BALTIMORE (Map, News) - There’s a great deal chatter locally about the Preakness and its future in Baltimore, but what does the national media think?

ESPN horse-racing analyst Randy Moss, who has been covering the Preakness since 1981, understands the history of the event and Maryland horse-racing issues.

Moss said he has a clipping in his office from the Daily Racing Form saying, “that Pimlico should be closed down and rebuilt, that Laurel is the track of choice for racing in the state. The future of horse racing in the state of Maryland is at best bleak.”

The date of the clipping? That was 1947.

The Preakness has marked one of the country’s three biggest racing days for 132 years. Nationally, race fans couldn’t care less about Maryland politics or the state of disarray at Pimlico. The track is always beautiful, the horses run a strong race and everyone is happy.

“The Preakness is, and will always be, a true Triple Crown race and a showcase day for Baltimore,” Moss said.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNews will feature a full, pre-race card today from noon to 5 p.m. before passing things off to NBC.

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His brother, Al Michaels, might be better known, but in the broadcasting business, David Michaels is a legend as a director of major events, especially horse racing.

David Michaels, who handles Triple Crown telecasts for NBC, is in town for Preakness with his award-winning crew. I spoke to Michaels about the challenge of covering the Preakness.

“It is the smallest track of all the Triple Crown venues, so we have to be very precise with our camera angles,” he said. “There is a great deal going on in the infield, and the tents and monitors there pose a challenge, so my hope is to be able to use the blimp live as I did in the Derby. We have a true HD camera there, and I was able to use it live for the first time ever in a horse race. ... Also, the Preakness is a fast and colorful race, so we will do our best to capture the speed. We will have 36 cameras and plenty of replays to make sure we don't miss a thing.”

The NBC team of Bob Costas and Tom Hammond will co-host the show with analyst Gary Stevens. The announce team also includes race-caller Tom Durkin, contributing analysts Mike Battaglia and Bob Neumeier, reporter Kenny Rice and on-track reporter Donna Brothers.

NBC starts their coverage at 5, and it continues after the network show ends with WBAL news and complete post-race coverage. On the radio, WBAL 1090-AM and ESPN 1300-AM will provide wall-to-wall coverage.

Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog “Watch this!” on www.examiner.com.