Preakness Stakes 2011: Does Past Kentucky Derby Winners' Performance Help Animal Kingdom?

Animal Kingdom approaches the 136th Preakness Stakes, run on May 21st at Pimlico Park in Baltimore, with one third of the Triple Crown wrapped up. But how have the horses that have claimed the Kentucky Derby in recent years done in the shortest of the three Triple Crown races?

In short, fairly well: since Affirmed won the last Triple Crown in 1978, 11 horses have won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, most recently Big Brown in 2008. (An additional five horses have won the second two legs, and two have won the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, but not the Preakness.) Since 1997, seven horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

That's a decent 34.3% success rate for Derby winners in the Preakness, and an even better one of late. It likely means very little to Animal Kingdom, but it's a gaudy statistic that could be burnished at Pimlico this year.

To get caught up, check out SB Nation's 2011 Kentucky Derby StoryStream. Also, our horse racing blog And Down The Stretch They Come has two must-read resources for Derby and Preakness fans: A Beginner's Guide To Following Horse Racing and a glossary of horse racing terms.