Preakness 2012 Winner: I'll Have Another Must Adapt to Belmont's Longer Track

I'll Have Another must adapt to Belmont's one-and-a-half mile track if he wants to realize his Triple Crown dreams.

Belmont's dirt track is significantly longer than Pimlico's one-and-three-sixteenths mile track and Churchill Downs' one-and-one-quarter mile track.

I'll Have Another has showcased his top-level speed and will to win when it matters most, but will he have the endurance to last Belmont's grueling lengths?

Let's find out what I'll Have Another must do to win the Belmont, completing the Triple Crown trifecta.

Belmont's Track

I'll Have Another has had no trouble with shorter dirt tracks so far this racing season, but a quarter of a mile is a major increase to prepare for.

I'll Have Another's jockey, Mario Gutierrez, must make sure I'll Have Another is ready to run.

Gutierrez orchestrated I'll Have Another's kick coming around Pimlico's first turn. It changed the course of the race and was expertly timed.

Gutierrez will need to feel where I'll Have Another's stamina is and when to release him at the Belmont Stakes.

If Gutierrez fails to measure correctly, I'll Have Another's Triple Crown aspirations could die rather quickly.

Getting I'll Have Another to the race's final lengths has proven to be the key so far. He has incredible closing speed and wants to win the race more than any other horse on the track.

However, that won't matter if Gutierrez can't get him into position for the final stretch.

Can I'll Have Another Adapt?

Some horses are only good on certain surfaces, or at certain distances.

The Kentucky Derby was I'll Have Another's first victory on a track that size. All other victories, besides the 2012 Santa Anita Derby, were run between six and seven furlongs.

The Santa Anita Derby, run at Santa Anita Park in his home state of California, is one-and-one-eighth mile long. Any experience at one-plus miles will help I'll Have Another in the Belmont Stakes.

Obviously, no one will know how I'll Have Another feels until the gates open.

Running three major races in two months, with the longest race coming last, is an enormous task. This is why 21 horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness before falling short in the Belmont Stakes.

I'll Have Another is a master competitor. I would bet he adapts and is in the Belmont running until the very end.

Whether he has that final push in him or not, is going to be the determining factor.