2011 Preakness Stakes Results: Complete Results for the Field

Horse racing can be a funny thing sometimes. There's weeks of buildup, an all-day event and the race is over in a couple minutes. Those couple minutes are exciting while they last, though whether the favorite ends up winning or whether it's a shocker.

In this case, one of the second-tier horses won, as Shackleford kept his stamina up and remained in the lead almost throughout the entire race.

The race started off with many horses not wanting to go in the gate. Flashpoint and Shackleford started way ahead, with Dance City and Midnight Interlude right behind. After the next turn Astrology jumped into the top three. Surprisingly, Animal Kingdom and Dialed In were last.

The top five remained the same, and as they hit the 3/4 mile as Animal Kingdom caught up, but Flashpoint and Shackleford remained in the lead. Dialed In was moving into the top five as well, but he and Dance City did not move into the top three.

They all bunched up together in the final stretch as Animal Kingdom shot through, moving into the top three with Flashpoint and Shackleford. He moved past Flashpoint, who completely fell off the map and was moving faster than Shackleford, but he was unable to make up the distance.

In the end, Shackleford got the upset, with Animal Kingdom finishing a close second, with Astrology third. Shackleford definitely deserved the win, as he was able to keep the other horses away from him, and he didn't tire out.

A lot of people were concerned that Shackleford may not have the stamina, even though there's no question he has the speed. Luckily the track is a little bit shorter, and Shackleford did not have to worry about tiring out.

This ends the possibility of there being a Triple Crown winner until next year, but with such a tight field this year, it seemed rather unlikely anyway. Animal Kingdom was just too far back at the start to have a realistic shot, which is a shame since he ended amazingly.

Perhaps another surprise was the fall of Flashpoint, who was up there with Shackleford for most of the race before falling all the way to last.

It looks like Shackleford will be the favorite as we look to the Belmont Stakes, but for now, he'll enjoy this win, and Animal Kingdom will begin planning revenge there.

Results for all 14 horses are listed below, with lengths behind Shackleford in parentheses:

1. Shackleford
2. Animal Kingdom (1/2)
3. Astrology (1 3/4)
4. Dialed In (4 1/4)
5. Dance City (6 1/4)
6. Mucho Macho Man (7 1/2)
7. King Congie (9)
8. Mr. Commons (9 3/4)
9. Isn't He Perfect (11 1/4)
10. Concealed Identity (12 1/2)
11. Norman Asbjornson (12 3/4)
12. Sway Away (14 1/2)
13. Midnight Interlude (21 1/2)
14. Flashpoint (21 3/4)