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The Triple Crown of US Racing - Part Two

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Nick Shiambouros guides you through the field for the Preakness Stakes. Can the Derby winner make it two out of two ?

Big Brown will face twelve rivals in The Preakness Stakes on Saturday in the second jewel of the triple crown at Pimlico racecourse, Baltimore. The Preakness is run over one mile and three sixteenths and all eyes will be on this son of Boundary where he will be a very short price after his magnificent effort just two weeks romping home to win the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Below is a list of all the runners in race card order with my analysis.

1 Macho Again

This horse comes in to the race with a improving profile and this son of Macho Uno won the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs impressively and is ridden by Julian Leparoux.I think that he has a solid place chance in this race and if the favourite does not run as planned he could be a win candidate.

2 Tres Borrachos

This horse will attempt to make the running but I think he will come up empty in the lane and he has a good deal to find on the book.

3 Icabad Crane

He is lightly raced but has a victory over the track and it would be a major shock if he won this race and is certain to be a huge price on the day.

4 Yankee Bravo

This horse does have form behind Pyro and Colonel John but I think that his only hope is for a suicidal pace duel up front and he could come swooping late. He has come a long way from winning a maiden at Redcar last September.

5 Behindatthebar

This horse comes in to the race a fresh horse after his win in the Lexington Stakes at Keenland.He is trained by Todd Pletcher and appears to be steadily improving. He must rate as a danger to Big Brown.

6 Racecar Rhapsody

He finished a way behind Behindatthebar at Keenland and rates as a big longshot.

7 Big Brown

He is the Kentucky Derby winner and will be very hard to beat on the day .He is sure to trade at odds on for this race as on the book he looks unbeatable. I believe he will win this but the only way he can be beaten is if he "Bounces" as Fusaichi Pegasus did in 2000 when he finished unplaced behind Red Bullet .

8 Kentucky Bear

He has raced only three times in his life but was a fair third to Monba in The Bluegrass Stakes.

9 Stevil

He also comes in to the race from The Bluegrass Stakes and will be a big price on the day.

10 Riley Tucker

This horse could make the frame in this race after some solid efforts this year and is trained by Bill Mott and the great Edgar Prado takes the mount.

11 Giant Moon

He went down fighting in the Gotham behind Tale Of Ekati and comes in to the race a fresh horse. He may give the favourite most to do.

12 Gayego

He missed the break in the Derby and if you can forgive that run he could be given a reasonable chance in this race.

13 Hey Byrn

This horse was beaten by a mile in the Florida Derby behind Big Brown but won the Holy Bull in great fashion. He has to improve a great deal but he is poorly drawn.

All in all it promises to be a fascinating race and I hope that on Saturday evening we still have a triple crown contender as racing could really use a boost in these difficult times in America. I am sure many people around the world echo my sentiments.

Selections

1 Big Brown 2 Giant Moon 3 Behindatthebar