Preakness Stakes...can War Emblem do it?

[Horny Harry]

Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem has barrier No: 8 for Saturday's USD$1million Preakness Stakes, the second jewel in horseracing's Triple Crown.
The race will be run at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Even winning hte Kentucky Derby hasn't been enough for the bookies. War Emblem will not start favourite, that honour instead will go to Medaglia d'Oro, who ran fourth in the Derby after missing the start.
"He is one of the few excuse horses from the Derby," said bookie Frank Carulli. "I think the public will migrate to Medaglia d'Oro."
War Emblem's trainer, Bob Baffert, believes his charge is the horse to beat, and he has no plans to change the front- running style of War Emblem. "We're not going to change his tactics," said Baffert. "We'll let him bounce away from that gate, it won't be a problem."
The complete Preakness field is:
Horse Jockey Odds
U S S Tinosa Kent Desormeaux 15-1
Magic Weisner Richard Migliore 40-1
Straight Gin Robby Albarado 30-1
Crimson Hero Chris McCarron 20-1
Medaglia d'Oro Jerry Bailey 5-2
Harlan's Holiday Edgar Prado 9-2
Easyfromthegitgo Donnie Meche 15-1
War Emblem Victor Espinoza 3-1
Table Limit Gary Stevens 30-1
Booklet Pat Day 10-1
Menacing Dennis Mario Pino 50-1
Proud Citizen Mike Smith 6-1
Equality Ramon Dominguez 20-1

[Horny Harry]

Watch some of the prrevious greats in action, including Secretariat winning his Belmont by 30 lengths.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/horseracing/1999/belmont/news/1999/06/04/triple_crown_videos/#

[Seabiscuit]

I hope War Emblem can win the Preakness. I think he is an OK horse. I think Steve Crist's column (at www.drf.com (http://www.drf.com) Crist Preakness Diary 5/16) says it all. Unfortunately I think he is correct when he says that several rivals are more intent on defeating War Emblem than winning the race. I hope the plans of these miserable individuals backfire and they finish last with War Emblem first.
Medaglia D'Oro is a talented horse but there is a question mark over his foundation. Only one run at two and still not many lifetime starts. He looks like being favorite and might win if War Emblem has his chances ruined by no hopers who are just making up the numbers.

[Horny Harry]

War Emblem wins Preakness
By MIKE WATCHMAKER
Horsephotos
War Emblem takes the 127th Preakness at Pimlico on Saturday.
Baltimore - War Emblem answered his critics who said he got away too easy when he won the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago with a courageous victory in Saturday's $1 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.
In the process, War Emblem placed himself in the position to attempt a sweep of the Triple Crown in the 1 1/2 mile Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 8.
War Emblem prompted a fast pace set by longshot Menacing Dennis, took the lead on the far turn, turned back a bid from Derby runner up Proud Citizen in upper stretch and held off a late charge from hometown hero Magic Weisner to score by three quarters of a length. Proud Citizen held on for third, another three quarters of a length back.
War Emblem paid $7.60 as the favorite and combined with Magic Weisner, a 45-1 shot, for a 327.00 exacta.

[Horny Harry]

