The Galloping Hat Rack

I was on Team Animal Kingdom for the Preakness Stakes, but even going into that race following his effortless Kentucky Derby win, I knew there would be a few detractors that could affect how easily his victory would or wouldn’t come. With Shackleford outlasting him in the final strides to the wire and a few other tidbits I grasped pre-race, it boils down to several reasons why Animal Kingdom did not have his day at Pimlico:

• Pimlico favors inside/middle runners - With its tight turns, any horses running on the outside are at an immediate disadvantage. Animal Kingdom was in the 11 spot and was even more disadvantaged as a closer who would have to swing wide around those strict turns. However, knowing Graham Motion preferred the outside as opposed to the middle here as well as the fact Animal Kingdom likes to lag behind, it provides even less of an excuse.
• Competition favored the distance more - Put Animal Kingdom in a 1 ¼ mile race, I’ll go with him. Anything shorter, and now I’m skeptical, especially with horses in the field that like a 1 1/8 mile distance like Dialed In and Shackleford. There were plenty of horses in that field who liked the distance more… Animal Kingdom needs time to stretch out coming for home.
• Late to ship - I’m aware a lot of trainers will choose to spare their horses the stress of the racetrack by training them somewhere quiet, but this is one of those scenarios where Animal Kingdom should not have shipped same-day. Pimlico is a unique kind of track, and with a field and race that demanding, he should have been acclimated to it beforehand.

Other factors also contributed to the loss, like breaking poorly and trailing far back due to the dirt, but I wouldn’t list it with the others. Shackleford fell to his knees at the start and Animal Kingdom wasn’t the only one suffering dirt in the face. He ran an incredible race toward the end; his post-training and recovery from that race should say a lot about where he’ll be at the end of the Belmont coming up.

Update on Belmont Starters

Animal Kingdom has been confirmed for the Belmont Stakes, and will ship to the track the week of the race. Also added as “possible” starters to the field (up to 16 horses) are Stay Thirsty (twelfth in the Derby), Monzon (sixth in the Peter Pan), and Ruler On Ice (second in the Frederico Tesio at Pimlico).