And they're OFF!

[elleng]

Misbehaving Shackelford took it, Animal Kingdom did ANOTHER SUPER stretch run!

[MadBadger]

1. Close, but no cigar

Thought he would do it though

[JohnnyLib2]

2. Awwww, rats.

Maybe a Triple Crown really is out of reach these days.

[bigwillq]

4. That's was one of the few sports-related things

still on my bucket list. Seeing a Triple Crown winner.

[bigwillq]

3. Thought AK

was going to pull it out. Nope.

[TZ]

5. I thought that AK would finish 2 at best

The distance was too short and he's just not that fast. I thought it would be Mucho Macho Man but Shackleford was my second pick to win. I wouldn't be surprised if AK skips the Belmont though

[twogunsid]

6. Shackleford ran a big race....

congrats to Dale Romans and crew!

[twogunsid]

7. Couple of other good races today....

Dale Romans wins with the very nice Paddy O'Prado in the Dixie Stakes - http://www.ntra.com//videos/index/view/ODcw

Ventana wins the Maryland Sprint Handicap after getting run into mid stretch by Immortal Eyes - http://www.ntra.com//videos/index/view/ODY2

Awesome Maria survives a stretch duel to win a photo in the Shuvee at Belmont - http://www.ntra.com//videos/index/view/ODcx

[twogunsid]

11. Paddy O'Prado comes out of the Dixie with a bruised foot...

From the Bloodhorse: Dixie Stakes (gr. IIT) winner Paddy O'Prado will be checked by a veterinarian in Kentucky May 22 after suffering an apparent foot bruise at Pimlico Race Course, trainer Dale Romans said.

Donegal Racing’s Paddy O’Prado won the $200,000 Dixie by 1 1/2 lengths after going from last to first in a seven-horse field. The bruise was discovered in the test barn.

“It looks like a bruised (right) foot,” Romans said at Pimlico the morning of May 22. “We couldn’t see anything major. He’ll be checked out by a vet in Kentucky.”

Paddy O’Prado, ridden in the Dixie by Kent Desormeaux, returned to Kentucky early the morning of May 22 along with stablemate Shackleford, who won the Preakness Stakes (gr. I). Romans said Paddy O’Prado wasn’t vanned off the racetrack but was transported by van from the test barn to his stall in the stakes barn at Pimlico.

Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/63167/paddy-oprado-treated-for-foot-bruise#ixzz1N5mkmiYs

[twogunsid]

8. Preakness video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYVsTqIM8V4&feature=feedlik

[Condem]

9. A BIG welcome back to twogun.

We've missed your presence. Should we be worried that you returned on Rapture day. Symbolic?

[twogunsid]

10. Bwahaha!!! I forgot about it being Rapture Day....

I very seriously doubt that God, if she exists, would waste her time rapturing her faithful on a day that a Triple Crown Race is run.

Thanks for the welcome. I'm so glad to see a lot of the older Sports DUers still up to the same old fuckstickery.

[twogunsid]

12. Goldikova back at Longchamp...

repeats in the Prix D'Ispahan. She is the best racemare in the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDC1o9wccjc

[KamaAina]

13. And it's OVER. Again.

How cheap is that? The filthy dirty nobody speed horse forgot to fade in the stretch. Welcome to Thoroughbred Racing Held Hostage: Year 34.

And there is nothing "SUPER" about a "stretch run" that comes up empty. AGAIN. This has been going on longer than half of DU has been alive. :cry:

[elleng]

14. Did you miss the Derby SUPER stretch run?

[KamaAina]

16. No, but

that and $2.25 will get you a grande latte.

Of the five people with whom I watched the last Triple Crown, three are now deceased. And Mom ain't gettin' any younger.

[Awsi Dooger]

15. I absolutely love it when a speed horse holds on

The stretch runners stagger along, running nothing quicker than 24 second quarters, hoping to pick up cheap change.

Lost some bets on Animal Kingdom. But the primary one was straight up against Dialed In. That one was never seriously in doubt. Dialed In prefers to wait until it's beyond hopeless.

My picks are dependably second these days. I had Nehro in the Derby. It reminds me of 3rd, 5th and 6th grades, second in the spelling bee every year. But that's why I prefer the matchups. I am adept at picking a horse to run 6th, while the opponent fades to 8th. Sometimes I wonder why they pay out on that.

Uncle Mo was this year's opportunity. We'll know by late November if there's a Triple Crown shot next year. If we're still deciphering the Derby favorite on March 1st, forget about it.

[twogunsid]

17. Racing has changed since Affirmed in 1978...

training methods have changed. The real money's made in the breeding shed.

Enjoy the Goldikovas, Zenyattas and Rachels. The talented GI colts are gonna be retired and shipped off to the farm as soon as they pop a splint or buck their shins.

[twogunsid]

18. Grade I Winner Paddy O'Prado Retired

Grade I winner Paddy O'Prado, who sustained a sesamoid injury in his May 21 victory in the Dixie Stakes (gr. II), has been retired after a career in which he posted five wins, three seconds, and three thirds from 15 starts, with earnings of $1,721,297. Stud plans have not been finalized.

“Today is bittersweet,” Romans said in a statement. “Paddy returned to training like a big gray monster, and we thought we were sitting on the horse of the year but now he will be able to go on and be a champion sire.

Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/63176/grade-i-winner-paddy-oprado-retired#ixzz1NCPl1r4p