War Emblem shines again in Preakness
By Richard Rosenblatt, AP racing writer
NBC
War Emblem, far right, holds off Magic Weisner to win the Preakness. Proud Citizen finished third.
BALTIMORE — War Emblem didn't lead all the way as he did in the Kentucky Derby, but he still ran away with the Preakness Stakes on Saturday to set up a shot at the Triple Crown in three weeks. The convincing win, much like his wire-to-wire victory in the Derby two weeks ago, sets up trainer Bob Baffert for his third shot at a Triple Crown in the last six years. Baffert's Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet in 1998 both won the Derby and Preakness but fell short in the Belmont.
War Emblem, who held off fast-closing long shot Magic Weisner by three-quarters of a length, didn't show up in Baffert's barn until three weeks before the Derby, when the colt was bought for $900,000 by Saudi Prince Ahmed bin Salman.
On June 8, War Emblem will attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 and the 12th horse to sweep the Derby, Preakness and Belmont.
Baffert, who was out of Triple Crown options before War Emblem showed up, has now won four straight Triple Crown races and eight of the last 17.
The greatly anticipated showdown at the start with speedsters such as Booklet and Table Limit failed to materialize. Instead, long shot Menacing Dennis shot to the front and held the lead. War Emblem, with Victor Espinoza aboard, was second just off the pace. When the field of 13 3 year-olds turned for home, War Emblem moved into the lead by two lengths and began to widen his advantage.
Proud Citizen, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, looked to have second place wrapped up, but local favorite Magic Weisner — a 45-1 shot — made a late rush to finish second.
War Emblem covered the 1 3-16th-mile Preakness in a slow 1:56.36.
Sent off as the 5-2 favorite, War Emblem returned $7.60, $6 and $4.40. Magic Weisner, with Richard Migliore aboard, paid $33 and $14. Proud Citizen, ridden by Mike Smith, was third and returned $5.
"It's a shame we ran out of racetrack," Migliore said in what could have been the biggest upset in Preakness history. "He was getting to him really quick."
But like the Derby, nobody could catch War Emblem, who becomes the eighth horse to try for a Triple Crown since Affirmed won his 24 years ago.
After the race, the ornery, nearly black colt still had enough energy left to try to nip the outrider pony who was escorting him to the winner's circle.
Straight Gin, trained by Nick Zito and ridden by Robby Albarado, was ninth and was taken from the track by ambulance with a non life-threatening bowed tendon.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/gallery/2002preakness/frame.htm

[Seabiscuit]

I was glad to see War Emblem win the Preakness. He did it with a fast pace against him. It was good to see that no hoper Menacing Dennis finish nowhere after going out seemingly with the intention of destroying War Emblem.
War Emblem showed some champion qualities in winning the Preakness. He showed he is not simply fast but gutsy too. He now has a chance to win the Triple Crown if he can win the Belmont. However he will need all his champion qualities to do this. Only true legends of American racing like Secretariat and Affirmed win the Triple Crown. No horse has done it since Affirmed in 1978. Some have come close in recent years (Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet in 1998) only to see their tilt at equine immortality evaporate in the Belmont stretch. You need to be a true champ to win the Triple Crown not half a one. In a few weeks War Emblem will get to show us if he is a true champ or only half a one.

[masun]

Horse racing is an interesting game. Both speed gurus Beyer and Ragozin knew that War Emblem had the best speed fig. Somehow they still managed to come up with a theory as to why War Emblem couldn't win again. Both went for Medaglia d'Oro. Beyer wrote in his May 17 column:
When War Emblem crossed the finish line at Churchill Downs, I felt as stupid as I have at any moment of my gambling life. I am an apostle of speed figures, and this colt had a speed figure that towered over those of his rivals in the Kentucky Derby. Yet I didn't pick him to win, didn't bet him at 20 to 1 and didn't even respect him as a serious contender.
When he runs in the Preakness, War Emblem will have two superior figures that again give him a substantial edge over his competition. Have I learned a lesson? Of course not. I will bet against him at Pimlico for basically the same reason I did at Churchill Downs, only this time the logic will prove correct. Medaglia d'Oro, the fourth-place finisher in the Derby, is going to win at Pimlico on Saturday.
Now I am really looking forward to hearing what Beyer has to say about WE's Preakness win.

[masun]

Only true legends of American racing like Secretariat and Affirmed win the Triple Crown.
Spare a thought for the original trainer and owner. The Derby win was bad enough. The Preakness win certainly rubbed salt in the wound. Can't imagine what they would do if WE wins the Triple Crown.

[Seabiscuit]

