I do not wish to be the bearer of bad news, folks, but I'm afraid we shall not view a Triple Crown winner this season. As much as I'd love to see Orb break the 34-year drought, it's not going to happen. So why am I being so negative? For just one, I do not think the shorter Pimlico track at the Preakness gains Orb's running fashion. As Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times notes:, and I'm maybe not the only person Talk of a Triple Crown starts, as is definitely the case following a Kentucky Derby. Rushing needs one and has not had it since Affirmed in 1978, an 35 years, some sense. Professionals here say that Orb is bred for the killer 11/2-mile range of the 3rd leg, the Belmont, but that the smaller, stronger Preakness could be Orb's Achilles' heel. And if it's Orb's Achilles' heel, it'll be horse racing's Achilles' heel too. Orb's remarkable stop down the stretch at the Kentucky Derby was something to see, but it left several questions going to the Preakness. Plus, you won't ever know in case a horse may emerge that did not work at the Derby and distress the area. As to feel the horse can take the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown there are as many reasons to question Orb. Then again, the subject at the Preakness could be quite thinned out of the one we found at the Derby. According to Chris Korman of the Baltimore Sun, Revolutionary, Normandy Invasion, Charming Kitten, Overanalyze, Palace Malice and Verrazano will not be entered into the Preakness, Mylute and Golden Soul are impossible to be entered in the race and Oxbow, Will Take Charge and Itsmyluckyday are prone to make the journey. And it is not as though Orb is some flash in the pot. The horse was one of the favorites heading into the Kentucky Derby and, given the field heading to the Preakness, must be a major favorite at Pimlico. You can find reasons to think. But we have just been concentrating on the next battle. There is still the mile-and-a-half at the Belmont Stakes, even if Orb wins two-thirds of the Triple Crown. While that track looks more worthy of Orb's model, there is sufficient time at that race for another horse to emerge at the end. The job is daunting for Orb. The odds are stacked from the horse. History isn't on Orb's side. All of us hope that the horse can finally stop this Triple Crown famine. But I simply don't view it happening. Sorry, folks.
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