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Derby Winner I'll Have Another Captures Preakness

I'll Have Another (9), ridden by Mario Gutierrez, beats Bodemeister, ridden by Mike Smith, to the finish line to win the 137th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday.
Mike Stewart
/
AP
I'll Have Another (9), ridden by Mario Gutierrez, beats Bodemeister, ridden by Mike Smith, to the finish line to win the 137th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday.

In a near carbon copy of this year's Kentucky Derby, I'll Have Another raced from behind on a deep stretch to defeat Bodemeister at the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Saturday.

Bodemeister broke to the lead and held onto first place for much of the race, but as the horses headed for home, I'll Have Another bolted past the field, took aim at Bodemeister and won the charge to the finish line, reports The Associated Press.

The next race in the Triple Crown series, the Belmont Stakes, is June 9 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. If I'll Have Another wins that race, he'll be the first horse since 1978 to win the Triple Crown. It was 34 ago when Affirmed swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont and became the 11th and most recent Triple Crown champion.

Since Affirmed, 11 horses have won the first races in the Triple Crown series, only to come up short in the Belmont. The most recent was Big Brown in 2008, who was pulled up around the turn for home and did not finish.

When asked about I'll Have Another's chances at Belmont, trainer Doug O'Neill said that he's "a special horse," according to The New York Times.

"We're thinking Triple Crown, baby ... We'll see how he comes out of it, and if he comes out of it in good shape, we're heading to New York, baby," O'Neill said.

Here's a video of the race from SportsGrid:

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