I don't think you need to spare a thought for the previous owner of War Emblem in this case, Masun. I am not 100% sure but I think the previous owner is still a part owner plus he got a million dollars or so for the sale. In the Daily Racing Form before the Derby the owner was listed as Russell L Reineman. On today's DRF homepage there is the following report:
"If War Emblem wins that race, his owners, Prince Ahmed Salman's Thoroughbred Corporation, and Russell Reinemen, will receive a $5 million bonus from Visa, the Triple Crown's sponsor. Salman owns 90 percent of the colt, Reineman 10 percent."
Based on these facts it looks like Russell Reineman only sold a 90% share in the horse but kept 10% for himself just in case.
As for the trainer, I am not sure if we should spare a thought for him. Chances are that War Emblem may not have won either race without Baffert as his trainer. I have learned never to underestimate the very best trainer in the very best races. Even if he took over a few days before the race it is possible he still had an effect. I remember reading after the Derby the jockey saying that Baffert told him 100 times before the Derby to go to the lead and not let the horse go until the very last minute. Baffert said it so many times the jockey said it was drilled into him by the time of the race. Not many Derbies are won by leaders. It is possible that the other trainer may have suggested the jockey try to stalk the pace like everyone else and he might not have won.
Also look at Proud Citizen. Placed in the Derby and the Preakness. Before the Derby everyone said he had next to no hope. The only thing going for him was his trainer D. Wayne Lukas (another one of the USA's best big race trainers). Well Lukas got this horse to improve dramatically in the two big races.
We will never know if War Emblem would have won both races under his old trainer. It is true he ran a very high Beyer figure of 112 in the Illinois Derby under his old trainer. However I just have a feeling in my bones that the results might have been different under his old trainer.
If this year's Triple Crown races ram home any message it is don't underestimate the very best trainers in USA Triple crown races (unless they come from Europe or Dubai).

[Horny Harry]

One has to feel a little sorry for the poor old bugger who sold War Emblem ...at 81 years of age this was his last chance to be the major owner of a Derby horse. However you are right in saying, Seabiskuts, that the horse would not have done so well with his previous trainer.
Baltimore - War Emblem answered his critics who said he got away too easy when he won the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago with a courageous victory in Saturday's $1 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.
In the process, War Emblem placed himself in the position to attempt a sweep of the Triple Crown in the 1 1/2 mile Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 8.
It seems that War Emblem has the same problem as Sunline...being attacked for getting things to easy. I wonder how he will go in the Belmont?

[Seabiscuit]

