Post positions were selected for the 131st Preakness on Wednesday afternoon in the ESPNzone in Baltimore, Maryland. As in the past, the horses were drawn at random for a selection order and their connections then picked their post positions. A field of only nine was drawn this year, with Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro set as the morning line favorite at even odds while his main rivals Brother Derek and Sweetnorthernsaint were set at 3-1 and 4-1 respectively. Take me to the entries now.
Dan Hendricks
Brother Derek's trainer Dan Hendricks said, "It's definitely more of a strategic race. It depends more on where everyone else is placed rather than where you end up. The Derby is a bit of a scramble because you just don't know what's going to happen. This should be a real clean run race where everyone gets a good shot. Sweetnorthernsaint had a lot of trouble, we had some trouble, so this should be a real good race. There's no bad draw with a small field and a long stretch like we have here." Asked about the possibility of an off track, he said, "No track has bothered him so far. He's worked on a wet track, he's run on 5 different tracks, I don't see that being a problem."
Barbaro's trainer Michael Matz initially tried to pick post 4 which was already taken, but took post 6 as his second choice. He said, "I wanted post position 5, but after discussing it with the team I found out they load the 1 and 5 first so that's why I went with the 6."
Be sure to click the link on each horse's name to view full info, stats, and a photo where available.
Da' Tara shocks in the 2008 Belmont Stakes - Longest shot on the board Da' Tara led the whole way, drawing off to win by 5 1/4 lengths over Denis of Cork. Heavy favorite Big Brown came up empty and was eased, finishing last. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
More Belmont Day Photos - 16 more photos including Shaquille O’Neal, the unused Triple Crown trophy, and more.
Manhattan Handicap and Just a Game Stakes Results - On the Belmont undercard, Dancing Forever just got up at the wire to beat favorite Out of Control in the Manhattan Handicap, while Ventura held off top choice Lady of Venice in the Just a Game Stakes. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
Acorn Stakes, True North Handicap, and Woody Stephens Stakes Results - Also on the Belmont undercard, Zaftig upset favorite Indian Blessing in the Acorn, top choice Benny the Bull got up in the final stride of the True North Handicap, and J Be K won wire-to-wire in the Woody Stephens Stakes. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
2008 Belmont Entries - A field of 10 was entered with Big Brown drawing post #1. Get all the horses, posts, and odds here.
Dan Hendricks