2011 Preakness Post Positions Announced, Animal Kingdom No.11

May 19th, 2011- By Bryan Cross

Animal Kingdom will pursue his quest for the Triple Crown on Saturday at the Preakness Stakes, trying to follow up his Kentucky Derby win with a win in the second leg of one of the most difficult achievements in all of sports.

Wednesday, the post positions for the 2011 Preakness were announced, with Animal Kingdom Drawing a favorable position at No.11. In total, the field is quite smaller than that of the Kentucky Derby Field. But the field is full for the first time since back in 2005 with 14 horses vying to navigate their way to the front of the pack on this 1 3/16-mile track.

“It looks like it’s going to be a real good pace,” remarked Barry Irwin, who is the president of Team Valor. “Our horse won with a moderate pace (in the Kentucky Derby), and if there’s any kind of pace in the Preakness, he should be hard to handle.”

Animal Kingdom comes in as the odds on favorite to win, going off at 2/1 on the latest 2011 Preakness Stakes Betting Lines at Bodog Sportsbook. He is ahead of pre-Kentucky Derby Favorite Dialed in, who is set at 5/1.

Dialed in drew Post Position 10, right next to Animal Kingdom.

“The post was good.” said Dialed In’s trainer Nick Zito. “The biggest thing for him is to get position and be in the clear so he can make his run. I still think Dialed In is the best 3-year-old in the country.”

Coverage of the 2011 Preakness Stakes begins at 4:30pm Et on NBC, with the race scheduled for 6:15 pm Et.

In total, five horses that ran in the Kentucky Derby will be participating in the second leg of the three Triple Crown races in this full field.

Below is the full list of the Preakness Stakes field and the order of the Post Positions that each horse drew for Saturday.

1 Astrology
2 Norman Asbjornson
3 King Congie
4 Flashpoint
5 Shackleford
6 Sway Away
7 Midnight Interlude
8 Dance City
9 Mucho Macho Man
10 Dialed In
11 Animal Kingdom
12 Isn’t He Perfect
13 Concealed Identity
14 Mr. Commons