Great Preakness -- hopefully the start of a great seasonal rivalry

[Grey Lag]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

I was too young and not even into racing when the last three TC winners ran so I can only go by what I've read. All three were highly regarded horses prior to the Derby, hardly surprises. Not the same with I'll Have Another. Maybe it doesn't make sense but if a horse is going to become immortalized by winning the TC, I want it to be a star and this horse doesn't fit that for me. Not saying he's not a good horse because he is and there hasn't been anything lucky about his wins. He's deserved them and if he wins the Belmont, he'll deserve that too. It just bothers me that in the future, he'll be looked at as one of the sport’s greats because of the accomplishment and people won't take the time to understand that circumstances and timing often play a bigger role in making history than actual ability. People will remember I'll Have Another before Alysheba ,Sunday Silence, Risen Star, Point Given, Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex, and others. For that silly reason, I want him to lose.

By that logic there will never be another deserving TC winner since horses don't have anything like the schedules that Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed had as two and three year olds. Horses today don't race enough prior to the triple crown races to compile a resume like those horses. Secretariat had 12 races prior to the Kentucky Derby.

If I'll Have Another wins the Belmont Stakes he will have won 4 Grade I and 1 Grade II races this year while only a couple of other 3-year-olds have even won a single GI.