Imploring God to shine over Baltimore and the Preakness with the “brightness of a Black-eyed Susan,” Bishop Bruce Lewandowski toured Pimlico Race Course May 19 and offered prayerful reflection to hundreds gathered for an almost 100-year-old racetrack tradition.
The Alibi Breakfast brought together trainers, owners, jockeys, fans, officials and journalists to help kick off weekend festivities for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. Named for the tales and excuses – or “alibis” – that horsemen would tell about why their thoroughbred might disappoint in competition, the breakfast now offers awards by the Maryland Jockey Club and solicits predictions about the race.
Throughout the evolution of the breakfast, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has been ever-present. And like the religious delegates before him, Bishop Lewandowski set the tone for the celebration with his invocation.
“God, in your goodness and your love,” he said, “bless us, watch over us, keep us always in your care. And thank you, Lord God, for the tremendous love and blessings – and for the magic of horses.”
Bishop Lewandowski, who guides and nurtures the Catholic community in Baltimore as the archdiocese’s urban vicar, grew up surrounded by horses on six acres of farmland in Lima, Ohio. He told the breakfast gathering of his great love for horses, including a midnight black mare named Sheba that his family owned when he was a young man.
Former pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus-Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Parish in Highlandtown, Bishop Lewandowski, a Redemptorist, joined the archdiocese in 2015. He was ordained a bishop in 2020 and is Archbishop William E. Lori’s delegate for Hispanic Ministry.
Calling the chance to watch the fillies and colts exercise on the famed track in Thursday’s sunshine a thrilling experience, Bishop Lewandowski said, “As a bishop, I say I love God and I love horses and I love God because God gave us horses.”
The faithful are called to collaborate with God in creation to make perfect his many wonderful gifts, the bishop said. Just as a chef takes ingredients to create a meal and a doctor uses medicine and technology to bring healing, at the Preakness, “we have this great God-given relationship with horses and we raise that relationship to the point of spectacular athleticism.”
“The beauty of the horses and the skill of the trainers and the jockeys and the excitement of the fans brings people together and in bringing together people, something magic happens,” Bishop Lewandowski said.
“Horses in their strength and their beauty and their awesomeness and their magnificence tell us something of the glory of God and the glory of God in creation.”
The Alibi Breakfast was hosted by WBAL’s Pete Gilbert and Scott Wykoff. They announced the winners of five awards that honor excellence in horse-related writing and photography. Additionally, Maryland-bred champion Knicks Go was named Honorary Postmaster for Preakness 147. The U.S. Postal Service since 1996 opens a temporary station at Pimlico the week of the race.
Sabrina Moore and her mother, Angie, bred Knicks Go at their farm in Glyndon. Now-retired Knicks Go is the Eclipse Award winner and was named Horse of the Year for 2021.
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