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After losing to I'll Have Another for the second straight time Saturday, Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes runner-up Bodemeister will not race in the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of hose racing's Triple Crown. The news was broken by Bodemeister's trainer Bob Baffert, who admitted to the New York Daily News that was the plan all along.
Baffert indicated that Bodemeister will rest up and point for a return to the races in the July 29 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, a race the trainer has won five times, including the last two years with Lookin at Lucky and Coil.
"It’s one of those things where it’s good for the sport," Baffert said of I’ll Have Another’s victory in the Preakness and a chance at immortality. "It’s good for the Belmont."
On Saturday, Bodemeister was caught "down the stretch" by I'll Have Another, who will have a shot to become the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978 when he races in the Belmont Stakes, Sat., June 9 (6:35 p.m. ET).
I'll Have Another Wins Preakness Stakes (via sbnation)
SB Nation New York will have updates, results and more from the 2012 Preakness. SB Nation's horse racing blog And Down The Stretch They Come has you covered for all your horse racing needs.