As the discussion is currently about the owner and trainer of War Emblem I thought I might paste this story. I have taken it from the letitride site (www.letitride.com) where sweetwilliam posted it on the USA forum. Most respondents so far do not agree with it.
I have not had the privilege to meet Baffert or the Prince so I don't know if any of the article has substance or not. The bit that I like is that this journalist (who I don't know either) is declaring War Emblem a certainty to win the Triple Crown. Only a few days ago many journalists were implying his Derby win was something of a fluke and he wouldn't win the Preakness. Now we find a journalist declaring him over the line in the Belmont. I don't know Jeff Jacobs' thoughts prior to the Preakness but you generally find that journalists as a group are good at 180 degree turns.
I stopped believing in certainties years ago.
From today's Hartford Courant (Connecticut) news paper:
Jeff Jacobs
Not A Cold Front, But Getting Chilly
BALTIMORE -- This should be the greatest horse story ever told. This should be a warm, sweet story powerful enough to hold both thoroughbred history and humankind in a passionate embrace.
War Emblem is going to win the Triple Crown. You can take that much to the parlor window and put down two bucks or 20 bucks or 200 bucks. Box it, wheel it, dress it up perfecta.
Bob Baffert has the horse this time. And when Victor Espinoza guides the ebony colt to victory in the Belmont Stakes June 8, only a few miles from the great tragedy of our generation, the finish should give us pause to be thankful for the precious moments of joy that sport can bring.
This is the spring that Seattle Slew put down his mighty head and fell asleep forever. Slew died on the 25th anniversary - to the day - of his Kentucky Derby victory, and when he died, this meant no Triple Crown winner grazes the Kentucky bluegrass for the first time since Sir Barton first won the three racing jewels in 1919.
This is a regal sport. "This is the sport of kings, right Prince?" Baffert said to War Emblem's owner Ahmed bin Salman after their horse held off a desperate dash by Maryland-bred Magic Weisner to win the 127th Preakness Stakes.
The prince nodded his head. Baffert is right. We need a living king and this should be the story of a 20-1 Kentucky Derby long shot ascending to a rightful place alongside Citation, Slew, Secretariat and the other Triple Crown winners.
This is the spring Baffert, who twice has had his heart broken at the Belmont Stakes, should break through for the first Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978. Silver Charm never saw Touch Gold closing on the outside of Free House in 1997 and he lost the Triple Crown by three-quarters of a length. Real Quiet, who also won the Derby and Preakness, lost by a head bob to Victory Gallop in the 1998 Belmont.
This should be the spring to celebrate Baffert's resolve. This should be the story of the wisecracking trainer who jumped from quarterhorse anonymity to international acclaim and never lost his humility or his spontaneity.
This should be the story of validation for Prince Ahmed. He loves horses. He breeds horses. He lives horses. Last spring, he had Point Given, billed by many as the best thoroughbred since Secretariat, who inexplicably came up a flat fifth at Churchill Downs. Point Given, however, would win the Preakness and Belmont and now the prince and his silver-haired trainer, whom he calls "my genius Bob," have won four Triple Crown races in a row.
The victory at the Belmont will give them a precious Triple Crown. Their story should bring American sport together in a moving and special way. The story should be the greatest horse story ever told.
So why don't I don't feel that way?
Obviously, some of the romance was lost when a filthy rich prince plunked down $900,000 three weeks before the Kentucky Derby to buy War Emblem. Baffert didn't train this horse to greatness. Others did. What happened is not unlike George Steinbrenner swooping in and adding Barry Bonds to his lineup before the World Series. The Yankees once were compared to U.S. Steel. Well, Prince Ahmed's team is OPEC. It's tough to beat $1.49 a gallon at the pump.
Baffert and the prince grew testy in Louisville about all this. Baffert accused others of being jealous. He is partly right and War Emblem did silence other critics who carped that he won the Kentucky Derby only because the rest of the field let him. Menacing Dennis had no intention of letting War Emblem go wire-to-wire at Pimlico, yet War Emblem weathered a scorching early pace to prove his greatness.
"Today he showed a dimension nobody thought he had," Baffert said. "We found out today opinions die and records live. This horse is for real."
We're starting to wonder how real Baffert is. He is operating under the mistaken impression that the only reason folks aren't rooting for him is because of the late grab on War Emblem.
What Baffert should realize is millions of Americans are still hurt from the terrorist attack of Sept. 11. What Baffert also should realize is he has grown overbearing, dismissive, borderline insufferable. His ad libs are clearly rehearsed. He doesn't allow criticism to pass. After D. Wayne Lukas said Baffert was lucky to have such great backers and is "on scholarship," Baffert couldn't wait to respond Saturday night: "They don't give scholarships to dummies."
Baffert takes over press conferences. He cuts his jockey short if he begins to talk about strategy, telling Espinoza, "Don't tell 'em spit." He interrupts others with juvenile responses. He's a sitcom that's not so funny the fifth time around. When he says, "Fate owes me a Triple Crown," the urge is to yell back, "Fate owes you nothing."
Baffert calls War Emblem the stealth bomber, black, sleek and strikes quickly.
"Black like oil," the prince joked.
Earlier, the prince called War Emblem, "One of the best investments I've ever done in my life, besides finding oil in Saudi Arabia. This horse [which wears the green and white of the Saudi flag] is for Saudi Arabians, not for me. But when I sell him, the money goes to me."
The prince likes to point out he was educated in America for 10 years. He says he knows Americans from every angle. He says people flock to him for autographs and those who try to politicize him don't know squat.
"I think I'm a little bit more popular than President Bush," the prince said.
This is from a member of the ruling Saudi family, whose country produced and exported a virulent form of Islamic extremism. This is a member of the ruling family, whose country produced 15 of the 19 hijackers who buried planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This is a country that ran a telethon to fund the suicide bombers in Palestine.
The prince may know horses. The prince may know oil. And the folks who cashed an exacta on him Saturday and the New York Racing Association, promoting a Triple Crown race, may love him more than Bush. But he's wrong on one important count. He doesn't know America. The silly, cavalier attitude his "genius Bob" shows has gotten old very quickly. This is a warm story that isn't so warm.

[Seabiscuit]

