Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another will jump from barrier nine in Saturday’s 137th Preakness, two spots outside Derby runner-up Bodemeister.
I’ll Have Another charged from behind to beat Bodemeister by 1-1/2 lengths two weeks ago at Churchill Downs to give himself a chance at becoming the first horse since 1978 to sweep US horse racing’s Triple Crown.
Not since Affirmed did so 34 years ago has a horse completed the treble by sweeping the Derby, the Preakness and next month’s Belmont Stakes in New York.
Bodemeister was made the early favorite, in part because the Preakness is the shortest of the Triple Crown races.
I’ll Have Another ran only three times last year before suffering a shin injury last September.
He did not run again until February this year at Santa Anita and then earned a trip to Kentucky by winning April’s Santa Anita Derby.
The starting order for the Preakness has Tiger Walk starting from the inside rail following outward in order by Teeth Of The Dog, Pretension, Zetterholm, Went The Day Well, Creative Cause, Bodemeister, Daddy Nose Best, I’ll Have Another, Optimizer and Cozzetti.
