This Race Won’t Be as Special as the First

The big race will be run today at Pimlico Race Course.

Not the Preakness. That’s on Saturday.

Instead, there will be a reenactment of the 1938 match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral.

Pimlico-based horses will run as the thoroughbred legends did -- though likely slower -- and local jockeys will ride wearing silks matching those in the original race. Track announcer Dave Rodman will repeat Clem McCarthy’s call.

If you can, bet on Seabiscuit. He should win by, oh, about four lengths.

The gambler: Humorist Alan Ray on Saturday’s Preakness: “An estimated $100 million will be wagered ... and that’s just at William Bennett’s house.”

Trivia time: Name the record-breaking streak that started 62 years ago Thursday.

There was a paws: Three Olympic hopefuls for the U.S. team in the long jump appeared on the “Tonight Show” Wednesday in a lighthearted competition against three champion “dog divers.”

The long jumpers -- Dwight Phillips, Jenny Adams and Savante Stringfellow -- were all wearing Nike gear.

That prompted guest Jerry Seinfeld to ask of the dogs, “Where’s their shoe contract?”

Super Plan I: Orlando Sentinel columnist Jerry Greene might have the best idea yet for college football.

He implores the game’s superpower schools to “quit pussyfooting around” and do “what you really want to do.”

Go pro.

He cited just one condition: “Every player must carry at least one class during the season -- and will be suspended from the team if they get a grade any lower than ‘Inc’ ” -- incomplete.

Bogus bonus: On the prospect of a college title game, Greene added, “Yes, my friends, just think -- a championship game on national TV with incredibly overpriced seats going to advertisers instead of the fans who have supported the teams all year long. Just like the NFL.

“And we’ll throw in Bon Jovi!”

Could be a deal-breaker.

Name game: The Akron Beacon Journal correctly points out that hollering “Throw it to Jeff!” doesn’t do a bit of good at a Houston Astros’ game.

The Astros have Jeff Bagwell at first, Jeff Kent at second and Geoff Blum at third.

Then there is Adam Everett at shortstop.

His full name: Jeffrey Adam Everett.

Trivia answer: Joe DiMaggio singled to left against the Chicago White Sox, starting his 56-game hitting streak.

And finally: The actor who played the part of Goldberg, the overweight and afraid-of-the-puck goalkeeper in the movie “The Mighty Ducks,” has been to a couple of Ducks’ NHL playoff games and -- surprise! -- is a big fan of goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Shaun Weiss, a 24-year-old actor and comedian, told Associated Press that he is proud to have “set the precedent, being the goaltender that was kind of the underdog -- and nobody thought he could do it.”

Referring to a famous scene in the movie, Weiss quipped, “If you get a statistician to look back in Jean-Sebastien’s past, I’m sure that he was strapped to a goalpost.”

-- Mike Hiserman