Preakness 2012 Results: Trainer Right to Hold Bodemeister out of Belmont Stakes

Bob Baffert knows when enough is enough, and he is right to spare his colt Bodemister another failed performance. Bodemeister has already been smoked by I'll Have Another in back-to-back Triple Crown races, he won't put his horse in position to be chased down for a third time.

The odds would be stacked against Bodemeister at the Belmont Stakes. The race measures one-and-a-half miles, and that extra distance only further exposes Bodemeister's glaring weakness. 

If coffee is for closers (per Glengarry Glen Ross), then Bodemeister must be on a no-caffeine diet. He has failed to hold off I'll Have Another after building big leads at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.  

The Derby is one-and-a-quarter miles and the Preakness is one-and-three-16ths of a mile, but the Belmont is the longest of all the Triple Crown races. That would have put Bodemeister in an unwinnable situation.

Baffert masked his unwillingness to come up short again by referring to horse racing history. He is quoted by Jerry Bossert of the New York Daily News with this comment:

"

“It’s one of those things where it’s good for the sport,” Baffert said of I’ll Have Another’s victory in the Preakness and a chance at immortality. “It’s good for the Belmont.”

"

I agree it is good for the sport if I'll Have Another wins the Triple Crown, but that can't be Baffert's main motivation for holding Bodemeister out of the race. If he thought his horse had a legitimate chance to win, he'd run him.

Even though I disagree with the reasons Baffert gave, the bottom line is he made the right decision holding Bodemeister out of a race he can't win.

Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay.net for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports Video Games

Follow @BrianMazique

Follow @franchiseplay