I'll Have Another Wins 137th Preakness Stakes

I'd swear this is the perfect horse race. I'll Have Another just hangs back about 3 or 4 lengths and pours it on around the final stretch for photo finish.

Man, I love horse racing.

See the New York Times, "Another Thriller, and More Believers."

And from Bill Dwyre, at the Los Angeles Times, "I'll Have Another has two legs up on history":

After a victory in the Preakness, the Santa Anita Derby winner has a chance to end a 34-year Triple Crown drought for horse racing. And his trainer might be a star in New York.

BALTIMORE -- The amazing story moved up to incredible. I'll Have Another ran true to his name.

On a Saturday that brought blue skies, perfect temperatures and a record crowd of 121,309 here at venerable Pimlico racetrack, the horse who has never been favored in a race and has been mostly under-appreciated by the public, even the racing public, won the 137th Preakness.

Now, it is I'll Have Another who will take a shot at history. The last horse to win the Triple Crown was Affirmed in 1978. There have been only 11, going back to Sir Barton in 1919. The last horse to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness was Big Brown in 2008, and he was mysteriously pulled up in the Belmont.

The story of I'll Have Another is becoming familiar, and it's about time. Owner J. Paul Reddam keynoted that quite simply afterward.

"He hasn't had the most respect," Reddam said.

Amazingly, the Kentucky Derby winner paid $8.40, $3.80 and $2.80. That's mostly because Bob Baffert's Bodemeister had the short odds in the field, as he did in the Derby.

But as in the Derby, I'll Have Another was not interested in anything less than the whole cookie, and when he ran down Baffert's speed demon once again and won by a neck, the people with reason to see him as less than Triple Crown quality were left without argument.

Reddam said, "I think there was a common feeling … that the horse won the Derby because he had a perfect trip. If he didn't get the perfect trip, he wouldn't have won…[Today] he shows he is the real deal."

Dennis O'Neill, who identified I'll Have Another for Reddam to purchase, said, "Going into today, I thought this horse was a really, really good horse going in. After today, he's proven to be a great horse."

Reddam made the purchase for $35,000, chump change for a well-bred thoroughbred. Reddam delivered him to his main trainer, Dennis' brother, Doug, who has not only trained this horse to perfection, but become a rock star in the process.

More on the horse's background here: "I'll Have Another Wins Kentucky Derby in Spectacular Come-From-Behind Upset."