I'll Have Another wins Preakness, Triple try next

[Seedersandleechers]

BALTIMORE (AP) — I'll Have Another waited a little longer to catch Bodemeister in the stretch this time, and now that he's done it twice in a row it's time for a Triple Crown try in the Belmont Stakes in three weeks.


With a breathtaking closing rush, the smooth-striding colt won the Preakness Stakes by a neck at Pimlico Race Course on a sunny Saturday, a dramatic finish that topped his win two weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby.


The race unfolded the same way as the Derby, with the speedy Bodemeister moving to the lead under Mike Smith, with I'll Have Another hanging back in fourth in the 11-horse field. The early fractions were slower than the Derby, but when it came time for Bodemeister to hang on, I'll Have Another found another gear under young jockey Mario Gutierrez and ran down trainer Bob Baffert's horse in the shadow of the wire.


"We're thinking Triple Crown, baby," an elated trainer Doug O'Neill said. "He's a special horse. We'll see how he comes out of it, and if he comes out of it in good shape, we're heading to New York, baby."




http://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/I-ll-Have-Another-wins-Preakness-Triple-try-next-3571311.php

[Rhiannon12866]

1. I watched it and I'm thinking Triple Crown, too.

I wasn't at all sure about the Preakness, since I'll Have Another seems to like to pull it out at the end, but after doing the same thing in both races, I'd bet on him for the Belmont, since that's a longer race. I wasn't sure he'd have time to pass Bodemeister today, but he did it like he did in the Derby. This was a very exciting race and these are amazing horses. Of course, you never know, since this is, well, a horse race...

[malaise]

6. Not sure but that was great timing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Triple_Crown_of_Thoroughbred_Racing
<snip>
The three American Classic Races are collectively known as the U.S. Triple Crown. As of the completion of the 2008 season, the races have attracted 3,889 entrants (a figure that counts a given horse twice if it enters two of the races). Of these, 274 horses have won a single leg of the Triple Crown, 50 horses have won two of the races (21 the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, 18 the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, and 11 the Derby and Belmont), and 11 horses have won all three races. The 11 Triple Crown winners are Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), and Affirmed (1978).
--------------
The odds are not good.

[greytdemocrat]

2. Great race!!

But poor Bode is headed to the Glue Factory. I hope that kid isn't too attached to him...

[Johnyawl]

5. No, he's not headed to the glue factory

The amount of money that horse will have earned coming in second in those two races probably exceeds what will be your - and mine - lifetime earnings. If the results from the Belmont are the same, I'll have another will retire to stud immediatly, while Bode will continue to race for several more years.

[exboyfil]

8. Alydar had a long career fathering

champions - more than the horse that beat him in all three TC races - Affirmed.

Of course the owner is accused of intentionally breaking Alydar's leg when he got into financial trouble.

[Raven]

3. Great name for a horse that's won 2 and

looking at the 3rd.

[malaise]

4. What a late run

Great race.

Obama says 'I'll have another...term'

[richmwill]

7. Great race, very exciting. But as a 30-year fan of horse racing, I'm not convinced of a TC yet...

The Belmont Stakes is another animal altogether. A mile and a half, longer than any of them will have raced so far in their careers. I've seen too many great horses who I was convinced would be Triple Crown winners go down in defeat in the Belmont (Sunday Silence, Smarty Jones, Big Brown, Funny Cide, and several others). I would love to see it, it would be a great thrill, I'm just not convinced it can happen yet.

[sharp_stick]

9. It's such a completely different race

the horses have to run it differently and who can predict track conditions. It is still nice to see a horse have a chance.

[bluestate10]

11. I have watched the movie about the trials of the owner of Secretariat.

I love the line that was attributed to the trainer of Secretariat after the big red colt had won the Preakness, "Since Citation in 1948 x horses have won the Derby and the Preakness, all have failed to win the Belmont. The Belmont is a graveyard for speed horses". I used "x" because I forgot the number of horses mentioned that failed in the Belmont. But being a distant observer of thoroughbred racing, I would love to see a horse take the Triple Crown, the last horse to do so was Affirmed in 1978.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. It was the horse's second great race. Maybe even better than the Derby. But . . . . . .

. . . . . The Derby isn't the Preakness and both of them combined isn't the Belmont. The Belmont's a looooong race.

I sure would love to see another Triple Crown before I'm done. Its been about 25 years. We're due.

[bluestate10]

12. One feat that I doubt any of use will see.

Is a horse break the record set by the great Secretariat in winning the Belmont. Whenever I watch the video of that feat, chills cover my entire body, eventhough I didn't witness the event live watching television and only saw the video years after the feat. I realize that it was a horse that did it, but that feat stands as an inspiring show of dominance.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. I doubt that feat will ever be seen again.

Secretariat had a physiology, particularly a heart, that was extraordinarily rare.

[richmwill]

14. When Secretariat died, it was discovered that his heart was nearly twice the size...

... of the average horse's heart. [link:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1136808/index.htm|