The best writing I have found on the two Triple Crown races so far has been by Steve Crist with his Derby and Preakness Diaries. He writes for the Daily Racing Form (www.drf.com).
He has done well with his analysis of both races. I post here his thoughts after the Preakness. (I have edited out the middle bit of his column concerning his odd lines and betting plays etc).
I think Crist is closer to the mark than Jeff Jacobs when he notes that War Emblem is no cinch for the Triple Crown.
Crist Preakness diary for Sunday 5/19
Measured in terms of sheer drama, the Kentucky Derby was as boring a classic race as we'll ever see. The Preakness, however, more than made up for it. Act Two was an epic, a three-battle war that left the winner looking more heroic than ever.
War Emblem's winning margin was less than a length and his final time was undistinguished, but he was miles the best and it was his most impressive performance yet. While the potential multiway duel for the early lead never materialized, he pressed a speed-crazed sprinter's fast pace early, turned back his best rival's strong bid in upper stretch, and finally held off a fresh stretch-runner's late bid. To win and stand poised for a Triple Crown bid, he had to prevail in those three separate challenges.
Magic Weisner's late charge from out of the clouds was something of an optical illusion. War Emblem and Proud Citizen were decelerating rapidly and the first five finishers, who finished only 3 1/4 lengths apart, were coming together like an accordion on the intake. War Emblem needed an agonizing 20.14 seconds to run the final three-sixteenths of a mile and 1:10.26 for the final five and a half furlongs. - and had every right to fold.....
We now know that in addition to being very fast and talented, War Emblem has character and courage. He would be a deserving Triple Crown winner if he takes the Belmont, but he's no cinch.
You have to think that the game plan with Proud Citizen next time will be to engage War Emblem sooner rather than chasing him. There's a difference between slugging it out from the start with a high-quality rival and being restrained just to the outside of a sprinter who is a certainty to fold. Whereas War Emblem was going to win the Derby if it had been a quarter-mile longer, he probably wasn't going to win the Preakness if the race had continued another five-sixteenths up to the Belmont distance of a mile and a half.
It's been a fascinating Triple Crown and it's far from over.

[masun]

Obviously, some of the romance was lost when a filthy rich prince plunked down $900,000 three weeks before the Kentucky Derby to buy War Emblem.
From my perspective, one has to give credit to the filthy rich prince for willing to take the risk. The thing is nobody believed that WE could win the Derby. Even after the Derby people still had doubts about WE's ability to win the Preakness. The doubters include WE's original owner and trainer who were willing to sell the horse. Everyone had a chance to buy WE. The prince and trainer took the risk, not only in money but also damage to their reputation for trying to gatecrash the Triple Crown party by purchasing a dud horse. They took the risk, and won. So they might have bragged a little. A lot of us would have done same thing too in similar situation.

[Horny Harry]

