by Jeff Lowe

Chris Lincoln, the master of ceremonies for the annual Alibi Breakfast two days before the Preakness Stakes (G1), put trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. on the spot on Thursday morning after citing the trainer's outspoken confidence prior to Big Brown's emphatic victory in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1).
 
"Is this a rollover as well," Lincoln asked?

With the right question, even Dutrow can be reduced to a one-word answer.

"Yes," he said, leaning into the microphone.

Lincoln threw out a few concerns, like the quick turnaround from the Derby to the Preakness, and Dutrow quickly cut him off.

"Forget about it, forget about it, stop talking," Dutrow said. "Go to the windows."

The Alibi Breakfast has been a pre-Preakness tradition since the 1940s, typically punctuated with laughs and race predictions. Dutrow, a Maryland native, was one of a number of trainers who delivered with the opportunity for quips.

King Leatherbury, Maryland's all-time leading trainer, does not have a horse in the Preakness, but he and Lincoln have a long-running agreement, in jest, over their individual collections of racing-related neck ties.

"We've always said, whoever dies first, the survivor gets the racing ties," Lincoln said.  "Well, I talked to his wife, Linda, and she said, 'You know this son of a bitch is never going to die so you might as well give him the ties.'"

Lincoln proceeded to present Leatherbury, 75, with a mass of ties.

The Alibi Breakfast also is an awards ceremony, and Karin De Francis received the Maryland Jockey Club's top honor, the special award of merit.

Last September, De Francis and her brother, Joe De Francis, sold their 49% interest in the Maryland tracks to Magna Entertainment Corp. for approximately $18.3-million. Karin De Francis headed up preparations for the Preakness for many years. She declined an offer to continue in that role following the sale.

"I am deeply, deeply appreciative and very touched," De Francis said after accepting the award.

Thoroughbred Times contributor Dick Jerardi was honored with the Old Hilltop Award for his longtime Preakness coverage. Jerardi writes for the Philadelphia Daily News.

Mike Pupo of WJZ-TV received the other Old Hilltop Award. Sean Clancy of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred took home the David F. Woods Memorial Award for the best 2007 Preakness story. Brandon Benson, also of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, won the Jerry Frutkoff Preakness photography award.

Mario Pino, a top jockey in Maryland for many years, will be the honorary postmaster for the Preakness.

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer