It’s only been four years since a thoroughbred came within a victory at the Belmont Stakes to win the Triple Crown.

And it’s been 34 years since a thoroughbred actually accomplished the historic feat.

After winning the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, I’ll Have Another is one victory shy of capturing horse racing’s Triple Crown. If he can will the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 9, he will have done something that no other horse has accomplished since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978.

What’s impressive about I’ll Have Another is that he has seemingly come out of nowhere despite having a massive amount of success in his last four outings. Despite winning the Grade II Robert B. Lewis Stakes on February 4 and the Grade I Santa Anita Derby on April 7, I’ll Have Another wasn’t among the favorites to win the Kentucky Derby. And even though he beat out Bodemeister at Churchill Downs two weeks ago, he wasn’t favored to win the Preakness either.

But maybe after jockey Mario Gutierrez once again made all of the right decisions down the stretch at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, I’ll Have Another will finally get the respect he deserves. For the second time in two weeks, Bodemeister held a lead while heading down the stretch, only to be edged out by I’ll Have Another each time. On Saturday, I’ll Have Another’s victory officially came by a neck after Bodemeister looked like he was going to win easily.

Horse racing doesn’t match the popularity of the four major U.S. sports, or even the UFC for that matter. But if you’re a general sports fan, tune in to the 2012 Belmont Stakes in a few weeks because you could witness history.

2012 Preakness Stakes Winners: 1. I’ll Have Another; 2. Bodemeister; 3. Creative Cause; 4. Zetterholm; 5. Teeth of the Dog; 6. Optimizer; 7. Cozzetti; 8. Tiger Walk; 9. Daddy Nose Best; 10. Went The Day Well; 11. Pretension.

2012 Preakness Stakes Payouts:

I’ll Have Another $8.40 $3.20 $2.80
Bodemeister $3.20 $2.80
Creative Cause $3.60

2.00 EXACTA 9-7 $18.60
1.00 TRIFECTA 9-7-6 $35.40
1.00 SUPERFECTA 9-7-6-4 $424.30

The 138th running of the Kentucky Derby takes place today, Saturday, May 5. If you’re looking for some guaranteed winners to pay off the mortgage and set up the kids’ college funds, they’re below.

WIN: Dullahan (8/1)
Apparently Dullahan likes the synthetic surfaces better than dirt but I like the trends attached to this contender. Three-time Derby winner Kent Desormeaux will have the mount today and the No. 5 post position has produced 12 Kentucky Derby winners since 1900, which is tied with the rail for most victories. Dullahan is also coming off a victory at the Grade I Toyota Blue Grass and finished second at the Grade III Palm Beach on March 11. The fact that he doesn’t have six career races under his belt scares me a little, but Dullahan has displayed great closing speed in recent races and I like him to at least finish in the money.

PLACE: Bodemeister (13/10)
Bodemeister is the favorite to win Saturday’s race, although Union Rags has the exact same odds. Either way, what attracts me most to Bodemeister is the winning combination of trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Mike Smith. Baffert has won three Kentucky Derby races in his career (2002, 1998, 1997), while Smith won the 2005 Derby aboard Giacomo. Bodemeister only has four career races under his belt but he finished second at the Grade II San Felipe on March 10 and won the Grade I Arkansas Derby on April 14. No horse has won the Derby that has not run as a 2-year-old since 1888 but I like Bodemeister to finish in the money.

SHOW: Take Charge Indy (11/1)
Considering he’s 5-0 in his career, I thought long about putting Gemologist in the money. But at the end of the day, how can you go against Calvin Borel? The man has won three of the last five Kentucky Derby races and he’ll be coming out of the No. 3 post position, which means he’ll be able to get to the rail faster. Take Charge Indy is also coming off a victory at the Grade I Florida Derby in which he went wire-to-wire.

Other contenders that caught my eye: Gemologist (8/1) and Went The Day Well (25/1)
As previously mentioned, Gemologist hasn’t lost in his five-race career, while Went The Day Well is trained by H. G. Motion and ridden by John Velazquez, who were the winning pair for Animal Kingdom last year.

The third and final leg of the Triple Crown will be run tonight at 6:36PM ET and as usual, I’m here to produce some good fade material.

Actually, my predictions for the Preakness weren’t half-bad. After going 0-3 picking the money horses in the Kentucky Derby, I nailed Animal Kingdom and Astrology to finish on the board at Pimlico. Maybe tonight at Belmont Park is my night!

Nah – fade me.

WIN: NEHRO (4/1)
Many observers believe that this year’s Belmont Stakes will be a three-horse race between Animal Kingdom (2/1), Nehro (4/1) and Shackleford (9/2). But out of those three contenders, Nehro is the freshest after sitting out of the Preakness and that’s important considering the Belmont is a 1.5-mile race. Nehro has also already shown that he can hang with Animal Kingdom after finishing second at the Kentucky Derby. I like him to pull off the small upset tonight.

