PREAKNESS NOTEBOOK | From Pimlico Race Track

Victory fades in stretch: Leading the Preakness field at the far turn, Edgar Prado sensed victory as he prepared Peace Rules for the final push to the finish line. It wasn't long before the jockey realized the race was slipping away. "I knew I was in a little trouble when I saw Funny Cide beside me," Prado said. Peace Rules, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby, faded to fourth in the Preakness after leading for much of the race. "He fought as best he could, but today just wasn't his day," Prado said. Things looked good at the outset for Peace Rules, the second-favorite in the field behind Funny Cide. Under instruction from trainer Bobby Frankel, Prado took the horse to the lead early. "Bobby said the horse was good enough to do something at the front of the race," Prado said. It was the end of the race that spelled doom for Peace Rules. "Bobby was disappointed that the horse didn't finish in the first three," Prado said. "He just said, 'We live to fight another day.'"
Losing combination: The two-for-one entry of famed trainer D. Wayne Lukas returned show money to its backers. Lukas' Scrimshaw stayed close to the lead for much of the race and took third. Lukas is also the trainer for Ten Cents a Shine, which came in ninth in the 10-horse race. "The winner certainly earned a shot at the Triple Crown," Lukas said. "He ran a great race today and our horses didn't." Bob Baffert's Senor Swinger charged from 10th place to finish fifth. Baffert, who had a run of two straight Preakness wins, said, "I couldn't find my horse, so I was watching Funny Cide." Baffert indicated he will skip the Belmont. "I'm getting off the trail at this bus stop," he said.
Crowd count: The crowd at Pimlico was 100,268, fourth-best in Preakness history and the fourth time in five years that attendance reached triple figures. Overall handle was $59,384,334, down 7.9 percent from last year, according to Pimlico officials.
Powerfully cool: It wasn't long ago that the Preakness was marred by a power outage caused by too many area residents running their air conditioners on a surprisingly sweltering day. That wasn't an issue at Pimlico on Saturday, when the temperature hovered around 50 degrees and the sun remained hidden behind a thick layer of dark clouds. The cold weather took a bit of the edge off the party in the infield, but at least the track remained fully operational. In 1998, a power outage caused by the extensive use of air conditioners in the area closed betting windows, stopped the elevators and darkened stairwells at the track. Pimlico was also fortunate Saturday in that the rain that pelted the area overnight let up early in the morning. The first race was run on a sloppy track, but by 2 o'clock the surface had improved to good.
-- Associated Press