I put together a quick video of my view of the Preakness from the grandstand at Old Hilltop. I found it difficult to keep the camera steady inside the final furlongs as I had to resist the urge to jump up and down. I started pulling back on the shot at the top of the stretch because I thought Bode was going to roll home. Then I saw I'll Have Another begin to make his charge down the Pimlico home stretch and I had to try and follow them all the way to the wire (and not spill any beer in the process!).

It was a great weekend in Baltimore, beginning with a fantastic Black-Eyed Susan Day on Friday (where I got to hangout with and makes some bets with Swale), and continuing with the 13-race card on Saturday. If you've never been to the Preakness, I highly recommend planning a visit.

The final make-up of the 2012 Belmont Stakes will likely change over the next three weeks but we already have an idea on which horses may be in the gate on June 9th, according to industry reports. We already know I'll Have Another will be at Big Sandy as he looks to end over 30 years of Triple Crown misery. Joining him will be a combination of new shooters, Preakness horses, and horses that ran in the Derby but skipped the race in Baltimore.

Bodemeister is already out, as Bob Baffert is ready to give his colt a bit of a rest after running huge races in every start of 2012. If he stays sound, he'll be a force to be reckoned with this summer and fall as we roll towards the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita Park.

Most recent reports suggest Creative Cause, 5th in the Derby and 3rd in the Preakness, is a 50/50 proposition to go to Belmont. I'm guessing they skip it and also take some time off and prepare for the summer races in SoCal.

It's "doubtful" that Mark Valeski will go to the Belmont, according to trainer Larry Jones, but it's still a possibility. If he doesn't go to the Belmont, he'll likely be pointed towards the Dwyer.

Below is a look at the horses that are in consideration for the Belmont Stakes on June 9th:

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Starting in April 2011, no fewer than 9 of the top 150 sires either died or were pensioned. It's pretty remarkable when you break it all out in terms of earnings and stakes winners. The breakdown is after the jump.

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The Preakness wasn't the only major racing event on the planet this weekend, although it might have seemed like it to us in the US. At Newbury Racecourse in England the top rated thoroughbred in the world, Frankel (GB) made a triumphant debut to his 2012 racing season in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes. As he has done in every race in his career (with the exception of the St. James's Palace last year at Royal Ascot), Frankel made good horses look like low-level runners. Excelebration (IRE), a quality colt that won the Group 1 Prix de Moulin de Longchamp in Paris last fall, (as well as the G3-Gladness Stakes at the Curragh), never so much as challenged Frankel in the stretch. The Sir Henry Cecil trainee displayed his extraordinarily high cruising speed, crushing his rivals hopes before ever reaching the final furlong.

Next up for Frankel will be Royal Ascot where he may stretch out beyond a mile for the first time in his career.

Racing UK won't allow embedding of the Lockinge Stakes video, but you can view the race at their YouTube site via the link below.

Race Replay - Frankel in the Lockinge Stakes

I'm sitting in Midway Airport in Chicago waiting for the final leg of my journey back to Seattle and I'd thought I peruse some of the old footage from the 1978 Belmont Stakes and Affirmed's coronation as the 11th Triple Crown winner in American racing history. The footage is a little grainy and there's a lack of fancy camera footage during the mile and a half journey (unlike what will surely be a huge production from NBC in three weeks), but the thrill of the great Affirmed and Alydar rivalry is alive and well.

It's going to be a long three weeks of hype and anticipation before I'll Have Another gets a shot at racing immortality. While I'm not one that believes a Triple Crown winner will somehow change the fortunes of the sport of horse racing all on it's own, I can't deny that the mere possibility of a historical achievement provides an opportunity for the game to be the center of the national sports stage.

I'll Have Another positioned himself for a run at history in the Belmont Stakes three weeks from now with a thrilling stretch drive victory over Bodemeister in today's 137th running of the Preakness. I'll Have Another stalked three lengths back of somewhat pedestrian fractions that most would have thought to suit the front-running style of Bodemeister. Creative Cause ran most of the way off Bodemeister's hip before yielding to I'll Have Another's impressive surge and held third. Zetterholm completed the superfecta. The Pimlico track replay, which lacks Larry Colmus' spine-tingling call, follows the jump. Prices also.

Let me just say...."Let's Go I'll Have Another." Go win that that Triple Crown.

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$2 Daily Double 3-9 38.20 $2 Daily Double SPECIAL/PREAKNESS 8-9 45.00 $2 Exacta 9-7 18.60 $1 Superfecta 9-7-6-4 424.30 $2 Super High Five 9-7-6-4-2 3,667.60 $2 Trifecta 9-7-6 70.80 $0.50 Pick 3 5/9-3-9 (3 correct) 24.60 $0.50 Pick 4 2-5/9-3-9 (4 correct) 233.10 $0.50 Pick 5 6/7/9/10-2-5/9-3-9 (5 correct) 1,485.05

I know Matt's chilling' with Kegasus, so I figure I'd open this up for everyone to start talking about the undercard.

May all your picks break sharply!