PLACE: ANIMAL KINGDOM (2/1)
Apparently there’s a 50-percent chance that it could rain tonight at Belmont Park, so I’m a little concerned about all the favorites. But Animal Kingdom is just too good to leave off the board. And while I’ve predicted Nehro to finish ahead of him, I wouldn’t be surprised if the 2011 Kentucky Derby champion won easily. In six career starts, he hasn’t finished lower than second in any of them and has three career wins, including back-to-back victories in the Grade 3 Spiral Stakes and the Kentucky Derby.

SHOW: MUCHO MACHO MAN (10/1)
I predicted Mucho Macho Man to finish second at the Preakness Stakes and he was a major dud, coming in sixth. But apparently he lost a shoe during the race, which contributed to his poor finish. In 10 career races, he’s finished off the board in only two of them. He won the Grade 2 Risen Star back in February and now that he’s been fitted with a new shoe, I love his chances of finishing in the money at the Belmont.

FOURTH: PRIME CUT (15/1)
I usually don’t make a prediction for fourth place but I had to mention this horse because I consider him my sleeper of this year’s Belmont. Prime Cut didn’t run in the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness, but in seven career races he’s never finished lower than fourth and that came in his debut. The only reason I don’t have him finishing in the money is because he’s only raced twice against graded competition and has never made a Grade 1 start.

Even though he lost his bid for the Triple Crown when he was defeated at the Preakness, Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom will race at this year’s Belmont according to SI.com.

There were some questioning whether or not trainer Graham Motion would hold Animal Kingdom out of the Belmont (June 11) after Shackleford held him off down the stretch at the Preakness. But apparently the 3-year-old colt is a “go” for the third leg of the Triple Crown.

Preakness winner Shackleford is not yet a definite for the final leg of the Triple Crown. Trainer Dale Romans says he wants to wait a few days before deciding.

The last rematch in the Belmont between the Derby and Preakness winners was 2005, when Preakness winner Afleet Alex defeated Derby winner Giacomo.

Animal Kingdom will attempt to become the 12th horse to complete a Derby-Belmont double.

Even though Shackleford beat Animal Kingdom at Pimlico two weeks ago, I would think most horseracing observers would consider Nehro to be Animal Kingdom’s main threat at the Belmont. Nehro had an impressive outing at the Kentucky Derby, where he finished second behind Animal Kingdom. He sat out of the Preakness, meaning he should be fresh for his running at Belmont Park in two weeks.

Of course, many people probably counted Shackleford out at the Preakness when track crewmembers had a though time loading him into his starting position. He set the pace at Churchill Downs before finishing fourth and then won at Pimlico. He cannot be counted out if he winds up running and I hope he does, because it should be a three-horse race between him, Animal Kingdom and Nehro at the Belmont.

All right, you got me: My Kentucky Derby predictions were bad. Atrocious actually. True story: One of the horses I picked (ArchArchArch) almost bucked his jockey right off out of the gates and had to retire following the race. The last time anyone saw him he was being loaded into something called a “horse ambulance.” Yikes.

I’ll try to do better in the Preakness tonight, although fading me has never been a better idea.

WIN: Animal Kingdom (2/1)
Yeah, I like the winner – go to hell. Wait, I’m sorry. That wasn’t nice…Last week I wrote about Animal Kingdom’s odds to win the first Triple Crown since Affirmed accomplished the feat in 1978. I think if Animal Kingdom gets by a weak field today, he’ll cruise at the Belmont and accomplish a rare feat in the sports world by capturing horse racing’s Triple Crown. Even though he slipped in practice today, I like the 3-year-old colt to win back-to-back outings after winning the Kentucky Derby earlier this month. In five career races, he’s never finished worse than second. I think he’s that good (even though I clearly missed him while handicapping the Kentucky Derby…dumbass).

PLACE: Mucho Macho Man (6/1)
I was tempted to renew my faith in Dialed In but I just couldn’t pull the trigger after he finished 8th in the Kentucky Derby. Besides, Mucho Macho Man has a steady, impressive resume and has yet to finish lower than fourth in his nine career outings. He took third at the Kentucky Derby earlier this month and third at the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in March. This is an impressive-looking horse that always seems to be near the front. I don’t see him overtaking Animal Kingdom, but I do like him to finish somewhere in the money.

SHOW: Astrology (15/1)
Call this my First Dude of the 2011 Preakess. Last year I predicted First Dude (who was 20/1 coming into the race) to finish third and he actually came in second. This year I like another seemingly unknown in Astrology, who has never finished out of the money in seven career outings. He has three-straight second-place showings coming into the Preakness, which includes runner-up finishes at the Kentucky Jockey Club, the Sunland Derby and the Jerome Hcp. I don’t think he has the strength to go wire-to-wire or edge out the favorites down the stretch, but I really like this dark horse (ha! Get it? Yeah, you get it.) to finish in the top 3.

Animal Kingdom will attempt to win the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown this evening at Pimlico Race Course when he runs in the 2011 Preakness Stakes. The 3-year-old colt won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs earlier this month.

Oddsmakers currently list Animal Kingdom as a 2/1 favorite to win the Preakness. Dialed In, who was favored to win the Kentucky Derby, is 5/1 to win and Mucho Macho Man, who finished third at Churchill Downs, is currently 6/1 to win the Preakness.

As I wrote last week, I believe there’s a good chance that we could witness horse racing’s first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed accomplished the feat in 1978. Every year it seems like we’re getting closer and closer to having another contender sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont, and Animal Kingdom certainly has the talent.

The concerns about Animal Kingdom coming into the Kentucky Derby were that a) he only had four races under his belt and b) that he could run on dirt. Well, he’s now raced five times in his career with three wins and two second-place finishes. And he apparently runs on dirt just fine, as his win at the Kentucky Derby proved.

Dialed In, Mucho Macho Man and even a mid-range contender like Shackleford could upset Animal Kingdom tonight. The toughest part is out of the way for Animal Kingdom, as he’s already won the Kentucky Derby. But the Preakness can be a difficult task as well, but if he wins tonight then he may cruise at the Belmont next month.

It’s funny how much things can change in a matter of days. Animal Kingdom wasn’t even on most bettors’ radar last week heading into the Kentucky Derby and now observers are wondering if he can become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed accomplished the feat in 1978.

At the start of the week, Animal Kingdom was a 30/1 long shot to win Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. He took a backseat to more intriguing contenders like Dialed In, Mucho Macho Man and Twice The Appeal (ridden by popular jockey Calvin Borel). In fact, Animal Kingdom even switched jockeys the day before the race when John R. Velazquez lost his mount with Uncle Mo, who was scratched due to a gastrointestinal issue.

But Velazquez rode Animal Kingdom to his first career win at the Kentucky Derby and now the pair is the talk of the horseracing world. In fact, along with Dialed In, Animal Kingdom is a 4/1 favorite to win the Preakness on May 21.

Of course, most horses that win the Kentucky Derby are considered the favorite to win the Preakness. Oddsmakers base their lines on how they think the public will wager and causal bettors are instantly drawn to the Kentucky Derby winner when it comes to betting the Preakness. Just because a horse wins at Churchill Downs doesn’t mean he has what it takes to win at Pimlico and Belmont Park. In 2009, Borel rode Mine That Bird to victory in the Kentucky Derby but finished second in the Preakness and third in the Belmont. In 2008, many felt that Big Brown had the best chance of winning the Triple Crown in the last decade and after winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, he flopped in the Belmont and finished ninth.

But here’s the thing: I think Animal Kingdom does have what it takes. In fact, I think if he can win in two weeks at Pimlico, he’ll cruise at the Belmont (barring injury, of course). The concerns about him coming into the Kentucky Derby were that a) he only had four races under his belt and b) that he could run on dirt. Well, he’s now raced five times in his career with three wins and two second-place finishes. And he apparently runs on dirt just fine, as his win at the Kentucky Derby proved.

My bigger concern for Animal Kingdom heading into the Preakness is Dialed In. I don’t think we saw his best effort at Churchill Downs last week, as he hung in the back of the pack too long before finally making his move down the stretch. He finished a disappointing 8th but again, I don’t think we saw his best effort. (It would also be interesting to see if Uncle Mo could make a recovery and run in the Preakness, although I think those odds are between “slim” and “no way in hell.”)

But if Animal Kingdom can eke out a win in two weeks, I like his chances of capturing the Belmont and giving horseracing fans their first Triple Crown winner in nearly 34 years. As the overused, clichéd sports take goes: He certainly has all the tools.

Jockey John Velazquez wasn’t even supposed to mount Animal Kingdom on Saturday.

A day after losing his ride when Uncle Mo was scratched due to a gastrointestinal problem, Velazquez rode Animal Kingdom to victory at the 2011 Kentucky Derby. It was Velazquez’s first career win at the first leg of the Triple Crown, which makes this day even more special for the jockey from Carolina, Puerto Rico.

