Exciting Preakness Winners

The past few years have presented several exciting Preakness Stakes. Being that the race is the second leg of the Triple Crown, spectators around the country are often eager to see if the Kentucky Derby winner can pull through and take the Preakness as well, hopefully setting him or herself up for winning the prestigious Triple Crown – something that hasn’t happened in over 31 years.

The 2008 Preakness Stakes winner was one of anticipation with Big Brown. The colt had won the Kentucky Derby and was undefeated. The colt was able to take the Preakness Stakes by 5 and ¼ lengths over Macho Again. This put Big Brown in the perfect position to take the Triple Crown – the fourth horse to win both the Derby and the Preakness while remaining undefeated. However, the Friday following the Preakness, a three-inch quarter crack was discovered on the left front hoof. The horse had experienced the same injury before and trainer Dutrow kept the horse exercising for the Belmont. Unfortunately, Big Brown didn’t run well in the Belmont, actually bumping into a horse and becoming the first Triple Crown hopeful to finish last in the Belmont Stakes after such impressive wins in the Derby and Preakness.

Curlin didn’t win the Kentucky Derby, but the colt was impressive going into the 132nd Preakness Stakes. The Derby hopeful stumbled out of the gait at the Derby and was beat by Street Sense. However, he would go on to win the Preakness ahead of Street Sense, passing him at the top of the stretch and barely winning by a head. Curlin’s Belmont Stakes performance was a battle with the filly Rags to Riches, who overcame him by a head. Rags to Riches was the first filly to win the Belmont Stakes in over 100 years. However, Curlin’s most notable performance wasn’t in a Triple Crown race at all, but the Breeder’s Cup Classic later in the fall. The colt won the mile and a quarter Classic in 2:00.59, the fastest time on a sloppy track.

Another notable winner of the Preakness Stakes was Afleet Alex. The horse’s win wasn’t merely just a win, but a true example of determination and atheleticism. In the race, the colt narrowly escaped disaster when the leader, Scrappy T, swung out at the top of the stretch veering into Afleet Alex. The two horses clipped heels, which caused Afleet Alex to stumble. Jockey Jeremy Rose was thrown far over the horse’s neck and the horse nearly went to his knees. However, Afleet Alex recovered and beat Scrappy T with an amazing 4 ¾ lengths margin of victory. Such a disaster in any other race or with any other horse could have easily caused a fatal wreck. But, Afleet Alex not only recovered and won by 4 ¾ lengths, but also had the fastest Preakness time in the past eight years at 1:55. It was the fastest final three-sixteenths in Preakness history.

Each year the Preakness Stakes is a mystery. One never knows if the Derby winner will be able to win the second leg of the Triple Crown or if an amazing event will take place that changes the course of the Triple Crown all together.