LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dale Romans might have felt a little disappointed when owner Jerry Crawford told him they were bypassing the Preakness with Dullahan. Romans felt the colt belonged in the Pimlico classic off his rousing third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, but Crawford wanted to take a more prudent route, saving Dullahan for the Belmont Stakes after his chance to win the Triple Crown was gone.
Jack Whitaker does not want to sound greedy. After all, having turned 88 on the day before this year’s Preakness, there already had been 10 Triple Crown winners in his lifetime. But then, when I’ll Have Another came through the following afternoon to beat Bodemeister in their Pimlico thriller, Whitaker let his mind wander through the memories of Triple Crowns past and figured it was high time to do it again.
I’ll Have Another will be forced to make a subtle, but perhaps significant, equipment change when he tries to become racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner in the 144th Belmont Stakes on June 9, not because his connections want to, but because they are being required to do so by Belmont Park stewards.
ELMONT, N.Y. – I’ll Have Another, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, went for a one-mile gallop in the rain Friday morning at Belmont Park where on June 9, in the Belmont Stakes, he will attempt to become Thoroughbred racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner.
Friday marked the first day I’ll Have Another galloped since his neck victory over Bodemeister in the Preakness Stakes on May 18. He returned to the track Wednesday and jogged for two days.
When I’ll Have Another attempts to win the Belmont Stakes on June 9 and capture the Triple Crown, he must do more than defeat a formidable group of opponents. He must overcome history.
Countdown to the Crown returns for a seventh season online as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 6 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class from the maiden ranks through the Grade 1 stakes. You can access daily updates and interactive features at Countdowntothecrown.com as well.
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INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Doug O'Neill, who trains Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner I'll Have Another, has been suspended a minimum of 45 days and fined $15,000 after one of his runners at Del Mar in 2010 tested in excess of the permitted level of total carbon dioxide. The penalty will not begin until July 1 at the earliest.
I'll Have Another is scheduled to start in the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 9, in an attempt to sweep the Triple Crown.
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Field for the 2012 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 9. Odds by DRF national handicapper Mike Watchmaker. Click horse names to access contender profiles.
At the Fair Hill training center in Maryland, Union Rags worked five furlongs in 1:01 over a fast dirt track, according to trainer Michael Matz. Union Rags worked by himself under exercise rider Peter Brette.
“He went real nice, galloped out real good and strong, came back, and cooled out real well,” Matz said.
Matz said he likens Fair Hill’s dirt surface to Belmont’s main track.
“It’s more sandy than clay,” Matz said. “I think these two tracks are similar.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – Jack Sisterson was a member of the University of Louisville’s men’s soccer team in 2006 when his team traveled to New York for a match against St. John’s.
The schedule allowed for a day of sightseeing. While most of Sisterson’s teammates went to visit the Empire State Building or Ground Zero, Sisterson and a buddy took a taxi to Belmont Park.
