Preakness Stakes results: California Chrome wins 2nd leg of Triple Crown

The 139th running of the Preakness Stakes is in the books, with pre-race favorite California Chrome pulling away for the victory. California Chrome now has the first two jewels of the Triple Crown and all eyes will be on the Belmont Stakes in three weeks on June 7.

California Chrome started well and stayed just off the pace, maintaining third place in the same way he did at the Kentucky Derby, before making his move at the three-quarter mile mark. He began to pull away down the stretch, separating from the field by two lengths. Ride On Curlin charged strong, but the lead was too much to overcome.

California Chrome won the 139th running of the Preakness Stakes, out-racing the other nine horses in the field to claim the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. If you didn’t see the action from Pimlico Race Course live, or just want to see California Chrome conquer the field again, you can watch the full video of the race.

California Chrome got a great break, coming out of the gate clean and moving toward the lead. Pablo Del Monte took the early lead with California Chrome running third into the far turn. California Chrome made a move at the top of the stretch with Social Inclusion running strong in second place. California Chrome then pulled into the lead, and while Ride on Curlin mounted a strong effort down the stretch, it wasn’t enough, and California Chrome held on for the win.

Preakness day continues at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore with the fourth and fifth undercard races of the day. The fifth race Saturday was the first stakes race of the day.

The Grade 3 sprint, covering six furlongs on the dirt with a $150,000 purse, got underway at 1:12 p.m. ET. Happy My Way, the 6/5 favorite, beat out four other horses with a time of 109.21. Lemon Drop Dream, going into the race with 4/1 odds, placed second, and Service For Ten, at 6/1 finished third. Salutos Amigos was listed at 3/1 odds, but was scratched.

1. Horses hate pigs.

2. If a horse wins the Triple Crown it becomes President of the United States.

The 2014 Preakness Stakes is scheduled for a 6:20 p.m. ET post on Saturday, but first, there are 11 undercard races. So far, three are in the books at Pimlico Race Course.

In the first race of the day, featuring a $50,000 purse, Magic Cash, the second favorite at 5/1 odds, won with a 1 1/16-mile time of 1:44.98. Longshot Phlash Phelps (20/1) was second, and Relentless Ride (6/1) came in third. The favorite, Margin, came in fourth.

Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome heads into the 2014 Preakness Stakes as the favorite to win at Pimlico Race Course, and the colt currently has 2-1 odds to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, according to Bovada. The odds for the horse to fall short are currently at 1-3.

California Chrome won the Kentucky Derby rather handily, taking control down the stretch run and winning by 1¾ lengths. Prior to his victory at Churchill Downs, California Chrome had won his previous four starts by a combined 24½ lengths.

With a win at Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, California Chrome would become the sixth horse since 2002 to win the first two jewels of the Triple Crown. Over the past 10 years, it seemed almost commonplace for a horse to win both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. War Emblem, Funny Cide and Smarty Jones went back-to-back from 2002-04. Of those three, Smarty Jones did best. He was a 1-5 favorite and led by a length with one furlong to go, holding the lead well before entering the final stretch, but he ran out of gas and lost to 36-1 shot Birdstone.

Before California Chrome’s owners and fans can start thinking about the Belmont Stakes, he must hold off the nine other horses in the field at Pimlico. California Chrome is the 3-5 favorite, according to OddsShark, and the runner-up favorite is Social Inclusion at 5-1.

California Chrome isn’t guaranteed to win Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, as a handful of dominant Kentucky Derby winners and ultimate Preakness losers could confirm. Still, California Chrome is a 3-5 favorite to win the second jewel of the Triple Crown, and it seems like it would take something special from one of his nine challengers were he to run a 1 3/16-mile race at par to his standards.

For instance, Fusiachi Pegasus was a 3-10 favorite at the 2000 Preakness after his commanding win in the stretch at the Derby that year, but he lost at Pimlico by 6 3/4 lengths. According to OddsShark, California Chrome is the 3-5 favorite -- lower odds than Orb last year, the 1-1 favorite that finished fourth -- and runner-up favorite Social Inclusion seems way back at 5-1.

The 2014 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes came down to the final stretch and Stopchargingmaria had just enough to edge the rest of the field and win the 1 1/8-mile race. Vero Amore finished second while Fortune Pearl finished third.

The race started clean with Image of Anna jumping into the lead and leading the field in the early going. The race started out slow with not much pace early. Vero Amore took over the lead with her and Stopchargingmarie pulling away from the rest of the field during the final stretch. The two were neck-and-neck for most of the closing stretch with Stopchargingmaria finishing strong to win by a little more than a neck. It was an impressive run after Stopchargingmaria got shuffled into the back a bit off the start. Jockey Javier Castellano was able to get her outside and make the run toward the front.