BALTIMORE – I'll Have Another captured a thrilling Preakness Stakes on Saturday to give him victories in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, with a chance to become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the coveted title when he runs in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.
As he did in the Kentucky Derby, I'll Have Another stayed off the pace set by speedy Bodemeister, then roared past him near the finish line to win the 137th running of the Preakness by a neck before a record crowd of 121,309 at sun-splashed Pimlico Race Course.
"I can't even put it into words, it's just incredible," said I'll Have Another's affable trainer Doug O'Neill. "I'm numb. I could see him and felt like he was coming, but you never want to expect that he's going to be in front. It seems like the stretch never ends. Thank God. Usually you want it to end.
"(Jockey) Mario (Gutierrez) was so patient. We're thinking Triple Crown, baby. Come on, why not."
I'll Have Another has not lost in four races under Gutierrez.
"More than anything, I'm glad I didn't disappoint people," said the humble but confident 25-year-old jockey from Veracruz, Mexico. "Like I say, it's not about me. It's about the horse. From Day 1, I've believed in him. I'm so happy for him because he's just a great horse.
"We wanted to be a little closer to Bodemeister this time because normally that horse runs a huge race. My horse has a tremendous kick in the end."
Mike Smith, the jockey aboard the tenacious Bodemeister, the 3-2 favorite coming into the race, had only praise for the winner, whose odds were 3-1 at post time. "I thought I put (I'll Have Another) away but he reached up and got us with three strides," Smith said. "Two great horses and I give them all the credit for what they did."
The son of Flower Alley, who was purchased for just $35,000, became the first horse since Big Brown in 2008 to win the first two legs of horse racing's biggest prize. The winner of the 13/16-mile race earned $600,000 of the $1 million purse. His time was 1:55.90, and he returned $4.80 to win.
"Today, with a reasonable pace, he didn't have trouble, but he was wide in the first turn," owner J. Paul Reddam said of his suddenly celebrated horse. "He showed he's the real deal. He's a real race horse. He gutted it out. The other horse (Bodemeister) was not stopping. He ran a bang-up race, and to come and catch him, how can you criticize him, really.
"The horse has done everything that we have asked of him this year, and he hasn't had the most respect. He's never been favored."
Bob Baffert, winner of five Preakness Stakes and trainer of Bodemeister, said I'll Have Another's win is good for the sport and good for the Belmont.
"The winner's a good horse," Baffert said. "He'll get the respect now that he deserves. I'm proud that as a trainer my horse showed up and he ran his race. He just got beat."
Baffert said he will not send Bodemeister to the Belmont Stakes. "I wasn't going to go, win lose or draw," he said. "I've run him pretty hard."
Dennis O'Neill, Doug's brother and assistant trainer, said they will take their Preakness winner to Belmont in the next few days. "We'll get him up there and get him across the track, and then Doug and I will probably go home for four or five days and let this sink in," he said. "Then we'll go back to New York the end of next week," he said. "That's the tentative plan."
I'll Have Another became just the fourth horse to win the Preakness from the No. 9 post, and first since Funny Cide in 2003.
Bodemeister, running for the sixth time this year, was second and Creative Cause, who had beaten both the winner and runnerup in previous races, was third.
The betting handle of $80,463,005, was the sixth highest of all time for the Preakness.
Tom Chuckas, president of the Maryland Jockey Club, which puts on the event, said he was happy with the race-day turnout, especially in the packed infield, and considering the weather was about as optimal as it gets, with sunny skies, low humidity and temperatures around 80 degrees.
"The numbers say it all, we had a tremendous event," Chuckas said. "We knew in 2009 when we changed the landscape of the infield it would take three or four years to get where we needed to get, and we are back."
On the 138th running of The Kentucky Derby,I'll Have Another (Horse #19), did just that. He rounded the final turn and into the straight stretch to come from behind and cross the finish line, to win. The placement for first and second place at the 2012 Preakness Stakes could have been a replay of the  earlier this month as '''''' came in first with '''''' behind in second.  In this race, Creative Cause finished third.

By winning the Kentucky Derby and the 137th Preakness Stakes, '''I'll Have Another''' has a chance at winning the US  of thoroughbred horse racing. The final race '''I'll Have Another''' would have to win is the , which will be held on June 9.

'''I'll Have Another''' was not favored to win the Preakness Stakes and his odds were set at 3-1. '''Bodemeister''', who was the favorite at 2-1 odds, was the speed horse again as he led the field for most of the race just as he did at the Kentucky Derby. This time, '''Creative Cause''' was following close behind in second by the time the field of horses reached the far turn.  Just as in the Kentucky Derby, '''I'll Have Another''' pushed faster in the final leg of the race. However, the Preakness Stakes finish was closer with '''I'll Have Another''' squeezing by the pacesetter at the very end to win the race in 1:56.9.

Mexican jockey  has won his last four races with '''I'll Have Another'''. He gave '''I'll Have Another''' the credit for the finish, "No one put him in this race. He put himself into the race," he said. Gutierrez said all he had to do was signal to the horse that it was time to challenge '''Bodemeister''' and the horse did the rest.

The winning horse is owned by financier  and trained by .

The  in , Maryland was filled with a crowd of 121,309 to watch the Triple Crown hopeful. The last horse to win the Triple Crown was  in 1978.

'''THE HORSES'''

According to the official Pimlico website, the horses that competed this year in the Preakness Stakes by starting position include:

1. '''Tiger Walk''' is owned by , trained by Ignacio Correas IV, and was ridden by .

2. '''Teeth of the Dog''' is owned by J.W. Singer. The thoroughbred is trained by  and the jockey was .

3. '''Pretension''' was the winner of the 2012 . The horse is owned by Kidwells Petite Stable, trained by Christopher W. Grove, and was raced by Javier Santiago.

4. '''Zetterholm''' is owned by Winter Park Partners, trained by , and ridden by Junior Alvarado.

5. '''Went The Day Well''' is owned by  and is trained by . His jockey was . This team won last year's Kentucky Derby race with , and they took Went The Day Well to the 2012 Kentucky Derby. 

6. '''Creative Cause''' is owned by Heinz Steinmann and trained by Mike Harrington. His jockey was be . Creative Cause was part of the field at the Kentucky Derby, too.

7. '''Bodemeister''', winner of the  at Oaklawn Park, is trained by . He is owned by  and his jockey was .

8. '''Daddy Nose Best''' was the winner of the  at Sunland Park and the  at Golden Gate and raced in the 2012 Kentucky Derby. He is owned by Cathy and Bob Zollars, trained by . His jockey was .

9. '''I'll Have Another''' was the winner of the Kentucky Derby at . He is owned by financier J. Paul Reddam, trained by Doug O'Neill and ridden by jockey Mario Gutierrez.

10. '''Optimizer''' is trained by , owned by tobacconist  of Bluegrass Hall LLC and ridden by . This horse raced also raced in the Kentucky Derby.

11. '''Cozzetti''' is trained by  and was raced by  The horse is owned by Albaugh Family Stables.