Animal Kingdom was a long-shot coming into this week at 30/1. His odds didn’t wavier much, as bettors focused on the favorite Dialed In, the Calvin Borel-mounted Twice The Appeal, and Pants On Fire (who was ridden by 23-year-old Rosie Napravnik, who was hoping to become the first-ever female to win the Kentucky Derby).

But in the end, Dialed In finished a disappointing eighth after spending much of the race in the rear. Borel never got Twice The Appeal moving either, because the combo finished 10th and Pants On Fire came in ninth.

A $2 wager on Animal Kingdom paid $43.80 to win, $19.60 to place and $13.00 to show. Nehro finished second and paid $8.80 to place and $6.40 to show, while Mucho Macho Man paid out $7.00 on a $2 wager to show.

A $2 Exacta on Animal Kingdom and Nehro paid out $329.80, while a $2 Trifecta of Animal Kingdom, Nehro and Mucho Macho man paid out $3,952.40. Finally, a winning $2 superfecta of Animal Kingdom, Nehro, Mucho Macho Man and Shackleford (who lead for most of the race) paid $48,126.00.

The track announced that 164,858 people attended the race, which set a new attendance record for the Kentucky Derby. It surpassed the previous record crowd of 163,628 set back in 1974.

Listen, I don’t mean to brag but I’m going to anyway.

I was good last year predicting the Triple Crown – I mean, real good.

I had Paddy O’prado to place in the Kentucky Derby (he finished third) and Super Saver (the winner) listed as one of the horses to “keep your eye on.” In the Preakness, I hit Lookin’ At Lucky for the win and nailed First Dude to finish in the money, which is noteworthy since he was a 20/1 long shot to open. Finally, in the Belmont, I predicted the top three (Drosselmeyer, Fly Down, First Dude) to finish in the money, although not in the correct order.

So basically what I’m saying is that if you don’t take my picks today and wager the deed to your house, your wife and/or your dog, that’s just dumb. LET IT RIDE!!!

I’m kidding – I’m not that arrogant, although I did mange to find some luck last year in my predictions so we’ll see how I fare this year. On second thought, you may want to avoid these three…

Win: Twice The Appeal (+1000)
Like I’m going to pass on taking Calvin Borel at Churchill Downs…when he’ll be coming out of the No. 3 post position. Ha! No way. Twice The Appeal has won three of his last four races, with his latest victory coming at the Sunland Derby on March 27. He does seem a little too good to be true, but I have faith in more Borel magic happening today.

Place: Archacharch (+1200)
Why isn’t this horse receiving more love? He drew the rail on Wednesday and his odds went from +900 to +1200. Granted, the rail hasn’t produced a winner since 1988 (Winning Colors) but it still has the most victories (12) in Kentucky Derby history. It’s a prime spot and for a horse that is coming off a victory at the Arkansas Derby to be listed at +1200, this feels like a nice value. If it weren’t for Calvin Borel’s magic at Churchill Downs, I would probably peg Archarcharch to win.

Show: Dialed In (+500)
Dialed In has been the favorite all week, even though his odds continue to drop. He was listed at +350 on Monday, +300 on Tuesday, and +250 on Wednesday when the post positions were drawn. Now he’s +500, which seems like a great value to me. He won the Florida Derby in his last outing on April 3 and also took first in the Holly Bull earlier this year. The only problem is that he doesn’t have much career experience, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he won the roses on Saturday. He’s a nice-looking horse.

For weeks, the notion surrounding the Kentucky Derby is that there is no clear-cut favorite this year. But given the latest news on contender Uncle Mo, one may have just emerged.

During a press conference on Friday morning, trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole announced that Uncle Mo had been diagnosed with a gastrointestinal infection after fishing a disappointing third in the Wood Memorial on April 9. He was then treated with antibiotics and had appeared to be improving, but after consulting with a trio of veterinarians Pletcher and Repole came to the conclusion that their colt wouldn’t be ready in time for Saturday’s race.

So Uncle Mo has been scratched.

The main beneficiary of Uncle Mo’s misfortune is Dialed In, who has been considered the favorite for weeks. But his odds were listed at +350 on Monday, while Uncle Mo was +400 – thus the reason that observers didn’t feel as though there was a clear-cut favorite this weekend.

But now Dialed In is listed at +250, while the thoroughbred with the next best odds is Nehro at +700. Oddly enough, Nehro was going off at +600 on Monday, +400 on Wednesday and is now +700, so his odds have actually gotten worse despite the news that Uncle Mo has been scratched.

Either way, Dialed In would appear to be the clear-cut favorite to win this Saturday. And if recent history is any indication, that may not be a good thing. Big Brown was the last favorite to win the Kentucky Derby back in 2008. Since then, two long shots in Mine That Bird and Super Saver have won. But maybe this is the year that the favorite gets back into the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs.