2009 Preakness Stakes

By Author: Kellen Sears
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The 2009 Preakness Stakes was the 134th running the historic race. It began at 6:19 p.m. ET on May 16, 2009, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Rachel Alexandra, a filly, took first place and became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness.

The race was a very exciting race in which favorite Rachel Alexandra had to hold off a late charge from Mine That Bird, winner of the Kentucky Derby two weeks earlier. She finished the 1 3/16 mile track in 1:55.08. As the morning line favorite (8-5), she became the first filly to win the Preakness as the favorite.

Rachel Alexandra earned a first prize of $660,000 from a $1.1 million purse. Originally a $1 million purse, it was bumped up by $100,000 when Jess Jackson paid the supplemental fee to run Rachel Alexandra. His Stonestreet Stable, in partnership with Harold McCormick, purchased the filly six days after she won the Kentucky Oaks.

Steve Asmussen took over as trainer for Rachel Alexandra after the sale. Asmussen had previously trained Curlin, winner of the 2007 Preakness. Winning with a filly was sweet for Asmussen, as his Curlin finished ...
... second to a filly the last time a filly won a Triple Crown Race (Rags to Riches, 2007 Belmont Stakes).

Rachel Alexandra was ridden by Calvin Borel, who rode Kentucky Derby-winner Mine That Bird two weeks earlier. Borel became the first jockey to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown on two different horses. It was Borel's first win at the Preakness.

On May 2, 2009, Borel rode 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird to victory at the Kentucky Derby a day after winning the Kentucky Oaks abroad Rachel Alexandra. He became the seventh jockey to win the Derby-Oaks combo in the same year. Deeming the filly the better horse, Borel opted to ride Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness. When she ended up winning the Preakness, she became the first Kentucky Oaks winner to participate in and win the Preakness.

Mine That Bird started the race slowly. He made a furious charge at the end, going from last to second. Ultimately, he would lose to Rachel Alexandra by a length. His second place finish put an end to any chance of a Triple Crown, extending the Triple Crown drought to 31 years. No horse has won the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.

There were 12 colts and 1 filly that participated in the race. The favorites were Rachel Alexandra (8-5), Pioneerof the Nile (5-1), Friesan Fire (6-1), and Mine That Bird (6-1). The four favorites were given post positions of 13, 9, 5, and 2 respectively. Rachel Alexandra became the first horse to win the race from the 13th post position.
While Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird had strong finishes, the same can't be said for the other two favorites. Friesan Fire, trained by J. Larry Jones, finished 10th and Pioneerof the Nile, trained by Bob Baffert, finished 11th. Musket Man, third in the Kentucky Derby, finished in third place again, finishing a half-length behind Mine That Bird.

The race was watched by many on television. Its Nielsen rating was the second best since 1990. Meanwhile, attendance at the event plummeted by more than 35,000. The traditionally packed infield was sparse, mainly due to Pimlico's new policy that banned people from bringing their own beer to the infield.
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Kellen Sears writes reviews on various sporting events including the Online sportsbook. In this piece of write up he highlights one of the most celebrated horse racing. He takes the readers thought on how to bet on horse racing.