Preakness 2012: I'll Have Another and Kentucky Derby Horses That Will Falter

Many of the horses that ran in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago will sit out the festivities in Baltimore at the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, but there will be six returning horses who will vie for the second gem in the Triple Crown. Chief among them will be Derby winner I'll Have Another and runner-up Bodemeister.

Creative Cause, Went The Day Well, Daddy Nose Best and Optimizer will also be participants in "The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans." Those six horses make up the top six betting favorites for the race, but the odds are that a few of them are going to disappoint. Only about half of these horses were factors at Churchill Downs, and that will probably ring true once again at Pimlico.

Here are three Kentucky Derby horses who won't be able to live up to the lofty expectations bestowed upon them in the Preakness.

I'll Have Another

All of the focus will be on I'll Have Another on Saturday as he was victorious in the Kentucky Derby and will look to further his chances of becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. To do so he will have to overcome a very tough field headlined by the favored Bodemeister.

Bob Baffert's Bodemeister was dominant in the early going of the Kentucky Derby as he set near-record splits, but he tired near the end of the 10-furlong haul and allowed I'll Have Another to pass him late.

I'll Have Another's time wasn't particularly impressive, but he was able to take advantage of Bodemeister, who had exhausted all of his efforts too early. Everything went perfectly for I'll Have Another in the Kentucky Derby, as he was positioned perfectly to make a charge in the latter stages. I don't envision that being the case again on Saturday, and if he has to face any adversity, I don't believe he'll be a factor.

Optimizer

Optimizer entered the Kentucky Derby as a big underdog, and it was easy to see why as he was simply never in the running and finished 11th.

The D. Wayne Lukas-trained horse will get a bit of a bump as he will be guided by experienced jockey Corey Nakatani in the Preakness, but that won't be enough to make him a major player. There are simply too many superior horses running, and in a smaller field there is less potential for a fluke.

Truth be told, Optimizer really hasn't had a lot of success despite being one of the most experienced horses in the field. He has run in 10 races and only won once, that being in his first race. Over his past four starts he has finished ninth or worse in three, so Optimizer is neutralized far too easily to be considered a threat. I suppose stranger things have happened in horse racing, but don't bank on Optimizer doing much.

Daddy Nose Best

Daddy Nose Best certainly looked like an intriguing Kentucky Derby bet as he had reigned supreme in the Sunland Derby and El Camino Real Derby in the months preceding the run for the roses, but it simply wasn't to be at Churchill Downs.

Daddy Nose Best got caught in traffic and just couldn't find a rhythm all race long, and that resulted in a 10th-place finish. Daddy Nose Best is a talented horse with good closing speed, but the Kentucky Derby proved that he needs a perfect trip in order to make a run.

With Bodemeister likely to pace the field and horses like Creative Cause and Went The Day Well also looking like strong contenders, I simply don't see an avenue for Daddy Nose Best to compete. It wouldn't be a shock if he found a way to get involved near the end, but I'm not confident that he'll be able get in space and position himself well enough to make that happen.

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