BALTIMORE — The deep breaths came fast and furious in the opening moments of the 144th running of the Preakness Stakes, and for good reason: John Velazquez, a Hall of Fame jockey, was airborne one moment and in the dirt the next after his colt, Bodexpress, broke out of the starting gate like a rodeo horse rather than a thoroughbred.

This old, tradition-steeped American sport could not withstand another catastrophe or controversy. Dead horses, too many of them, have drawn a bull’s-eye around its existence. A multimillion-dollar disqualification in the Kentucky Derby had first confused and then angered casual sports fans who tune in to horse racing for the five weeks in the spring that the Triple Crown commands their attention.

Horse racing is on the ropes. Big time.

When Velazquez rolled and then popped to his feet, thoroughbred lovers were given permission, for at least the next 1 minute 54.34 seconds, if not exactly to enjoy a horse race then at least to wish the horses a safe journey around Pimlico, a historic — read: dilapidated and old — racetrack.

They did, and the middle jewel of the Triple Crown managed to deliver a satisfying, even redemptive story. The winner, War of Will, hugged the rail for most of the mile-and-three-sixteenths distance, just as he did in the Kentucky Derby, before scooting to the middle of the track and holding off the challenge of a long shot named Everfast. War of Will’s jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, rubbed his colt’s neck and trained his eyes between the horse’s ears.