Track only thing to debate in Preakness

There was no controversy. No disputes.

No long delays.

The winner, War of Will, a $200,000 yearling purchase, got as close to a perfect ride as possible and was the easy winner.

This was likely the nextto-last Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, a track that doesn’t look like it has received much more than an occasional coat of paint since it opened in 1870.

The last time yours truly covered the Preakness, a total of 17 extension cords kept the laptops of the overflow press corps in business, and that was indicative of how blue-collar the track had become.

Pimlico is famous for being the middle leg of the Triple Crown and for the match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral in 1938. It is also infamous for water problems, off-limits seating, limited parking and being awarded only 12 racing days a year.

A study two years ago claimed the track needed $250 million in improvements, a number that has grown to $450 million. For all those traditionalists who would like to save the track, the only thing that would be left if all the improvements were made would be the name.

NBC did a masterful job of not showing how neglected the track, including the barns, has become.

Still, it is part of the Triple Crown, and Saturday the infield was elbow to elbow and the grandstand as full as possible for a race that lost some significance when Maximum Security was disqualified after a convincing win in the Kentucky Derby.

With the Triple Crown gone, Maximum Security’s owners refused to run in the Preakness. Country House — who ended up in the Derby winner’s circle — coughed 12 days ago, and his owners declared him out of the Derby.

So the race was wide open, which is why the syndicate — consisting of people from Arkansas and Memphis who own Warrior’s Charge — opted to pay the supplemental fee of $150,000 to take a shot at the $1.5 million prize.

It is why Improbable, a horse that had won in three outings this year, was the 5-2 favorite. Well, he also was trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike Smith, who won the Triple Crown with Justify last year.

It is why Alwaysmining — a winner of six consecutive races, all at Laurel Park — was in the race at 6-1 odds.

Only four in the field had run in the Kentucky Derby.

On paper, the Preakness looked to be an early speed duel between Warrior’s Charge and Alwaysmining, with several horses stalking and a couple of closers coming hard down the stretch.

Warrior’s Charge did his part for the first mile — and War of Will did his part — but it was the last 3/16 that was too much for the horse that set blazing fractions to take the lead.

War of Will had ridden the rail, saving ground and energy, and at the turn to the stretch jockey Tyler Gaffalione made a move that left the field suddenly running for second.

Gaffalione, riding War of Will for the sixth consecutive time, broke a two-race slump by laying fourth for most of the race as Warrior’s Charge and Market King set a pace that would have them going the wrong direction when it counted the most.

War of Will had been the odds-on favorite to win the Louisiana Derby after three consecutive wins, including the Risen Star, but finished ninth and followed that up with a seventh-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, but he had a ton of trouble in the big field and was forced outside and checked once.

On Saturday, he held off long-shot Everfast, who finished second. Owendale got up to third.

Now comes the Belmont, which needs Country House, War of Will and Maximum Security to run.