Kingdom

Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Animal Kingdom put in a final workout this morning before Saturday's Belmont Stakes. Trainer Graham Motion told reporters that  “it couldn't have gone any smoother.” With jockey John Velazquez aboard, Animal Kingdom worked four furlongs in 47.76 seconds over the main dirt track at Belmont Park, according to the Associated Press. The 3-year-old colt, who is based in Fair Hill, Md., traveled to New York over the weekend. Motion says he wanted a four-furlong workout because he figured Animal Kingdom would gallop out strongly for another furlong, which he did, according to the AP. Velazquez concurred, saying everything went well, and “he knew he had a jockey on top of him because he just played with me. He had me at hello.” Animal Kingdom and Preakness winner Shackleford are the top two horses in a likely field of 12 starters for Saturday's Triple Crown race.

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...

Dale Romans and his older brother Jerry were eating breakfast Saturday morning at their hotel in Cross Keys, trying to keep their mind off of the 136th running of the Preakness, when the two of them -- for reasons they can't quite explain -- started to think about the beginning of their career as trainers, close to 25 years ago. The two brothers began to chuckle, and with good reason. The horses they worked all those years ago when they were living at Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky, were not exactly the stuff dreams are made of. In fact, they were pretty awful as far as thoroughbreds go. "We had a lot of horses, and some were the cheapest of the cheap," Romans said.

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.

As the Preakness Nation gathered for the 136th time on Saturday, it could count its blessings any number of ways — a sky so brightly blue the ladies really did need their bountifully brimmed hats, an infield scene that seemed as beer-soaked as ever yet also tamer, and, most of all, a horse race that was in doubt until the last step. Maryland's own Animal Kingdom finished second, a half-length behind Shackleford, disappointing home fans and ending any chance of a Triple Crown, last accomplished in 1978.

Trainer Graham Motion has made his final preparations for the Preakness, and feels confident Animal Kingdom will run well Saturday. By the time betting closed Friday night, Animal Kingdom had slipped a bit in the eyes of betters. Dialed In will begin Saturday as a 3-1 favorite, and Animal Kingdom is currently the second choice at 7-2, but none of that matters at all to Motion. "I just couldn't be happier with how he's doing," Motion said of Animal Kingdom, who will ship from Fair Hill around 5 a.m. Saturday.

A year ago, when Barbara Jo Rubin agreed to compete in the first Lady's Legends race at Pimlico Race Course, she discovered how uncomfortable it can be to ride a horse when you haven't done it in 40 years. Afterward, not knowing if there would be another Legends race, which raised $100,000 for the Susan G. Komen cancer fund, she decided to keep training horses and stay in shape. If there was going to be a race, she'd be ready. But the best laid plans, as they say . . . "I was galloping eight or nine horses every morning and I felt wonderful," she said of her post-Preakness week routine.

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.