Some interesting posts seabiskuts...it will cetainly be interesting to see how the horse fares up top the final leg of the triple crown. Should give those yanks something to look forward too!
War Emblem doing well the morning after
By JAY PRIVMAN
Maryland Jockey Club
War Emblem holds off Magic Weisner to win the 127th Preakness Stakes.
BALTIMORE - War Emblem, whose victory in Saturday's Preakness Stakes put him one race away from sweeping the Triple Crown, came out of the race better than he did the Kentucky Derby, according to trainer Bob Baffert, who hopes War Emblem can complete a sweep that eluded his colts Silver Charm and Real Quiet.
"He's pretty wild today," Baffert said at Pimlico Race Course on Sunday morning. "After the Derby, he was quiet and tired. Today, he's pretty rambunctious."
War Emblem was scheduled on Sunday afternoon to fly back to Louisville's Churchill Downs, where he will train for the next 2 1/2 weeks for the June 8 Belmont Stakes. The is the same schedule Baffert has used with his three previous Preakness winners, Silver Charm, Real Quiet, and Point Given. Of those three, both Silver Charm and Real Quiet finished second in the Belmont, while Point Given won it.
Point Given lost last year's Derby, but since then, Baffert and Prince Ahmed Salman's The Thoroughbred Corporation have won four consecutive Triple Crown races.
It appears only one other horse from the Preakness will go on to the Belmont. Proud Citizen, who finished third in the Preakness after finishing second in the Derby, will try to stop War Emblem from becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Proud Citizen was flown back to Churchill Downs early Sunday morning.
Perfect Drift, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, is among the horses who passed the Preakness to await the Belmont. Other potential Belmont starters include Sunday Break, who is scheduled to run in this Saturday's Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park, and the 1-2 finishers from the recent Lone Star Derby, Wiseman's Ferry and Tracemark. Essence of Dubai also is pointing for the Belmont.
Baffert said that in taking over the training of War Emblem in recent weeks, "I feel like Phil Jackson taking over the Lakers."
"Last year, I brought Shaquille O'Neal to the Belmont," Baffert said, referring to the massive Point Given. "This year, I've got Kobe Bryant."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
War Emblem proves Derby was no fluke
By JAY PRIVMAN
Horsephotos
War Emblem, under Victor Espinoza, wins the Preakness at Pimlico Saturday.
BALTIMORE - The pace, track, and trip were decidedly different than the Kentucky Derby, but the 127th Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course wound up with the same winner, as War Emblem bravely held on to win the second leg of the Triple Crown.
War Emblem now heads to the June 8 Belmont Stakes with a chance to become the sport's 12th Triple Crown winner, and the first since Affirmed in 1978. If War Emblem wins that race, his owners, Prince Ahmed Salman's Thoroughbred Corporation, and Russell Reinemen, will receive a $5 million bonus from Visa, the Triple Crown's sponsor. Salman owns 90 percent of the colt, Reineman 10 percent.
This is the third time in six seasons that trainer Bob Baffert has won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes to head to Belmont with a chance to win the Triple Crown. Both Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet in 1998 finished second in the Belmont.
Baffert and Salman also won last year's Preakness and Belmont with Point Given, who finished fifth as the favorite in the Derby.
War Emblem was challenged for the early lead in the Preakness, unlike in the Derby, in which he was allowed to set a leisurely pace at Churchill Downs. He had to sit off of the speedy Menacing Dennis through fast fractions, put away that pace rival, turned back a bid from Proud Citizen at midstretch, then outlasted the 45-1 longshot Magic Weisner to win by three-quarters of a length.
Magic Weisner finished second, three-quarters of a length in front of Proud Citizen, who had finished second in the Derby. Harlan's Holiday, the beaten favorite in the Derby, finished fourth.
The biggest disappointment in the race was Medaglia d'Oro, who went off as the second choice at 3-1 and finished eighth after stalking the early pace.
"I don't have much of an excuse, to be honest with you," said Jerry Bailey, who rode Medaglia d'Oro.
Straight Gin, who finished ninth in the 13-horse field, had to be removed from the track in the horse ambulance. According to Dr. Larry Bramlage, the on-call veterinarian for the American Association of Equine Practitioners, Straight Gin suffered a bowed tendon in his right front leg.
War Emblem, who was 20-1 in the Derby, went off as the 5-2 favorite and paid $7.60 to win.
It was cold and windy at Pimlico on Saturday, and rain that fell Friday night and into Saturday left the main track in sloppy condition for the first race. The track had been sealed Friday night, so when the rain stopped before noon, the track was quickly upgraded to good, and then fast long before the Preakness.
On that fast track, War Emblem was timed in 1:56.36 for 1 3/16 miles.
The early fractions of 22.97 seconds for the opening quarter and 46.10 for the half were set by Menacing Dennis, but War Emblem was right outside of him. Medaglia d'Oro was just behind those two, with U S S Tinosa to his inside. Booklet was outside that group, with Proud Citizen wider still.
As the field advanced down the backstretch, Menacing Dennis continued to lead narrowly, but War Emblem always was going the stronger of the two. Victor Espinoza, riding War Emblem, had a firm hold on the reins, and War Emblem was running aggressively, a sign the colt would have plenty to offer when asked. They passed the six-furlong mark in 1:10.80, with Menacing Dennis still in front by a head.
"He is aggressive when someone takes his place," Espinoza said.
Espinoza allowed War Emblem to roll along as the field reached the far turn, and he quickly opened daylight on his opposition. War Emblem passed the mile mark in 1:35.22 with a 1 1/2-length lead.
Proud Citizen, who was forced wide on both turns, bravely made a run at War Emblem at midstretch, but War Emblem turned away his challenge.
There was one more to come. Magic Weisner, a Maryland-bred gelding trained, owned, and bred by Nancy Alberts, finished well, but too late. As the field galloped out past the wire, War Emblem never let Magic Weisner get past him.
"Victor, please make the Triple Crown," Salman said to Espinoza on the victory stand.
Baffert said the key to victory in this race was getting War Emblem to try and relax, "key him down a little bit.
"I told Victor to be prepared if someone goes out there," Baffert said. "Opinions die and records live," said the man who had just won his fourth Preakness. "This horse is for real."
War Emblem has now won four straight races and is 6-for-9 lifetime. He is unbeaten in two starts since Salman privately purchased his majority share of the colt from Reineman following the Illinois Derby.
- additional reporting by Matt Hegarty

[jb]

85 years since a filly won ?????????
-----------------------
Filly Leads Early and Holds Off a Late Charge

Published: May 16, 2009

BALTIMORE — There was about a sixteenth of a mile left to run in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, six seconds or so of horse racing in which Rachel Alexandra would show what she was all about. She had the lead and the wire was fast approaching, yet the Kentucky Derby winner, Mine That Bird, was closing furiously on the outside.

“I think she’s the greatest horse in the country,” said the winning jockey, Calvin Borel, who had ridden Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby but, as the regular rider on Rachel Alexandra, stuck with her in the Preakness. “That’s colts, fillies, boys, whatever. She’s an amazing filly.”

And Borel contended that Rachel Alexandra, who was not entered in the Derby, did not run her best Saturday. Borel, who has ridden the Derby winner in two of the past three years, said she did not care for the Pimlico racing surface and most likely would have done better if she had.

“My filly was kind of struggling in the last quarter-mile,” he said. “She went to reach out, and the ground was breaking out from underneath her.” Borel’s decision to bail on Mine That Bird, which made him the first jockey in history to take off a Derby winner in the Preakness, was just one of a number of noteworthy developments in the two weeks between Triple Crown races.

After Rachel Alexandra won the Kentucky Oaks against fillies by 20¤ lengths, her owner, Dolphus Morrison, said he had no intention of pitting her against males.

But Jess Jackson, who started the Kendall-Jackson wine empire, had other ideas. The week before the Preakness, he bought Rachel Alexandra, locked up Borel’s services, turned the filly over to the trainer Steve Asmussen and announced his plan to run her in the Preakness.

“I would have taken a lot of heat had she not run well,” said Jackson, who also teamed with Asmussen to win the 2007 Preakness with Curlin.

Rachel Alexandra, who started in the outside post position, broke sharply from the gate and headed toward the lead under Borel. She appeared to be going comfortably, but Big Drama stuck to her flank while racing on the inside. By the top of the Pimlico stretch, Big Drama was done, and Rachel Alexandra was about to open up a lead of four lengths.

But Mine That Bird, the stunning winner of the Kentucky Derby at odds of 50-1, was in the midst of the same kind of move that carried him to victory two weeks earlier at Churchill Downs. Sitting last early under the replacement rider, Mike Smith, Mine That Bird started to pick up steam on the far turn and was picking off horses one by one.

After getting out of a brief traffic jam on the far turn, Mine That Bird had a clear run and just one horse to catch. He was closing, but Rachel Alexandra was simply the better horse.

“I thought I did,” Smith said when asked if he thought he had a chance to catch the winner. “Hats off to her. She’s a talented, talented mare. Anyone else would’ve caved in.”

For Mine That Bird, there was honor in defeat. Many dismissed his win in the Kentucky Derby as a fluke. On Saturday, he ran every bit as well.

“I’m thrilled to death with the race my little horse ran,” said Chip Woolley, Mine That Bird’s trainer. “Everything was going according to Hoyle until the turn, when he was fanned a little wide. I thought we had a chance at the eighth-pole. But you have to give that filly credit.”

Rachel Alexandra, who became the fifth filly to win the Preakness and the first since Nellie Morse in 1924, paid $5.60 for a $2 win bet. She covered the mile-and-three-sixteenths in 1:55.08 over a track that was listed as fast despite a shower that hit Baltimore about 15 minutes before the race.

Musket Man, third in the Kentucky Derby, finished third again, a half-length behind Mine That Bird.

“My horse ran well, but we got beat by a great one,” said Derek Ryan, Musket Man’s trainer. “She’s a filly for the ages.”

The Kentucky Derby runner-up, Pioneerof the Nile, the second choice in the wagering Saturday, was the primary disappointment. He finished 11th.

The Triple Crown tour heads now to Belmont Park on June 6 for the Belmont Stakes, with a potential rematch between Mine That Bird and Rachel Alexandra. No filly has ever won two legs of the Triple Crown.

Mine That Bird’s connections have already committed to the Belmont. Jackson was less definite about the plans for Rachel Alexandra, saying no decision would be made until he and Asmussen could see how she came out of the Preakness. But he sounded a lot like an owner who wants to do this all over again.

“Would we love to run her in the Belmont? Yes,” Jackson said. “Could she win? We think so. She’ll run against the boys again somewhere. It’s good for champions to race against champions.”