Kentucky Derby Blog

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.

Nehro, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby behind Animal Kingdom, will skip Saturday’s second leg of the Triple Crown and be pointed toward next month’s Belmont.

There will be no rematch between Animal Kingdom and Nehro at the Preakness.

Nehro’s owner, Ahmed Zayat, said Tuesday the decision was based on the horse’s hectic spring schedule. Although Nehro emerged well from the Derby, the Preakness would have been his fourth race in the past two months. Before competing in the Derby, Nehro was second in the Louisiana Derby on March 26 and second in the Arkansas Derby on April 16.

Despite Nehro’s absence, the race is expected to attract the maximum 14 horses — only the third time since 1991 that 14 horses have run in the Preakness.

The Maryland Jockey Club banned the tradition of allowing patrons to bring their own beer to Pimlico on the Preakness day in 2009 due to excessive drinking. It was a marketing disaster. Instead of the 112,222 people who showed up the year before on race day, only 77,850 came.

The race organizers decided they needed to, well, correct their overcorrection. This year, the Preakness Stakes unveiled “Kegasus,” an epic and legendary centaur used to promote Infieldfest at this weekend’s race.

Maryland Delegate Pat McDonough said “The campaign is infantile and another example why the horse industry is in decline. They’ve taken a great sporting event and turned it into a fraternity party.” However, ticket sales for the 136th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday are up 17 percent from last year, and racetrack officials expect attendance to exceed 100,000 people.

Trainer Graham Motion said Animal Kingdom will return to his base at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland this Tuesday and, if he remains a go for the Preakness, likely won’t ship to Pimlico until that Friday.

Though Pimlico is considered by some a tighter track to navigate than Churchill Downs, the fact Animal Kingdom was unbelievably successful in his first start over a dirt surface Saturday gives his camp confidence in his ability to adapt.

“I have a lot of confidence in this horse, he’s the whole package,” Motion said. “I think some of the best horses are the ones who have been able to handle both surfaces, and he appears to be one of those great horses.”

There were 19 horses who ran in the Derby, and a large field seems likely for the Preakness, too. In addition to Animal Kingdom, Mucho Macho Man (third in the Derby) and Dialed In (eighth) are definite. Shackleford (fourth) and Santiva (sixth) are possible.

Horses who did not run in the Derby, but are expected for the Preakness, include Astrology, Concealed Identity, Dance City, Flashpoint, King Congie, Norman Asbjornson, Prime Cut, and Sway Away, and possibly Mr. Commons.