Right now, the favorite at the 2011 Preakness Stakes is the winner of the 2011 Kentucky Derby, Animal Kingdom. He will run from the 11th post on Saturday, and has a good shot to sew up the first two races of the Triple Crown before heading to the Belmont. For more on Animal Kingdom and his racing history, we turn to our racing blog, And Down The Stretch They Come.
Four races, four different tracks, three Polytrack surfaces, one turf race...and in all four races Animal Kingdom ran credibly. The transfer of that form to the dirt of Churchill Downs was certainly something to ponder, but this colt proved (once again) that he can handle a wide variety of racing circumstances.
At this point, having won the Kentucky Derby, Animal Kingdom certainly has to be the favorite. But the favorites don't really come through nearly as much as we would like them to. But if he wins this race, and he has a shot to win the Triple Crown as the series heads to Belmont, then the news cycle would probably be pretty into it (understatement).
The 2011 Preakness Stakes gets underway on May 21 at Pimlico racetrack. Stay with SB Nation's 2011 Preakness Stakes StoryStream for odds, contender profiles, post positions and more. To look back at the Derby, check out SB Nation's 2011 Kentucky Derby StoryStream. Also, our horse racing blog And Down The Stretch They Come has two must-read resources for Derby and Preakness fans: A Beginner's Guide To Following Horse Racing and a glossary of horse racing terms.