Business figures for the Preakness Stakes and its undercard on Saturday were a mixed bag, providing no clear guidance as to whether racing’s big events can help the sport emerge from a prolonged and dramatic slide.
Handle on the Preakness itself was up, while handle on the entire card was down, according to the chart of the Preakness and figures provided by Pimlico. Attendance at Pimlico on a sunny day with mildly warm temperatures was up compared to last year, while television ratings for the race were down.
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DRF Past Performances
BALTIMORE — Shackleford isn’t going to be remembered as a great Preakness winner, or even an above-average Preakness winner. He and the other 3-year-olds this season constitute one of the weakest Thoroughbred crops in years. Yet give the colt credit: He’s a gutsier fighter than the vast majority of horses who may have more raw ability.
BALTIMORE - The connections of Dialed In missed out on a huge payday as their colt’s late run fell 4 1/4 lengths short in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.
BALTIMORE – It was only a few minutes after Triple Crown hopes had evaporated, barely, for the 33rd straight year, and Graham Motion was leaning on the rail leading up to the jockeys’ room at Pimlico Race Course, an otherwise indistinct spot he knows all so well from two decades of running horses on the Maryland circuit.
Disappointment, fresh, was “a bitter pill,” said Motion, who had just watched Animal Kingdom, the Kentucky Derby winner he trains for Team Valor International, come within a half-length of running down Shackleford in a dramatic 136th running of the Preakness.
136th Preakness Stakes
Pimlico Race Course, May 21, 2011
Order of finish:
1. Shackleford
2. Animal Kingdom
3. Astrology
4. Dialed In
5. Dance City
6. Mucho Macho Man
7. King Congie
8. Mr Commons
9. Isn't He Perfect
10. Concealed Identity
11. Norman Asbjornson
12. Sway Away
13. Midnight Interlude
14. Flashpoint
BALTIMORE – Shackleford found the distance of the Kentucky Derby just a bit too far two weeks ago, but the wire came up just in time for him going a shorter distance Saturday in the 136th Preakness Stakes. Shackleford held off Animal Kingdom, the Kentucky Derby winner, to capture the second leg of the Triple Crown on a gorgeous afternoon at Pimlico Race Course.
BALTIMORE – On a day when Life At Ten showed she is still far away from her Grade 1-winning form of a year ago, trainer Todd Pletcher may have found someone to take her place in the distaff division as Super Espresso, an 11-1 outsider, rallied four wide in the stretch to win Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Allaire duPont Distaff Stakes by three-quarters of a length at Pimlico.
BALTIMORE - Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom arrived at Pimlico at 6:45 a.m., just 12 hours before he tries to keep his Triple Crown hopes alive In Saturday's $1 million Preakness Stakes.
PREAKNESS STAKES 2011: Contender profiles, news updates, video, and odds >>
BALTIMORE - Dialed In and Animal Kingdom were co-favorites in advance wagering for the 136th Preakness at Pimlico, although the two-day daily double wager combining the Black Eyed Susan Stakes on Friday with the Preakness suggests Animal Kingdom will be a solid favorite when the second jewel of the Triple Crown is run Saturday.
PREAKNESS STAKES 2011: Contender profiles, news updates, video, and odds >>
Preakness Day live updates and analysis. Video from Daily Racing Form's national handicapper, Mike Watchmaker, and other DRF reporters at Pimlico for Saturday's Preakness Stakes.
PREAKNESS STAKES 2011: Complete order of finish | Watch Preakness replay »