The Preakness Stakes often gets overlooked as the middle child of the Triple Crown. This year’s 133rd Run for the Black-Eyed Susans will be particularly anticlimactic – and not just because of the death of Eight Belles.

Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown is making the trip to Pimlico. Nobody else from the Derby is joining him now that Recapturetheglory has been pulled out of the race with a fever. Assuming the current 12-horse field goes unchanged between now and this Saturday, this will be the first time the Derby winner has faced completely fresh competition at the Preakness since Citation in 1948.

Citation went on to win the Triple Crown. Could the same be in store for Big Brown? The horse racing props market has the Derby champ at –350 to win the Preakness and +105 to complete the sweep. Todd Pletcher’s Harlem Rocker appears to be the best of the rest at Pimlico.

Check out this online racebook if you’re planning on betting on the Preakness Stakes. Read more on the Preakness Stakes and Big Brown’s chances of winning.

Big Brown was dominant at Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, winning by five lengths. Now nobody wants to face him at the Preakness Stakes on May 17. The only horse among the survivors in the Kentucky Derby field who may make the trip to Pimlico is fifth-place finisher Recapturetheglory.

This opens up the very real possibility for our first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. With a projected field that includes the likes of Kentucky Bear and Stevil, Big Brown is currently –300 on the Derby props list to secure the second jewel of the Crown.

Owners and trainers are licking their wounds and lying in wait for the Belmont Stakes. Big Brown (again, in the form of a prop) is –120 to either win or lose the Belmont, the longest race of the Triple Crown at 1.5 miles. Add it up, and the market is still pessimistic at +120 that Big Brown will sweep all three events.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA is making their views heard after the tragedy at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. They are seeking the suspension of Eight Bells’ jockey, Gabriel Saez, after the filly had to be euthanized following her second place finish.

Eight Bells’ had broken both of her front ankles while galloping out a quarter mile past the wire. She was the first filly since 1999 to run in the Derby and appeared fine until the end of the race. She was euthanized on the track.

PETA claims that Eight Bells was “doubtlessly injured before the finish” and requested that Saez be suspended while the death is being investigated.

“What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?” PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said. “If he didn’t then we can probably blame the fact that they’re allowed to whip the horses mercilessly.”

This was Saez’s first Kentucky Derby and he rides frequently for Eight Bells trainer Larry Jones.

A letter written by PETA was sent to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority also asking a ban to be put on whipping, limits on races and the age of racehorses, and a move to softer, artificial surfaces for all courses.

Personally, I think that what PETA is asking isn’t unfair at all when it comes to the changes that could be incorporated into the sport of horse racing. The horses well being is obviously the most important thing to consider before profit and entertainment. It’s not uncommon for injuries to take place on the track and the suggestions they are making make sense. All sports have modified themselves to lessen injuries of the athletes and these changes may lessen the injuries of the horses. It’s something worth considering.

Second place finisher Eight Belles is euthanized following a collapse on the track at the end of the race. The loss overshadowed Big Brown’s commanding first-place finish.

Big Brown, the favorite heading into the Kentucky Derby, became the first horse since 1929 to win the Kentucky Derby from the 20th post position. Finishing close to five lengths ahead of the second place filly, Eight Belles, Big Brown makes a strong case to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

But the story of the day was not the win for Big Brown’s owners, the IEAH Stables, his trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. and his jockey, Kent Desormeaux. Sadly, that tragic ending would belong to Eight Belles, who ran the race of her life only to lose it in the end. Shortly after completing the race, the filly collapsed on the track, breaking both ankles to her front hind legs, and was euthanized right then and there.

What should have been a glorious win for the more than 157,000 horse racing fans in attendance turned into a tragic loss, one that sent shock waves around the world.

“The injuries were catastrophic,” said Dr Larry Bramlage, the track’s “on call” veterinarian. “She didn’t have a front foot to stand on. She was immediately euthanized. I have never seen anything like this before at the end of a race.”

The death of Eight Belles raises some serious questions…

While it is true that the horse racing industry is spending millions of dollars trying to make the sport safer, another sad truth is that death on the racetrack happens every day — nearly twice a day in the United States and Canada, according to Dr. David Nunamaker, a professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and the chairman of clinical studies at New Bolton Center where the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was hospitalized and then later euthanized. According to Nunamaker, fatal muscle and bone injuries occur 1.5 times per 1,000 starts.

It would make sense that Hillary Clinton, the only female in the presidential race, bet on Eight Belles, the only female horse entered into the Kentucky Derby race.

Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton was in Louisville, Kentucky yesterday meeting with supporters and volunteers. After the business of the day was completed, Clinton made her Derby pick known and urged everyone else at the meeting to put their money on the only filly competing in this colt-dominated race: Eight Belles.

Currently the 16/1 long shot in most sportsbooks to win the Kentucky Derby, Eight Belles is vying for her share of the stakes as she tries to become only the fourth filly in the history of the Kentucky Derby to win, the first since 1988. (For more on Eight Belles, read “Belles of the Ball”.)

One of the many Kentucky Derby prop bets available for this Saturday’s race asks if the winning horse will beat the 2:02.17 time posted by Street Sense last year. The “Yes” side is priced at –160.

Five of the previous eight Derby champions outran Street Sense’s pace, which translates to –167 for our handicapping purposes. But that’s just a ballpark figure. How fast things go this year depends on the 20 horses and jockeys, the track, the weather, and the countless hours of preparation that went into getting these thoroughbreds into elite condition.

Big Brown, the Derby favorite at 3-1 (up from a brief stay at 4-1), is a speed merchant deluxe. His Mar. 29 Florida Derby win, at a Beyer Speed Figure of 106, was the fastest since Unbridled’s Song in 1996. But will Big Brown be fast enough to beat Secretariat’s 1973 Derby record run of 1:59.40? That equals a Beyer of 139. (For more tips from the handicapping experts, read this article by two of horse racing’s biggest fans.)

Betting on the Fastest Two Minutes in Sports? Get all your Kentucky Derby odds here.

With the Kentucky Derby this weekend every horse racing fan is getting ready for the big day. From party planning, to making your bets, if there is one day to go big or go home the Kentucky Derby is that day.

Most of us won’t be able to make it out to watch the race live so we are stuck with our TV sets. When I think of a horse racing party I think big hats, fancy cloths, mint julep and Benedictine Sandwiches. The recipe for this sandwich is found in almost every Kentucky Derby recipe book. If you want to try it for yourself here is the recipe.

Benedictine
1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 small onion
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
Dash of salt (to taste)
Green food coloring

Finely grate cucumber and onion (may use food processor). Drain well in a strainer, pressing down with back of spoon to remove all liquid. Add a dash of salt. Add drained cucumber and onion to cream cheese and mix well in food processor. Add 1 to 2 drops of green food coloring and mix to distribute color (should be pale green). Use on white bread as a sandwich spread, to make canapés or for a dip with vegetables or crackers.

I know that the cucumber sandwich and its variations remind all of us of our grandparents but you have to admit, drinking and wearing a big hat with a million feathers somehow reminds us of grandparents as well.