Kentucky Derby Blog

The 2009 Preakness Stakes winner is Rachel Alexandra, the filly with the best odds went the distance to victory in the 134th run of the Preakness. By winning the 2009 Preakness Stakes Rachel Alexandra became only the 5th filly to ever win a Preakness race and the first contender to win from the unfavorable #13 post position, but the odds-on favorite had little trouble fend off the Derby winner Mine That Bird, who finished second.

Here is the Preakness results and payouts.

Post	Horse	Jockey	min	Win	Place	Show
13	RACHEL ALEXANDRA	BOREL C H	$2	$5.60	$4.60	$3.60
2	MINE THAT BIRD	SMITH M E	$2		$6.60	$4.80
3	MUSKET MAN	COA E M	$2			$5.00

Preakness Stakes replay

The Preakness Stakes 2009 is tomorrow. Don’t miss out the second jewel of Triple Crown!

TV and Radio Coverage:
- NBC Sports: 4:30-6:45 PM EST
- HRTV: Preakness Day Special 10:00AM-7:00 PM EST
- ESPN360.com: 11:30AM-4:30 PM EST
- HRRN: 5:00-7:000 PM EST

Race Info:
- Race number: 12
- Race Track: Pimlico Race Course
- Race Name: BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (Grade 1)
- Distance: 1-3/16 Miles (Dirt)
- Post Time: 6:15PM

Rachel Alexandra will run Saturday against a dozen of horse racing’s finest 3-year-old colts at Pimlico Race Course in the 134th Preakness.

“She has been special since day one,” assistant trainer Scott Blasi said Wednesday, shortly after Rachel Alexandra was made the 8-5 favorite. “She probably doesn’t have a lot left to prove against fillies.”

To say the least. Rachel Alexandra has won five consecutive races by a combined 43 1/2 lengths, including a ridiculously easy 20 1/4-length romp in the Kentucky Oaks two weeks ago.

Pitting a filly against 12 colts has pumped up interest in the Preakness. Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, who came home as a 50-1 long shot, is a fine horse. But his chances of capturing the Triple Crown appear remote, so the next best thing is a Preakness that offers an intriguing Battle of the Sexes.

Rachel Alexandra is the first Oaks winner ever to run in the Preakness. Fifty-two fillies have competed in the Preakness, and only four have won — none since Nellie Morse in 1924.

Rachel Alexandra drew the outside No. 13 post, but certainly has the speed to make up the difference over 1 3-16 miles.

Thirteen horses were entered in the 134th Preakness Stakes just after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, and the last to load will be the favorite, the filly Rachel Alexandra. Kentucky Oaks winner Rachel Alexandra, with Calvin Borel named to ride, drew the outside stall, and was installed by Pimlico linemaker Frank Carulli as the 8-5 favorite.

Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird drew post 2, and was made the co-third choice at odds of 6-1 with Mike Smith named to ride.

Here are the post positions of 13 Preakness contenders.

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Big Drama	J. Velazquez	D. Fawkes	10-1
2	Mine That Bird	M. Smith	B. Woolley Jr.	9-2
3	Musket Man	Eibar Coa	D. Ryan	10-1
4	Luv Gov	J. Theriot	D.W. Lukas	50-1
5	Friesan Fire	G. Saez	L. Jones	10-1
6	Terrain	J. Rose	A. Stall Jr.	30-1
7	Papa Clem	R. Bejarano	G. Stute	8-1
8	General Quarters	J. Leparoux	T. McCarthy	20-1
9	Pioneerof the Nile	G. Gomez	B. Baffert	5-1
10	Flying Private	A. Garcia	D.W. Lukas	50-1
11	Take the Points	Edgar Prado	T. Pletcher	30-1
12	Tone It Down	Kent Desormeaux	W. Komlo	50-1
13	Rachel Alexandra	Calvin Borel	S. Asmussen	9-5

Here is the list of 8 confirmed Preakness Stakes contenders including information of jockey and future odds. Terrain, Pioneer of The Nile, and Friesan Fire haven’t confirmed yet.

Silk	Horse	Jockey	Earnings	Odds
	Mine That Bird	CALVIN BOREL	$1,791,581	9/2
	Big Drama	JOHN VELAZQUEZ	$860,250	16/1
	Flying Private	TBD	$124,000	16/1
	General Quarters	JULIAN LEPAROUX	$604,000	9/1
	Hull	MIGUEL MENA	$107,800	14/1
	Musket Man	EIBAR COA	$685,000	6/1
	Papa Clem	RAFAEL BEJARANO	$860,000	8/1
	Take The Points	TBD	$85,000	20/1

The 141st running of the Belmont Stakes will take place at Belmont Park on June 6, 2009. Will we finally see a Triple Crown winner?
- Location: Belmont Park, Elmont, NY
- Date: June 6, 2009
- TV Coverage : ABC beginning at at 5 PM ET.
- Post Time: approx. 6:30 PM ET.
Post positions for the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes will be announced on Wednesday, June 3.

Daily Racing Form has updated the past performances for horses nominated for the Triple Crown updated through the May 2 Kentucky Derby.

Download Preakness Contenders PPs

The 134th Running of the $1,000,000 Preakness Stakes is on Saturday May 16th, 2009 at Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, MD. The post time is approximately 6:15PM (EST) and NBC will broadcast the race.

While Mine That Bird will be among the favorites for the Preakness odds, some other horses will factor. Pioneer of The Nile, who finished second at the Derby and third place finisher Musket Man will also be contenders at the second jewel of the triple crown.

An interesting horse could become a wild card in the Preakness odds. Rachael Alexandra won the Kentucky Oaks race by an incredible 20 lengths and was bought up by Jess Jackson and transferred to trainer Steve Asmussen. The real key is the speed at which Rachael Alexandra won the Oaks. For the first time in the history of the sport, the Oaks winner ran faster than the Derby winner.

It’s not a guarantee that this horse will run in the Preakness but it has already made many people nervous because of its performance at the Oaks.

The final field of 14 horses for Pimlico will be set on Wednesday, May 14.

The original plan for Mine That Bird, trainer Bennie Wooley Jr., said here Sunday, was to run in the Derby, then move on to the Belmont Stakes, the last and, at 1 1/2 miles, longest of the Triple Crown races. But plans changed once Mine That Bird charged from last to first under jockey Calvin Borel to win the Derby by 6 3/4 lengths, earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 105. He will attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

Mine That Bird, who paid $103.20 and keyed a $2,074.80 exacta, was the second-longest priced winner in Derby history. He was so lightly regarded that he was part of the mutuel field in all three legs of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which returned $5.80 for pool 1, $11.80 for pool 2, and $36.80 for pool 3. The Derby future exacta, offered for the first time this year in pools 2 and 3, paid off to those who had the mutuel field over runner-up Pioneerof the Nile. The exacta paid $256.80 for poolo2 and $554.60 for pool 3.

Mine That Bird (50-1) ridden by Calvin Borel won the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Thie is the 2nd win for Calvin Borel. Pioneerof the Nile finished second. Musket Man finished 3rd.

		WIN	PLACE	SHOW
8	Mine That Bird	$103.20	$54.00	$25.80
16	Pioneerof The Nile		$8.40	$6.40
2	Musket Man			$12.00

$2 EX (8/16) paid $2074.80, $2 TRI (8/16/2) paid $41500.60, $1 TRI(BOX) paid $20750.30, $1 SPR (8/16/2/7) paid $278,503.20, $1 DD (6/8) paid $316.20, $2 P03 $1452.50, $2 P04 $10221.15, $2 P06 $781,145.94 CARRY, $2 P06 $1718.80