Bodemeister: Bob Baffert Must Allow Speedy Horse to Run the Preakness

Trainer Bob Baffert needs to let his speedy horse Bodemeister run at the 2012 Preakness Stakes.

While Bodemeister didn't win the 2012 Kentucky Derby, he was certainly impressive 90 percent of the race and would have pulled it off if he was able to hang out to his speed on the home stretch.

Unfortunately, just as Bodemeister was fading, I'll Have Another was picking up speed, and that was all she wrote for Baffert's horse at the Derby.

While the loss is obviously not an ideal situation, there were some positives that came out of the race.

1) We know that Bodemeister is very fast.

2) We know that Bodemeister isn't afraid to get up front and set the pace.

3) We know that Bodemeister may need to be drawn back a bit in order to have enough energy on the home stretch.

Those are three very valuable lessons that we learned about the impressive horse at the Derby, and these are all lessons that Baffert and his team can use at the Preakness.

According to quotes from Brisnet.com, however, Baffert is still up in the air on Bodemeister's status for the race:

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Bodemeister's performance, setting blistering fraction and still managing to stay on to finish second, was a major story line of the 138th Kentucky Derby. It was the Empire Maker colt's fifth race of 2012, but Baffert didn't rule out a Preakness try.

"I will let him tell me if he's ready, like I did with Lookin at Lucky," Baffert said, referring to the bay colt who finished sixth as the favorite in the 2010 Kentucky Derby despite drawing the rail before going on to win the Preakness.

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Bodemeister has what it takes to win the 2012 Preakness and his trainer should recognize that and let him run the race.

The thing you have to realize is that the Preakness is just a bit shorter than the Kentucky Derby, so Bodemeister can still get out ahead of the field, but at the Preakness he won't have to hold on to his lead for as long.

He displayed an incredible burst right out of the gate and even had some separation going into the final stretch, so if he can run a race with anywhere near the speed that he did at the Derby, Bodemeister has a great shot at winning the Preakness.

Obviously, the horses health has to be the main priority, but if Bodemeister is up for it then there is no reason why he shouldn't be racing in the 2012 Preakness Stakes.