scratched from the May 7 Kentucky Derby (G1).

“I think it’s noteworthy. I think it’s something that was enjoyed by many,” Lukas said of the Alibi Breakfast. “But, the main thing is that it brought in the public and let them see a different side of the jockeys and trainers a little bit [and] get up close and personal. It’s a really nice event.”