Ticket sales for the May 18 Preakness Stakes are "up nearly" 10% over last year, with "some fans excited" that the Kentucky Derby-winning horse Orb has a connection to Maryland, according to Wells & Barker of the Baltimore SUN. Local horse racing fans are "snapping up tickets, eager to see Orb," who is co-owned by Baltimore County resident Stuart Janney III. Some fans said that Orb "gives some Baltimore-area residents a sense of ownership." Maryland Jockey Club President & COO Tom Chuckas yesterday said that the jump in ticket sales is "likely the result of several factors, including changing the race's 'brand.'" He added that in addition to a 9.5% rise in ticket sales, all 26 tents in the corporate-sponsored village "are sold out," and the tables in the corporate village "are almost gone." Wells & Barker note this year's race "could see attendance rise for the fourth straight year and top the record" of 121,309 set in '12. Chuckas declined to say how many tickets have been sold to date, but said that 50% of all tickets are "sold from the Monday after the Kentucky Derby until the Preakness" (Baltimore SUN, 5/7).
