Second Race of the Triple Crown, Saturday
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Man O'WarEvery spring, I sort of keep an eye the news about horse-racing's Triple Crown: The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. It's not, you understand, that I love horse-racing. I don't. But I love great horses. There's something about that famous handful of racehorses that have won any or all of these three races, their charisma, talent, and courage, that I do find inspiring, and have since I was a child. So while I don't love horse-racing, I love the ponies that run.
We know their names, those great horses. There are children's books about them. I suspect the stories around great racehorses have no small part in why kids go horse-crazy in the first place. Exterminator, Secretariat, Seabiscuit, Man O'War . . . Well, you know. You likely have your own mental list of the greats.
This year, that means I'll be paying attention primarily to see if Mine That Bird is the horse of a generation. We haven't had a Triple Crown Winner since Affirmed, in the late 70s. So far, none of the top handicappers have picked Mine That Bird as a favorite to win Saturday's Preakness. But the idea of a win by the very talented young filly, Rachel Alexandra, doesn't make me at all unhappy, either. Fillies don't tend to win these races, in part because few fillies run these races in comparison to colts; and no filly has won the Preakness since Nellie Morse in 1924.
Mine That Bird, in the come-from-behind surprise finish, won the Derby by over six and a half lengths. In modern horse-racing, that's a complete rout, even on a sloppy track, and it's the stuff movies are made of—especially if he turns out to be a great horse who goes on winning. Jockey Mike Smith will be atop Mine That Bird for the Preakness. Mike is a Hall of Famer, with previous Kentucky Derby and Preakness wins, in 2005 and 1993, respectively. Current odds have him at 6/1 for, but with the rest of his racing season factored in, it seems unlikely that this colt is going to run the same winning race at the Preakness. But I'll admit, I'm really hoping that he does, and that his Derby win wasn't he fluke that some folks think it was.
The other wild card in tomorrow's Preakness is the filly, Rachel Alexandra. The odds tonight, on the eve of the Preakness, have her running as the current favorite at 8/5. There have been few horses I've seen people as excited about as they seem about this talented filly.
Here are the current wagering odds and post positions:
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Dosage | Jockey | M/L Odds |
| 1 | Big Drama | David Fawkes | 3.00 | John Velazquez | 10-1 |
| 2 | Mine That Bird | Bennie Woolley | 5.40 | Mike Smith | 6-1 |
| 3 | Musket Man | Derek Ryan | 4.00 | Eibar Coa | 8-1 |
| 4 | Luv Guv | D. Wayne Lukas | 4.60 | Jamie Theriot | 50-1 |
| 5 | Friesan Fire | Larry Jones | 3.00 | Gabriel Saez | 6-1 |
| 6 | Terrain | Albert Stall Jr. | 2.20 | Jeremy Rose | 30-1 |
| 7 | Papa Clem | Gary Stute | 3.36 | Rafael Bejarano | 12-1 |
| 8 | General Quarters | Mark Miller | 2.69 | Julien Leparoux | 20-1 |
| 9 | Pioneerof the Nile | Bob Baffert | 3.89 | Garrett Gomez | 5-1 |
| 10 | Flying Private | D. Wayne Lukas | 3.67 | Alan Garcia | 50-1 |
| 11 | Take the Points | Todd Pletcher | 1.35 | Edgar Prado | 30-1 |
| 12 | Tone It Down | William Komlo | 1.22 | Kent Desormeaux | 50-1 |
| 13 | Rachel Alexandra | Steve Asmussen | 1.55 | Calvin Borel | 8-5 |
Regardless of tomorrow's hopes, I cannot bring myself to choose among these horses, each of whom represents a dream to owners, trainers, and jockeys. I wish them all luck. May they all run with power and grace. May God bring them all safely to finish, no matter the order they place.
