LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When favorites win the Kentucky Derby, they invariably become even bigger favorites two weeks later in the Preakness. Recent Derby-winning favorites such as Fusaichi Pegasus, Smarty Jones, and Big Brown all became odds-on choices at Pimlico on the heels of unsurprising victories at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Animal Kingdom ruled over 18 other 3-year-olds in the Kentucky Derby here Saturday, and it looks like he’ll face another large field in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 21. But the composition of the two fields will be in stark contrast as no more than four of the 18 horses Animal Kingdom defeated in the 137th Derby are likely to come back for the second leg of the Triple Crown.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Nehro, the runner-up to Animal Kingdom in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, will likely skip the Preakness and point to the Belmont Stakes, owner Ahmed Zayat said Sunday morning.

 “I would prefer, as of now, to run in the Belmont and maybe the Haskell and then we’ll see,’’ said Zayat, who added that his primary objective is to return to Churchill Downs in November for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. “We’ll take it a day a time, but we’re probably going to point him to the Belmont. [The Preakness] is a possibility, but not probable.’’

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Dialed In, who finished eighth as the favorite in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, will come right back in two weeks for the Preakness Stakes, a situation that would mean a victory in that race would be worth far more to him than to the Derby winner, Animal Kingdom.

Dialed In won both the Holy Bull Stakes and the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park earlier this year. That made him eligible for a $5.5 million bonus from MI Developments, the parent company of both Gulfstream and Pimlico, if he were to also win the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 21.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Though admittedly “shocked” that he won America’s most-famous race, trainer Graham Motion, a British expatriate, on Sunday morning had recovered enough to start focusing on the May 21 Preakness Stakes, which he said would be the next start for Animal Kingdom, the upset winner of Saturday’s 137th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

“I never anticipated winning the Derby, so it’s a lot to take in,” Motion said Sunday morning at Churchill Downs. “Yesterday was surreal.

Ruler On Ice, a fast-closing third in the Grade 3 Sunland Derby, and locally based Concealed Identity, a decisive winner the first time he streched out to 1 1/16 miles, head a group of seven 3-year-olds in the $75,000 Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico.

Nancy Alberts, 65, best known as the trainer, owner, breeder, and exercise rider for 2002 Preakness Stakes runner-up Magic Weisner, died late Tuesday night at Georgetown Medical Center, where she had been hospitalized since suffering a stroke on April 17.

Alberts was one of just 13 female trainers ever to start a horse in the Preakness. Her horse Magic Weisner, a Maryland-bred gelding, rallied from far back at 45-1 odds to finish three-quarters of a length behind War Emblem in the Preakness nine years ago.

Though Flashpoint has enough graded stakes earnings ($140,000) to put him 22nd on the list of Kentucky Derby hopefuls - meaning he would need just two defections to get into the 20-horse Derby field - owner John Fort said Friday that his lightly-raced 3-year-old is being pointed to the Preakness at Pimlico on May 21.

The top three finishers from last Saturday’s Jerome Stakes all appear headed in different directions. The winner, Adios Charlie, is likely to make his next start in the Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont on May 14. Astrology, the runner-up, is being considered for the Preakness at Pimlico on May 21, while third-place finisher Justin Phillip is being pointed to the Woody Stephens here on June 11.