Ten races remind us why the Preakness often offers the best of the Triple Crown.
Those who figured that the Venezuelan colt Canonero II was nothing but a fluke when he won the Derby were slapped with the bright reality of his record Preakness performance.
There are moments among the great ones in modern Preakness history that stand out because of tremendous individual effort. This happened in 1971 when Canonero II, the mysterious colt from Venezuela, validated his shocking upset in the Kentucky Derby with a track-record victory in the Preakness. The postrace interviews with Canonero’s jockey and trainer were still difficult without translation, but whatever they said, everyone was suddenly taking them seriously. NEXT >>
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Not all great individual efforts get their colors painted on the infield cupola weather vane. There is a basic unfairness in describing a horse who has just run a lights-out race as a loser, especially when that loss can be measured in inches. No one ever said horse racing is fair.
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A rivalry of a different sort spiced the 1962 Preakness, won by Greek Money by a nose over the massive, favored Ridan. John Rotz rode Greek Money, and to this day he thinks Ridan's flamboyant rider, Manuel Ycaza, was channeling past encounters when he reached over with an elbow, deep in the stretch.
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In 2005, Jeremy Rose and favored Afleet Alex were making what appeared to be a steady, professional move on the outside of the leader, Scrappy T, as the Preakness field made the final turn. In the next instant, Scrappy T swerved hard to the right from the left-handed whip of Ramon Dominguez, directly into Afleet Alex's path.
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Barbaro, the undefeated Kentucky Derby winner, was odds-on to add the Preakness and continue his march toward the 2006 Triple Crown. He was on edge and ready to rumble, even popping the front doors of the starting gate before the race began. Reloaded, Barbaro was away in a bit of a tangle and had barely run a hundred yards before fracturing three bones in his right hind leg.
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Mine That Bird ran an admirable Preakness in 2009 to prove his romp two weeks earlier in the Kentucky Derby was not a fraud. As it turned out, though, his late kick fell a length short of a catching a legend on the rise.
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No one died, but the term "mugging" was thrown around so often after the 1980 Preakness that you'd think the race had been run in Central Park. After her victory in the Kentucky Derby, Genuine Risk was the toast of the sports world. In the Preakness, she was running her race again, at least until she ranged up alongside the Santa Anita and Hollywood Derby winner Codex, ridden by Angel Cordero.
