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.
Manhattan Handicap (G1) and Just a Game Stakes (G1) Results - On the Belmont undercard, Gio Ponti won over Marsh Side and Better Talk Now in the Manhattan Handicap, while Diamondrella beat favorite Forever Together in the Just a Game Stakes. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
Acorn Stakes (G1), True North Handicap (G2), and Woody Stephens Stakes (G2) Results - Also on the Belmont undercard, Gabby's Golden Gal upset favorite Justwhistledixie in the Acorn, top choice Fabulous Strike beat defending champ Benny the Bull in the True North Handicap, and Munnings won by 5 1/4 lengths in the Woody Stephens Stakes. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
Brooklyn Handicap (G2) and Hill Prince Stakes - Eldaafer got up by a nose to win the Brooklyn Handicap over pacesetter Nite Light in the slop, with favorite Rising Moon third. In the Hill Prince Stakes, which was taken off the turf, Despite the Odds drew away to win by 7 1/2 lengths. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
2009 Belmont Stakes Entries - A field of 10 was entered with Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird the 2-1 morning line favorite from post 7. Get the entries, post positions, odds, and free past performances here.
Belmont Stakes Friday Workouts - Photos of 5 of the Belmont Stakes horses on the sloppy track in the rain Friday morning, including Mine That Bird. Get the details and photos here.
Belmont Contenders Weekend Workouts - Five of the likely entrants for next weekend's Belmont Stakes had timed works at Belmont Park on May 30-31, including Charitable Man and Dunkirk. Get the details and photos here.
Rachel Alexandra wins the Preakness - She led most of the way and was ahead by 4 at the top of the stretch, then held off Mine That Bird by a length. Musket Man was another 1/2 length back in third. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
Preakness undercard stakes results - There were 7 other stakes on the card, most of them grade 2 or 3, including the Dixie Stakes (G2) won by Parading.
Dan Hendricks