The son of Boundary stalked the pace in third behind Gayego and Riley Tucker, and he burst away from his rivals when asked by Kent Desormeaux en route to a geared down 5-1/4 length tally in the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

He ran the nine and one-half furlong Preakness in 1:54-4/5 and paid $2.40 to win. He finished with plenty left in the tank and will go for the Triple Crown sweep at Belmont Park in three weeks.

Macho Again rallied to finish 2nd, a half-length ahead of my live exotics longshot Icabad Crane. Racecar Rhapsody weakened to 4th, and was followed by Stevil, Kentucky Bear, Hey Byrn, Giant Moon, Tres Borrachos, and Yankee Bravo. Pace players Gayego and Riley Tucker rounded out the order of finish.

All attention now shifts to Big Sandy for the June 7th Belmont Stakes, and Big Brown has the best shot at finishing off the Triple Crown since I started following thoroughbred racing in 1980.

Big Brown figures to face his toughest challenge in the Test of Champions, and undefeated Peter Pan hero Casino Drive could give him a serious run for his money…It’s going to be an exciting three weeks!

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Gayego had all sorts of early trouble in the Derby, and that threw the early/pressing type off his game. He fired in all of his previous starts, and the Grade 2 winner could sit the right outside stalking trip. Dangerous rebound candidate with clear sailing.

Icabad Crane is an interesting price player for Graham Motion. His lone career setback was a synthetic 3rd in the Rushaway at Turfway. He exits a victory in the local nine furlong prep for this, and the lightly raced sort has plenty of upside.

Speaking of raw talent, Kentucky Bear has only raced three times. He was rushed into graded action following a visually impressive debut maiden romp in Florida, and he failed to seriously threaten in the Fountain of Youth as expected. He rebounded with a solid 3rd in the Blue Grass, and he is training with a purpose for this engagement.

Giant Moon began his career with four straight tallies, but he has found graded company a bit too much in his last pair. He is another with a good looking work pattern, and the early/pressing type should make his presence felt in the early stages at the very least.

Tres Borrachos looms the early target, and Racecar Rhapsody and Yankee Bravo will be grinding in the late stages.

Hey Byrn, Macho Again, Riley Tucker, and Stevil round out the twelve horse field.

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The Todd Pletcher trainee was exiting a victory in the Grade 2 Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, and his departure will make things that much easier for Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, shown training at Pimlico on May 15th.

Twelve horses will now line up for the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

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Post positions have been drawn for the 133rd Preakness Stakes, and undefeated Kentucky Derby hero Big Brown (post 7) has been installed as the 1-2 morning line favorite.

Big Brown deserves to go off at low odds after his smashing Derby victory. He could easily regress two weeks after a career top in the biggest race of the year for his age group, but he is faster than these and will likely prevail anyway.

Late entrant Gayego could give him a scare if he brings his A game. He was thrown off his early/pressing game with early trouble at Churchill Downs, and he is a rebound threat with clear sailing.

Kentucky Bear is lightly raced and has plenty of upside, and Behindatthebar owns nice synthetic form and tries to transfer his sharp races to conventional dirt.

The remaining nine entrants have their work cut out, but they still have to run the race…and stranger things have happened!

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Kentucky Derby hero Big Brown might get a bit of competition from Arkansas Derby winner Gayego. The son of Gilded Time was a gem of consistency before a troubled start in the Derby hurt his chances. He hardly owns a classic pedigree, and if the early/pressing type is going to make any Triple Crown noise, the 9.5 furlong Preakness would be the spot.

The remaining horses under consideration for the Preakness are Giant Moon, Hey Byrn, Icabad Crane, Kentucky Bear, Macho Again, Racecar Rhapsody, Riley Tucker, Stevil, Tres Borrachos, and Yankee Bravo.

Gayego Image: Newscom

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Recapturetheglory was on the fence for several days after the Kentucky Derby, and no sooner than his connections decided to try the Preakness, he developed a temperature and will miss the second jewel of the Triple Crown. It would have been great to have Louis Roussel and Ronnie Lamarque put on a public relations show at Pimlico…but it was not meant to be. Their early/pressing colt will live to fight another day.

Holy Bull winner Hey Byrn failed to make the Derby field because of insufficient graded earnings, but he will give the Preakness a whirl. Note that Big Brown dusted him in the Florida Derby, and he would have to kick it up several notches to compete in Baltimore.

Federico Tesio winner and local hero Icabad Crane is another new Triple Crown series shooter. The New York bred is trained by Graham Motion, and former Preakness winning pilot Jeremy Rose (Afleet Alex) has the call.

Longshot Macho Again is back in the Preakness picture, and the Dallas Stewart trainee should arrive in Baltimore on May 14th.

Todd Pletcher will be represented by Lexington Stakes hero Behindatthebar, and he might also run undefeated Withers winner Harlem Rocker. A final decision on the latter will be made on May 14th.

Derby winner Big Brown continues to gallop and jog at Churchill Downs in preparation for the Preakness, and besides the aforementioned horses, he figures to face Tres Borrachos, Giant Moon, Kentucky Bear, Racecar Rhapsody, Riley Tucker, Stevil, and Yankee Bravo.

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The early/pressing type continues his Preakness preparations at Churchill Downs and should show up in Baltimore around May 10th.

Tres Borrachos, last seen landing the show in the Arkansas Derby, worked a second best of 30 five furlongs in :59.60 at Churchill on May 7th. Tyler Baze retains the mount in the Preakness Stakes.

Wood Memorial 4th place finisher Giant Moon drilled five panels in 1:01.01 at Belmont Park on May 7th. He has been training steadily for his first start in six weeks.

Yet another Lexington Stakes also-ran is confirmed for the Preakness, as 4th place finisher Racecar Rhapsody became a late addition to the second jewel. Ken McPeek is the trainer, and last year’s Preakness (Curlin) winning pilot Robby Albarado retains the mount.

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Many if not all of the horses behind Big Brown in the Derby are skipping the Preakness, making the second leg of the Triple Crown that much easier for the 2008 Kentucky Derby winner.

Show finisher Denis of Cork is likely for the Belmont Stakes, along with 4th place finisher Tale of Ekati.

Recapturetheglory is possible for the Preakness Stakes, but he is more likely to return to Illinois for a breather. Cowboy Cal, Smooth Air, and Visionaire will also go on vacation. Colonel John will most likely return to California, and Monba will join Todd Pletcher’s New York string. Adriano will go to Motion’s Fair Hill base and will probably return to grass racing, with the Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs a possibility.

At this point, eight new shooters are possible for the May 17th Preakness, including Lexington hero Behindatthebar, SoCal synthetic specialist El Gato Malo, Giant Moon, Harlem Rocker, Kentucky Bear, Stevil, Tres Borrachos, and Yankee Victor.

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