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Oxbow was spotted the first six furlongs in Saturday's Preakness Stakes, his Hall of Fame jockey would take it from there.

Belmont Park is Orb's home track and the scene of probably his best work on Monday, but before he gets a chance to take down the Triple Crown he will have to conquer the Preakness.

On Saturday, the $1-million Travers Stakes will be run at Saratoga for the 143rd time.

The seats are sold. Sorry, no refunds.

There are a few fast 3-year-olds among the anticipated entrants in Saturday's 144th Belmont, including the principal figure in position to become the 12th winner of the Triple Crown, and I'll Have Another is clearly the fastest.

Under ordinary circumstances, I'll Have Another is a horse that would be riding a wave of support as the Kentucky Derby winner approaches Saturday's Preakness.

This is about silliness, the ill-considered stripping of dignity from a proud animal by an owner in the earliest rapture of Derby fever ...

Indeed, a true rivalry that blossoms during the Triple Crown is compelling and good for racing but they are almost as rare as Triple Crown winners.

Sometimes, the thing that you're chasing is beyond reason and reach.

It is the Preakness that is central to the Triple Crown, the most important race in the annual trilogy.

The only thing that took longer here Saturday was the singing of "Empire State of Mind," the new and hopefully short-lived Belmont Stakes anthem.

In a year of leftovers, this Belmont offers an interesting mixture of developing horses, some potentially capable of asserting themselves during the second half of the season.

Thirty-three years ago, a former steeplechase rider and a majestic, chiseled behemoth, a dark-bay colt named Seattle Slew, turned toward June with shoulders squared on Long Island and the Belmont Stakes at their mercy.

Nothing ignites the racing community in New York like the arrival of a 3-year-old at Belmont Park with the opportunity to sweep the Triple Crown. The anticipation is invigorating.

Chick Lang, who died of natural causes at age 83 on March 18, lived for this week and most of all Preakness Day.

The flawless, almost inspired ride contributed by Calvin Borel astride Super Saver on Saturday will forever be preserved on the replay from the overhead camera.