Preakness 2012 Results: I'll Have Another Putting Horse Racing on His Back

Horse racing isn’t ideal water-cooler talk.

Before the Triple Crown began, the top-notch competitor that is I’ll Have Another was an unknown to the world. Now, sports fans are talking about the talented thoroughbred which has injected the sport with a level of excitement that it hasn’t felt in years.

I’ll Have Another’s victory in the 2012 Preakness Stakes set the horse up for a shot at the Triple Crown—a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 1978. But it isn’t like I’ll Have Another is the first horse with the opportunity to triumph in the trifecta since Affirmed. Just in the past decade, Big Brown, Smarty Jones, Funny Cide and War Emblem have blown such opportunities at the Belmont.

What makes I’ll Have Another different—more extraordinary—though, is how he wins. In the Kentucky Derby, he came out of nowhere to turn what looked like a dominating win by Bodemeister into a major upset by a 15/1 underdog. I'll Have Another's finish was even more spectacular at the Preakness as he passed Bodemeister again—this time in the race’s final seconds.

ESPN’s Adena Andrews raved about the implications that the 2012 Belmont Stakes holds saying:

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The rarity of this moment is what makes it so special. Every sport has a champion each year but the stars must be aligned just so for a Triple Crown winner to come through your lifetime. That's what sports is all about, capturing that one shining moment.

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I’ll Have Another managed to sneak horse racing into the water-cooler talks of the world. While the sport’s boost in popularity is temporary, every non-horse racing fan that tunes in to watch the Belmont this year will be that much more likely to check out the Triple Crown in the future. Whether I’ll Have Another wins or loses, either way, he’ll go down in history.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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