For at least another year, the Triple Crown remained out of reach, extending the streak to 23 years without a winner of American horse racing's biggest prize. Animal Kingdom gave it an admirable run at Pimlico in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, but ran out of room as Shackleford broke the wire first, just about a half a length ahead of the Kentucky Derby winner. And this time, unlike the Derby, there was no late fade from Shackleford and no late push from Animal Kingdom as the road to the Triple Crown ended at a dead end in Baltimore.
Shackleford did what he does best by running from the front and setting the pace. As many expected, Shackleford and Flashpoint broke to the front of the pack right out of the gates, running the first 1/4 mile in a much faster pace than we saw at the Derby. But the field slowed down the back-stretch and the pace fell in line with what we'd expect from this year's crop of three-year-olds, which is widely seen as the weakest in years.
That slower pace allowed Shackleford, the pace-setter himself, to keep enough in the reserves to hold the rest of the field at-bay down the stretch. Animal Kingdom pushed, Astrology tried to hang-on down the stretch and Dance City and Dialed In made late runs to no avail. It wasn't quite a photo finish, but with Animal Kingdom flying down the outside, Shackleford broke the wire in must have been a moment of relief for his trainers.
The win kills the Triple Crown and takes much of the drama out of the Belmont Stakes. It's unknown whether either Shackleford or Animal Kingdom will run in three weeks at the Belmont, but it seems to be unlikely.
The full results can be found below. The payouts for the Preakness Stakes can be found here.
- Shackleford
- Animal Kingdom
- Astrology
- Dialed In
- Dance City
- Mucho Macho Man
- King Congie
- Mr. Commons
- Isn't He Perfect
- Concealed Identity
- Norman Asbjornson
- Stay Away
- Midnight Interlude
- Flashpoint
Stay with our Preakness Stakes StoryStream for more on the race as it becomes available. For all your horse racing needs, head over to And Down The Stretch They Come. Check out SB Nation's 2011 Preakness Stakes StoryStream for updates throughout the week.