Horses are not like most other competitive athletes: they don't need planes for transport, just trailers. And Animal Kingdom is likely to benefit from that, because he might not be shipped to Pimlico, site of the 2011 Preakness Stakes, until race day this Saturday.
Animal Kingdom trainer H. Graham Motion told the Thoroughbred Times on Monday that it was "more than likely" his horse wouldn't be shipped until race day. On Tuesday, Motion told the Daily Racing Form that no decision about when to ship Animal Kingdom had been made.
Motion can wait to ship Animal Kingdom because of proximity: currently, the horse is being trained at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., about an hour from Pimlico. And it might pay off if Animal Kingdom's reportedly strong work this week continues through Saturday.
The 2011 Preakness Stakes gets underway on May 21 at Pimlico racetrack. Stay with our 2011 Preakness Stakes StoryStream for odds, contender profiles, post positions and more. 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.