Fusaichi Pegasus

If you listen to history, history whispers that 11 have prevailed - only 11. Fusaichi Pegasus will not join the all-star roster of Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed.Those 11 swept the three races that make up the Triple Crown . Fusaichi Pegasus, the "next great horse," failed yesterday in the second, the 125th Preakness before 98,304 damp and chilly fans at Pimlico Race Course . After winning the Kentucky Derby as if he might be the next Secretariat, Fusaichi Pegasus struggled to finish second in the Preakness as the heaviest favorite since Spectacular Bid in 1979.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Enter Tiznow. As the three leading contenders for Horse of the Year fizzled yesterday on Breeders' Cup Championship day at Churchill Downs, the little-known Tiznow soared into contention with a championship-like performance. A late-developing 3-year -old bred in California, Tiznow outfought the European star Giant's Causeway down Churchill Downs' long and historic stretch for a dramatic neck victory in the $4.69 million Breeders' Cup Classic. Lemon Drop Kid and Fusaichi Pegasus, the two Classic runners at the forefront of the Horse of the Year debate, finished fifth and sixth.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Kentucky Derby is history. The hordes have departed Churchill Downs. But a familiar scene transpired yesterday under the twin spires at this historic racetrack: Fusaichi Pegasus, with another buck here and another kick there, impressed onlookers with another display of controlled power. "Spectacular" and "awesome" were two words uttered as the Derby winner jogged 1 1/2 miles, galloped a half-mile and then breezed five furlongs in a blistering 59 seconds.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Imagine writing a check for $60 million. To buy a horse. Then sending the horse out to race against the best in the world to prove you were smart to write the check. That's the backdrop against which Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus will run in the Breeders' Cup Classic tomorrow at Churchill Downs, his appearance coming just a few months after Coolmore Stud, an Irish-based international breeding outfit, bought him from a Japanese businessman in a deal that made him the highest-priced stallion ever.

NEW YORK - For the first time in 30 years, the third jewel in horse racing's Triple Crown will not have the Kentucky Derby winner or the Preakness winner in the starting gate. Trainer Neil Drysdale announced yesterday that Fusaichi Pegasus injured his right hoof and will not race in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. The injury occurred Saturday at 2 p.m. when a blacksmith working on another horse in Barn 1 at Aqueduct dropped a tool and startled Fusaichi Pegasus, who was asleep in the back of his stall.

LOUISVILLE, KY. -- More than any other horse race, the Kentucky Derby offers intrigue, personal drama and enigma. And more than most Kentucky Derbies, the 126th renewal today at Churchill Downs offers them in exquisite abundance. This Derby could produce the next super horse, its first winning female trainer or its oldest winning trainer. It will showcase the Derby's first black jockey in nearly eight decades and a second assault upon an American institution by Arab sheikhs. But most of all, this Kentucky Derby offers the world a tremendous horse race.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Imagine writing a check for $60 million. To buy a horse. Then sending the horse out to race against the best in the world to prove you were smart to write the check. That's the backdrop against which Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus will run in the Breeders' Cup Classic tomorrow at Churchill Downs, his appearance coming just a few months after Coolmore Stud, an Irish-based international breeding outfit, bought him from a Japanese businessman in a deal that made him the highest-priced stallion ever.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Enter Tiznow. As the three leading contenders for Horse of the Year fizzled yesterday on Breeders' Cup Championship day at Churchill Downs, the little-known Tiznow soared into contention with a championship-like performance. A late-developing 3-year -old bred in California, Tiznow outfought the European star Giant's Causeway down Churchill Downs' long and historic stretch for a dramatic neck victory in the $4.69 million Breeders' Cup Classic. Lemon Drop Kid and Fusaichi Pegasus, the two Classic runners at the forefront of the Horse of the Year debate, finished fifth and sixth.

ELMONT, N.Y. - With no Triple Crown on the line for the first time in four years, the field for the Belmont Stakes Saturday at Belmont Park is a mishmash of unproven colts and geldings. One after the other, Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998 and Charismatic in 1999 strutted into New York after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. All three lost the Belmont, but their attempts at becoming racing's 12th Triple Crown winner infused the race with drama. This year, the third jewel of the Triple Crown has little luster.

LOUISVILLE, KY. -- Anees and Aptitude, two horses who will close from the clouds, offer bettors terrific value in the Kentucky Derby today at Churchill Downs. With Trippi and Hal's Hope likely to set a sizzling pace, the 1 1/4 -mile Derby could set up for a horse who will drop back early and come running late. That is how Anees won last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile and how Aptitude attracted a following in the Gotham and Wood Memorial Stakes. Trainers typically tout their own horses in big races (whether they mean it is another matter)

ELMONT, N.Y. - When Whirlaway won the Triple Crown in 1941, he raced six times the six weeks between April 24 and June 7. When Citation won it sevenyears later, he raced seven times the nine weeks between April 12 and June 12. How times have changed. This year, the 132nd Belmont Stakes tomorrow at Belmont Park will feature neither the Kentucky Derby winner, Fusaichi Pegasus, nor the Preakness winner, Red Bullet. Fusaichi Pegasus will miss the Belmont because of a minor hoof injury, and the connections of Red Bullet decided to let their horse rest rather than contest the third leg of the Triple Crown.

