Derby Winner

With Animal Kingdom committed to run in the Belmont Stakes, can Shackleford be far behind? Those horses, winners of the first two legs of racing's Triple Crown, are expected to contend for the third time at Belmont on June 11. After Animal Kingdom jogged 1-1/2 miles Friday morning at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, trainer Graham Motion pronounced the Kentucky Derby winner fit to go in the race many see as the rubber match between the...

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, stabled at Fair Hill Training Center since his victory, arrived at Pimlico Race Course this morning for today's 136th Preakness. Unlike most Derby winners, who usually arrive mid-week to begin preparations for the second leg of the Triple Crown, Animal Kingdom trainer Graham Motion chose to keep his colt in the quiet surroundings of Fair Hill, Md., about 60 miles north of Baltimore in Cecil County. Animal Kingdom made the move this morning by van with several of his stablemates who will be running in Preakness undercard races today.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom was made an early 2-1 favorite for the 136th running of the Preakness Stakes after the post position draw on Wednesday. The chestnut colt, who is ridden by jockey John Velazquez and trained by Maryland's Graham Motion, will run against a full field of 14 horses. It's the first time the Preakness has had a full field since 2005. Animal Kingdom drew the No. 11 post position in the draw, a development Motion said he was the best possible outcome for his horse.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom had another strong workout Tuesday, perhaps his most focused exercise since arriving in Maryland, despite the fact that it was raining at the Fair Hill Training Center. Instead of running him in the mud, trainer Graham Motion sent Animal Kingdom out on the Tapeta Footings synthetic track for the second straight day, but he instructed jockey David Nava to make Animal Kingdom chase after a series of horses staggered in front of him to get the Derby winner back into the groove of racing.

Trainer Graham Motion said Monday that he's leaning strongly toward bringing Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom to Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, the day of the Preakness Stakes, instead of bringing him in Friday and having him stay overnight in an unfamiliar environment. Since he won the Derby on May 7, Animal Kingdom has been settling in at his new home at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, where Motion has his base of operations. "I'm really thinking I'm leaning that way right now," Motion said.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom had another strong workout Tuesday morning, perhaps his most focused exercise since arriving in Maryland, despite the fact that it was raining at the Fair Hill Training Center. Instead of running him in the mud, trainer Graham Motion sent Animal Kingdom out on the Tapeta Footings synthetic track for the second straight day, but he instructed jockey David Nava to make Animal Kingdom chase after a series of horses staggered in front of him to get the Derby winner back into the groove of racing.

Prior to the Kentucky Derby, most horse racing handicappers and experts looked at Animal Kingdom as little more than a turf horse. He had never run on dirt, and his bloodlines seemed to imply he'd be far more comfortable on grass. He had very little racing experience, and in the four races he had run, he had four different jockeys. Animal Kingdom was certainly pretty to look at, but to most people, he didn't feel like a Derby winner. Even the partnership that owns him had doubts the Run for the Roses was the right race for him. Prior to the first Saturday in May, anyone calling him a legitimate Triple Crown contender would have been laughed at. A relatively easy victory in the sport's signature race, however, has a way of prompting reassessment.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom had a special visitor Friday when Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid stopped by to watch the colt go out for his morning exercise at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton. Trainer Graham Motion said Animal Kingdom jogged a half-mile and galloped a mile with a pony and another horse to keep him company. "Everything seems to be going good," Motion said. "Hopefully he's oblivious to what is going on around him. " Motion has been happy to talk about the sport of horse racing this week.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom stepped out of his van Tuesday after a 12-hour ride from Louisville, set foot in the state for the first time and snatched up a mouthful of Maryland grass. Then he ate some more. For five minutes, Animal Kingdom dined on a green buffet outside trainer Graham Motion's barn at the Fair Hill training center before being coaxed into his stall, where he ate again. "He eats everything," Motion said. "He ate dinner the night after winning the Derby, which is very unusual.

Assuming Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom is healthy, he will definitely run in the Preakness on May 21 in Baltimore, trainer Graham Motion said this morning. "I think we'd better, right?" joked Motion, who trains horses in Fair Hill, Md. "I mean I'm going to the Preakness as long as he's OK. He won the Derby. We're going. " Motion said he expects Animal Kingdom will fly back to Maryland on Tuesday, and arrive in the late afternoon. Animal Kingdom, at 20-1 odds, won Saturday's Derby by roaring from the pack to chase down the race leaders.