Preakness 2012 Horses: Bodemeister and Daddy Nose Best Will Be Horses to Beat

I'll Have Another took the Kentucky Derby on May 5, but I don't see him besting Bodemeister or Daddy Nose Best at the Preakness Stakes on May 19. I'll Have Another's run at Churchill Downs was an unlikely triumph as he closed on Bodemeister to capture the first leg of the Triple Crown.

At Pimlico Race Course, the track is only a mile-and-three-sixteenths; at that distance many of the horses that are faster out of the gate could push I'll Have Another to back of the pack.

With less racing real estate, another strong finish is far less likely.

The post positions will have a lot to do with this situation, but I believe Bodemeister is the fastest three-year-old in the world for nine furlongs. He has consistently pulled away from the competition in prior races, including the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago.

With the Preakness Stakes measuring nine-and-a-half furlongs, it's a track that should suit Bodemeister well. Even if he begins to fade for the final half furlong, his routine blazing run for the first seven-and-a-half furlongs should give him a commanding lead, and there won't be enough track to catch him this time.

Daddy Nose Best is another horse who will be racing the right distance for his talents. At Churchill Downs he was clearly stretched too far by the mile-and-a-quarter length track.

He has proven to be at his best in races measuring closer to the distance of the Preakness Stakes.

Coming into the Kentucky Derby he had posted back-to-back wins at the Sunland Derby and the El Camino Real Derby. Both of these races measure a-mile-and-an-eighth, which is in Daddy Nose Best's wheelhouse.

I expect to see him race well, and in the end, he will be Bodemeister's biggest challenge at Pimlico on Saturday.

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