The New York Monster

                               Source: www.belmontstakes.com


Well, the kids are out of school and the temperatures are already climbing into the 90's in most parts of the country. Which means that Summer is upon us and the Belmont Stakes is only a few days away. A dozen horses take the post this coming Saturday to take on the monster trip in New York. Out of the twelve, the top seven finishers in the Derby are back for a rematch (the first time this has ever happened).

Many are dubbing this a rubber match between the Derby winner, Animal Kingdom and the Preakness winner Shackleford. Even AK's owner Barry Irwin and Shakleford's trainer, Dale Romans have already taken verbal jabs at each other this week. With the Triple Crown out of the picture, this is shaping up to be a heavyweight prize fight, with the winner holding a slight edge of being the top three-year-old heading into the Summer.

2011 Belmont Stakes Picks:


Exotics:
Animal Kingdom: 2-1 ML favorite, just as he was in the Preakness. Since this horses first race on dirt he has taken off and not looked back.

Nehro: Finished second in his last three races. Improved speed ratings each time out. Coming in fresh off a five week layoff.

Mucho Macho Man: He was Mr. Consistency until the Preakness three weeks ago but threw a shoe. Finished third in the Derby and was closing on Nehro.

Master Of Hounds: First race on dirt was the Derby and worked his way through traffic coming from 15th to finish fifth. He is also fresh after skipping the Preakness.

Winner:
Animal Kingdom: Has shown that he is a step above the rest of the field. Closing in his last two races, he was pulling away from the field in the Derby and just ran out of room in the Preakness. Bred for the distance, the Belmont should pose no problems for the Derby winner.

This race is a monster at 1 1/2 miles and has a history of craziness. While I will be confident heading to the window this coming Saturday, I would not at all be surprised to see any of the top seven Derby finishers take this race based on the history of the Belmont. Good luck to all and feel free to leave your comments....

33 and Counting...

Slow break out of the gate left the Derby winner facing a daunting task of picking off 13 horses at a track they say favors the speed horses. Animal Kingdom was out to prove his doubters wrong, that he was no fluke just two short weeks ago. Heading into the far turn, it was time, weaving in and out of traffic, one by one he started picking off his foes. Coming down the stretch, bursting through the field and closing fast, only one horse to pass, that same horse that faded down the stretch in the Derby. It just wasn't meant to be as Animal Kingdom ran out of real estate and ran into a horse named Shackleford that was not willing to give in this time around as he showed he had just enough gas left in the tank to hold on and take the Preakness.

So, here we are, another year, another heartbreak for the horse racing world. While Animal Kingdom did what he set out to do and prove that he was no fluke, it wasn't enough to please the racing fans as they are left disappointed yet again. We now have another long year to wait and see if and when that next three-year-old will emerge and capture that elusive Triple Crown that was last won 33 years ago.

Time still goes on as does the sport of horse racing. The Belmont is the next big stakes race on the card for these young horses and they will have a $1,000,000 purse to chase after. Assuming the top horses come out healthy from the Preakness, lets hope that large purse is good enough reason for the likes of Shackleford, Animal Kingdom, Dialed In and Mucho Macho Man to give us racing fans another exciting race to anticipate in less than three weeks. With Nehro, who placed in the Derby and Jaycito, who was a top Derby contender before he got sidelined with a minor injury, pointing toward the Belmont, it still could shape into another interesting race with a nicely stacked field.

Pegged 3 out of the top 4 in the Preakness. Astrology probably kept some from hitting the super or tri but hopefully you took my suggestions and hit the exacta or better yet had a winning ticket on Shackelford. Check back in a couple of weeks and I'll have my picks for the Belmont.

Round 2: Baltimore

Source: http://www.preakness.com/ 

The draw is done, morning line odds are set and the horses are busy eating hay in their stalls at Pimlico by now. Which means it's almost time for the 136th running of the Preakness Stakes. For only the second time since 1992, there will be a full field that goes to the post come Saturday night. It is sure to be an exciting run for the Woodlawn Vase as 13 horses go stride for stride and attempt to knock off Animal Kingdom from his short two week reign as King of the three year olds.

It's anyone's race as this is considered one of the weaker/uncertain classes of three year old's compared to years past. Although, this may make the race that more exciting as there are a handful of horses that I can see taking the Preakness this year. With five horses coming out of the Derby and nine newcomers trying to show that they belong, grab your popcorn or crab cakes as they are known for in Maryland and get ready for round two in Baltimore.

2011 Preakness Stakes Picks:


Exotics:
Animal Kingdom: 2-1 ML favorite as he should be. Won the Derby convincingly, was pulling away from the field and looked like he could have gone longer if needed to.

Dialed In: Derby favorite disappointed two weeks ago. He is a closer, comes from dead last and 19 horses were just entirely too many to round up that day. We find out if he is a contender or a pretender in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Mucho Macho Man: The owners of this guy are going to have to seriously start thinking of changing his name to "Mucho Money Man." That's all this horse has done as he has finished in the money 7 out of 8 of his lifetime starts. Enough said.

Shackleford: Almost took the Derby wire to wire. Did not start to fade until the last 1/16 of a mile and guess what, the Preakness is just a 1/16 of a mile shorter than the Derby. Does not have history on his side as Rachel Alexandra is the only horse in the last ten years to win this race wire to wire.

Winner:
Animal Kingdom: Been back and forth on this as I could see any of the above four horses taking this race. He only gets better each race he has run. It's tough to get off this horse as I had him pegged as my dark horse in the Derby.