ELMONT, N.Y. - With no Triple Crown on the line for the first time in four years, the field for the Belmont Stakes Saturday at Belmont Park is a mishmash of unproven colts and geldings. One after the other, Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998 and Charismatic in 1999 strutted into New York after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. All three lost the Belmont, but their attempts at becoming racing's 12th Triple Crown winner infused the race with drama. This year, the third jewel of the Triple Crown has little luster.

NEW YORK - For the first time in 30 years, the third jewel in horse racing's Triple Crown will not have the Kentucky Derby winner or the Preakness winner in the starting gate. Trainer Neil Drysdale announced yesterday that Fusaichi Pegasus injured his right hoof and will not race in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. The injury occurred Saturday at 2 p.m. when a blacksmith working on another horse in Barn 1 at Aqueduct dropped a tool and startled Fusaichi Pegasus, who was asleep in the back of his stall.

Neil Drysdale blamed the condition of the track, which was a lot easier than blaming the possibility that one workout between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness just wasn't enough or the fact that the horse had spent three days before the Preakness in virtual isolation, in a concrete barn on the east side of Pimlico. "He couldn't handle the track. That's the way I saw it. That's the way Kent [Desormeaux, the jockey] saw it," said Drysdale, trainer of Fusaichi Pegasus, who finished a badly beaten second to Red Bullet as the biggest Preakness favorite in 21 years yesterday.

A horse named Red Bullet shot out of the pack in the stretch to win the 125th Preakness Stakes yesterday, ending the Triple Crown hopes of Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus. The upset didn't dampen festivities at a spruced-up Pimlico Race Course, as an estimated 98,304 people - only slightly smaller than last year's record crowd of more than 100,000 - braved drizzle and a temperature in the 60s to attend Maryland's premier racing event "It's like a big tailgate party," said Sid Schenning of Bel Air, as he waited to bet on his first Preakness from the indoor comfort of the Grandstand.

If you listen to history, history whispers that 11 have prevailed - only 11. Fusaichi Pegasus will not join the all-star roster of Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed.Those 11 swept the three races that make up the Triple Crown . Fusaichi Pegasus, the "next great horse," failed yesterday in the second, the 125th Preakness before 98,304 damp and chilly fans at Pimlico Race Course . After winning the Kentucky Derby as if he might be the next Secretariat, Fusaichi Pegasus struggled to finish second in the Preakness as the heaviest favorite since Spectacular Bid in 1979.

ELMONT, N.Y. - When Whirlaway won the Triple Crown in 1941, he raced six times the six weeks between April 24 and June 7. When Citation won it sevenyears later, he raced seven times the nine weeks between April 12 and June 12. How times have changed. This year, the 132nd Belmont Stakes tomorrow at Belmont Park will feature neither the Kentucky Derby winner, Fusaichi Pegasus, nor the Preakness winner, Red Bullet. Fusaichi Pegasus will miss the Belmont because of a minor hoof injury, and the connections of Red Bullet decided to let their horse rest rather than contest the third leg of the Triple Crown.

Neil Drysdale blamed the condition of the track, which was a lot easier than blaming the possibility that one workout between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness just wasn't enough or the fact that the horse had spent three days before the Preakness in virtual isolation, in a concrete barn on the east side of Pimlico. "He couldn't handle the track. That's the way I saw it. That's the way Kent [Desormeaux, the jockey] saw it," said Drysdale, trainer of Fusaichi Pegasus, who finished a badly beaten second to Red Bullet as the biggest Preakness favorite in 21 years yesterday.

The horse whose name few Americans can pronounce could be racing's next superstar. But he carries an even greater burden: racing's savior. Fusaichi Pegasus, the Kentucky Derby winner and overwhelming favorite in today's Preakness at Pimlico, has captured the imagination of the racing world with five straight overpowering victories. His 1 1/2 -length triumph in the Derby two weeks ago at Churchill Downs seemed so effortless that many in the sport have prematurely anointed him its next superstar.

On his first morning on the track at Pimlico, Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus showed why bettors shouldn't assume he is a shoo-in for greatness in the Preakness Stakes. After stepping onto the track about 6 a.m., he halted nine times during his trot around the oval. Each time he refused briefly to budge. Once, his exercise rider Andy Durnin slapped him on the side with his hand to get him moving. Neil Drysdale, the colt's trainer, downplayed the antics."He's just looking at everything," he said.