2012 Preakness Results: I'll Have Another Will Differ from Past 2-Leg Winners

I'll Have Another made another late charge to win the Preakness Stakes, and the horse's closing speed makes him different from past thoroughbreds to win the first two Triple Crown races.

Here are the results from the race:

Finish Horse Jockey Post  1 I'll Have Another  M. Gutierrez  9  2 Bodemeister  M. Smith  7  3 Creative Cause  J. Rosario  6  4 Zetterholm  J. Alvarado  4  5 Teeth of the Dog  J. Bravo  2  6 Optimizer  C. Nakatani  10   7 Cozzetti  J. Lezcano   11  8 Tiger Walk  R. Dominguez  1  9 Daddy Nose Best  J. Leparoux  8  10 Went the Day Well  J. Velazquez  5  11 Pretension  J. Santiago  3

The late charge from the colt suggests he has something special that previous two-leg winners did not. Bodemeister led nearly all the way around the track, but I'll Have Another chased down the favorite, just as he did during the Kentucky Derby.

Since 2002, five horses have won both the Derby and the Preakness. Courtesy of ESPN, they are:

2012 I'll Have Another 2008 Big Brown 2004 Smarty Jones 2003 Funny Cide 2002 War Emblem

All the other horses besides I'll Have Another were either trained by big-time trainers or won at least one of the first two legs of the Triple Crown by a large margin. Some of them fit both those criteria.

This differs drastically from I'll Have Another's modus operandi. Jockey Mario Gutierrez seemed perfectly content to stay back and let Bodemeister set the pace.

Down the stretch is where this horse makes his money, and that appears to be exactly how Gutierrez likes to play his cards.

I'll Have Another and his jockey seemed in complete unison at the end of both the Derby and the Preakness. 

It is this remarkable knack for hitting stride at exactly the right moment that separates I'll Have Another from past horses that had a shot at the Triple Crown.

It's been 34 years since a thoroughbred won the Triple Crown, so it will take a special colt to break the streak.

I'll Have Another has proved conclusively that he is a very special horse. When the Belmont Stakes are over, he will make history as a Triple Crown winner.