Horses are in her pedigree, and they've always been in her blood. Long ago, before four-wheeled vehicles pushed four-legged ones off America's roads, her father's father owned the only livery stable between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Since adolescence, thoroughbreds have ruled Nancy Alberts' life, which has revolved around grooming, riding, training and owning them, a gratifying if not lucrative occupation.

"I rode in fox hunts and lady races. In the late '60s I went to the track at Delaware Park to work for [trainer] James Simpson," Alberts said Tuesday. "I've been on the racetrack ever since. I took out my trainer's license in the early '70s, and I always had at least one horse and lead ponies. I always kept my hand in it."

Yet she never came close to coming up with The Big Horse, the dream of all racetrackers, and her career seemed destined for obscurity. Despite her many years on the Maryland circuit, this proprietor of a five-horse stable isn't even listed in the 2002 media guide for Laurel and Pimlico. That will change next year, because fame came calling upon Alberts from out of nowhere on a warm Saturday afternoon in May. When Magic Weisner made a wild late run down the middle of Pimlico's stretch in the Preakness Stakes, he fell three-quarters of a length short of catching Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem and of pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the history of American racing. Who was this longshot gelding, and who was his unknown breeder/owner/exercise rider/trainer? Now we know, and it's one of the sport's most remarkable tales in a long time.

Magic Weisner showed he wasn't a one-hit wonder when he won the Ohio Derby at Thistledown on July 20. Six weeks earlier, he finished fourth, 11 lengths behind Sarava, in the Belmont Stakes, which was considerably better than War Emblem did. His Triple Crown bid ended when he plodded in eighth after stumbling badly at the start. Although War Emblem hasn't run since, he'll be heavily favored Sunday in the $1-million Haskell Invitational Handicap at Monmouth Park along the Jersey Shore. For the third time, Magic Weisner will take him on, and Alberts likes her chances.

"I'd love another chance at him," she said Tuesday. "I think my horse is improving. [War Emblem] is going to have to run his race, and we're going to have to be there at the wire to catch him."

Before the Preakness, Alberts, 56, and Magic Weisner were considered local yokels, an amusing sideshow with absolutely no chance to make an impact. The middle event of the Triple Crown usually includes a few Maryland-based trainers taking a wild stab on their home turf, but this was pushing it. Or so it seemed to almost everyone.

Three months after emerging from Jazema, a mare whose legs were so crooked that Alberts had been able to buy her for a dollar, Magic Weisner (say WHIZ-ner) nearly died of an infection. He was named for Alan Wisner, the Pennsylvania veterinarian who saved his life. "It was spelled wrong when we put it [on the foal papers]," Alberts said. "I don't know how it got wrong."

Not a big deal, really. Alberts said Wisner didn't think his quasi namesake would become a racehorse, so she was thrilled about getting Magic Weisner to the starting gate for his first race. Even after he broke his maiden at Pimlico in his third start, she had no illusions that her surrogate child would turn into a major money-maker in the near future.

"I bred him, but I never expected him to be quite this good," Alberts said. "If I had, I probably would have nominated him to the Breeders' Cup."

Ever since he ran fourth in his second career start last September, Magic Weisner has been worse than second only once, in the Belmont. He's 7-for-13 lifetime with three seconds and has earned $688,110, including 591 grand this year. To most owners of top-class horses, that's not much. It's a fortune for someone who's been scuffling in the game for 35 years. Before Magic Weisner, Alberts' closest brush with the big time was being the groom for Cormorant, who finished fourth to Seattle Slew in the 1977 Preakness.

All that cash hasn't gone to Alberts' head. She said it hasn't altered her lifestyle, although she's willing to splurge for a small farm. "I'm just trying to purchase a little piece of property so I can keep all my horses there," she said.

Settling down in a new place somewhere in the Maryland countryside will have to wait as long as Magic Weisner stays sharp and keeps Alberts on the road. Even if he can't catch War Emblem on Sunday, another in-the-money finish would be no surprise. Besides Bob Baffert's brilliant front-runner, Alberts' other rivals aren't intimidating. Even if War Emblem does go wire to wire at speed-favoring Monmouth, second in the Haskell (ESPN2, 5-6 p.m. ET) is worth about $200,000. That can pay for a lot of acres out in the middle of nowhere.

Alberts may need a new jockey, because Richard Migliore also has a commitment to another 3-year-old, Iron Deputy, Sunday in the Jim Dandy Stakes up at Saratoga. If Migliore ends a partnership that began in the Preakness, Mike Luzzi will fill in. "I really wish [Migliore] could stay on my horse for the Haskell," Alberts said. "But if not, I have confidence in Mike. The horse is very easy to ride, and I feel so confident in him. All we need is racing luck."

She's enjoyed plenty of that to get this far with Magic Weisner on an incredible roll that began with a dollar investment in his mother. Has anyone in this world ever gotten this much bang for a buck?