Preakness Stakes 2011: Dialed In Racing For Record $6.1 Million Payday

Dialed In may have disappointed in the Kentucky Derby, but all is not lost. Thanks to two wins at Gulfstream Park -- in the Florida Derby and Holy Bull Stakes -- Dialed In is eligible for a $5.5 million bonus in addition to the $600,000 winner's share of the purse. All he needs to do is outrun the field at Pimlico in the Preakness Stakes to collect the bonus, a record prize for a North American horse.

Trainer Nick Zito tried his best to downplay the importance of the $5.5 million bonus, going to extremes to prove it's not his motivation as the Preakness nears.

"For me, honestly, I’m telling you now — you could give mine to charity, as long as the feed man don’t mind," Zito said. "He could take his and you could give the rest to charity ... You’ve gotta pay your bills, that’s what it’s about. But I’m blessed, as you know, and I’m not going to change. I’m just grateful to have the horse."

Zito would earn an impressive $550,000 cut while Dialed In's owner, but continued to reiterate it wasn't a big deal in the interview, likely to quell concerns the horse didn't go full-bore in the Kentucky Derby. Dialed In came into the Derby as the race favorite, but got stuck in traffic and finished a disappointing eighth.

The 2011 Preakness Stakes gets underway on May 21 at Pimlico. Stay with our Preakness Stakes StoryStream for more on the race. To look back at the Derby, 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.