Kentucky Derby Blog

The Fair Grounds kicks off its road to the Triple Crown with the $175,000 Grade III Lecomte Stakes, a 1 mile and 40 yard race for 3-year-olds. The post time is 4:55 CT and it is Race 11. Here is the list of the contenders with the post position and morning line odds.

Out of Bounds rallied in the stretch to beat 1-2 favorite Secret Circle by a half-length in the $100,000 Sham Stakes, the first Kentucky Derby prep of the season at Santa Anita on Saturday. 10-1 shot Out of Bounds with Garrett Gomez aboard ran a mile in 1:34.56 and paid $22.60, $5.80 and $4.40. Secret Circle, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint winner, returned $2.80 and $2.10, while Longview Drive was another half-length back in third and paid $4 to show.

Secret Circle, who led briefly into the stretch, lost for the first time in four career starts for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Watch the race replay!

Animal Kingdom is the favorite of the 2011 Belmont Stakes. Check out the live odds for Belmont contenders.
Updated at 3:36PM EST.

The Post Positions Draw for this Saturday’s 143rd running of the Belmont Stakes has been finalized. Here are the post positions, contenders, and jockeys for the 2011 Belmont Stakes.

The 2011 Belmont Stakes will be held at Belmont Park in New York on June 11. The post time for the Belmont Stakes is 6:30 PM EST and it is the race 11. NBC will cover the race live from 5 pm and Versus will do pre- and post-race coverage from 3 pm til 5 pm and from 7 pm til 7:30 respectively.

Shackleford claimed the 136th Preakness Stakes. Watch the 2011 Preakness Stakes replay.

Shackleford won the 2011 Preakness Stakes and Animal Kingdom finished 2nd. There will be no Triple Crown this year. Here are the payouts of 2011 Preakness Stakes winners.

Exotic betting payouts

2011 Preakness Stakes odds as of 3:15 p.m. Eastern

1. Astrology, 15-1
2. Norman Asbjornson, 35-1
3. King Congie, 17-1
4. Flashpoint, 20-1
5. Shackleford, 12-1
6. Sway Away, 14-1
7. Midnight Interlude, 12-1
8. Dance City, 11-1
9. Mucho Macho Man, 9-2
10. Dialed In, 3-1
11. Animal Kingdom, 3-1
12. Isn’t He Perfect, 25-1
13. Concealed Identity, 24-1
14. Mr. Commons, 45-1

There will be more coverage of Preakness events than ever on national TV thanks to Versus, the Comcast-owned sports-oriented cable channel, that will start carrying Preakness events at 3 p.m. Friday.

First up, its “Preakness Classics,” from 3 to 4 p.m., followed by “Black Eyes Susan Stakes” from 4 to 5. Versus will also be offering live coverage of the festivities at Pimlico from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Over on NBC, race coverage will begin at 4:30p.m. following game four of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals. Coverage will switch back to Versus at 6:30 for post-race coverage.

This is the first year that NBC is airing all three of the Triple Crown races and the network is going all in on the coverage. The three races are being produced by award-winning Sunday Night Football producer Fred Gaudelli.

The 2011 Preakness Stakes post positions were drawn today, and Animal Kingdom will race from the 11 post on Saturday.

The Preakness Stakes will be televised by NBC Sports with post time at 6:25 pm EST. The weather forecast calls for mostly sunny skies with a high temperature of 83.

Here are the post positions for the 136th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.