Kentucky Derby 2012: Race Experience Will Benefit Bodemeister at Preakness

When all was said and done, Bodemeister just didn't have enough to win the 2012 Kentucky Derby.

It's a long race and the horse lacked the experience that many of the other horses had, considering that he didn't run as a two-year-old. It could be that experience that cost Bodemeister the win in the end, as I'll Have Another stormed down the homestretch, released from the crowd and overtook the leader to win the Kentucky Derby.

It was a fantastic race by Bodemeister and this won't be the last we see from this great horse.

There's one thing that's incredibly evident about this horse: he's talented enough to be a champion.

Watching him run for about 90 percent of the Derby was like watching Michael Jordan put in the reverse layup off the high-glass or watching Wayne Gretzky skate around his opponents. You could just tell that there was something great in the way he ran.

He was quick out the gate, he didn't back down from an early challenge for the lead, and he even got some separation coming into the homestretch.

Everything was pointing to a dominant performance from Bodemeister, but unlike Gretzky or Jordan, he wasn't able to finish.

You could tell that the horse was absolutely gassed once he made the final turn, and by the time the rest of the field caught up to him it was too late.

As is often times the case, a jockey was able to get a final push out of his horse and propel him into the front on the homestretch, and that jockey was Mario Gutierrez on I'll Have Another.

While this is undoubtedly a disappointing finish for Bodemeister and his team, it only points to good things to come in the future.

It's obvious that he's fast enough to get out of the gate and in front of the rest of the field, but the 1 1/4 mile Derby proved to be just a bit too long for him.

As fate were to have it though, the Preakness is just a few weeks away and Bodemeister now has this huge race under his belt. As fate would also have it, the Preakness is a shorter race than the Kentucky Derby.

He didn't win this time around, but the experience of being in this race will prove to benefit Bodemeister at the Preakness.