block

[Arra]

I hope you kept those hats dusted ladies and gents because we're back again after that stunning and heartshattering running of the 134th Kentucky Derby. This time we're meeting in beautiful Baltimore Maryland at none other than Pimlico race track where legends are born. So grab the Bourbon and the Vodka citrus and meet me at the paddock for a grand ol' time.

Big Brown is back again as the heavy favourite going for 1:5 by post time and can he do it again? Why plenty of us hope so. His powerhouse performance in the Derby hasn't been seen since Spectacular Bid ran the track folks back in '79. So it's been said and so I believe. That includes and discounts a lot of nice runners who have come up short in the Belmont which is three weeks from today. Runners such as Barbaro, Point Given, Fusaichi Pegasus, Thunder Gulch and the rest. If this big colt runs like he ran at the Derby well he might as well be running against himself because not a horse on that track will be able to catch him down the stretch.

Gayego the only other returning horse from the Run for the Roses has a lot of folks thinking he might make a run for the lead over Big Brown. He had a rough start in the gate and a rough ride throughout the Derby so only time will tell if he'll be there in the end.

For the past 10 years we've seen horse after horse win the first two jewels of the crown only to have the third snatched away over the grueling distance of the Belmont, however there have been a few times where the odds on favourite was beaten back at the last moment here at the Preakness. Times that included some such as Curlin in 07, Hansel in 91 and Bee Bee Bee in 72 who took it from Riva Ridge. Though the owners of Riva Ridge made it fine the next year when their horse Secretariat swept the Triple Crown and the hearts of the nation.

Kentucky Bear is another closer to watch and as we've seen in the under card races today the track is favouring the stalkers and the off-pace runners. Head-to-head dueling and nearly mini-match races have been playing out in the turf sprints and impressive from behind victories have ruled the course today. We can only wait, folks, with anticipation to see if Big Brown can fend them all off with that power button.

So here we are. Two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, three weeks before the Belmont Stakes, waiting to see if this will be a year where a horse takes the Triple Crown for the first time in 30 years or if, yet again, those hopes are dashed.

And may we all share a moment of silence for the late Eight Belles, whose passing after the running of the Kentucky Derby has spawned what some hope to be a revitalization of Horse Racing as we know it. Will we, in the future years, see the horses of past days again? Will we see such durable strong runners like Buckpasser, Dr. Fager, Secretariat, Bold Ruler, and Man O'War?

Much to see and much to hope for with this race ladies and gents. We are 1hr to post time. Go, baby, GO!