Green lights for Street Sense?

Is there hope for a Triple Crown winner this year? Is Street Sense ready for his next foray in the battle for the forever-out-of-reach Triple Crown? Will he be twice lucky but thrice shy like so many others before him?

If Street Sense crosses the wire first this weekend in the Preakness Stakes there will be renewed hope in racing fans that a Triple Crown winner isn’t a mirage on the infield.

After watching Barbaro dominate in last year’s Derby, racing fans were psyched that they were watching a true champion. Triple Crown talk gained momentum with Barbaro’s every stride. But hearts and hopes were broken that day his leg shattered in the Preakness just weeks later. This year, I think racing fans fear that even breathing the wish of a Triple Crown chance will place a jinx on the Derby winner.

Does Street Sense have what it takes? Street Sense didn’t win the Derby with the commanding style we saw from Barbaro, but still, it was quite a win with more than 2 lengths to spare in his rail-hugging run. How jockey Calvin Borel kept his cool in that race I’ll never know. Watching it, I couldn’t believe at one point Street Sense was 19th of 20 and Borel was able to weave his way along the rail so they could charge up the backstretch to win. I did my own rerun of the race several times just to see how he did it. I’m no expert but it looked masterful. But what a chance to take: what would have been the end result if one of those horses didn’t get out of the way?

The last time racing fans were graced with a Triple Crown hero was 1978 with Affirmed. I’ve wondered if there will ever be another Triple Crown winner in my lifetime. I’ve wondered if the outcome might be different if only horses that run in the Derby could run in the two other Triple Crown races. But I guess that the challenge of facing fresh competitors is part of the Triple Crown allure. Street Sense is up against five fresh horses who didn’t have to gallop their guts out in the run for the roses.

It’s been a long, hot dry spell since there was a Triple Crown winner. Whatever horse breaks it will be immortalized in history. Racing fans have seen lots of almost-but-not-quite performances that left us wanting more. Maybe if we don’t think about it too hard, it might just happen this year. My fingers will be crossed that Street Sense hits the wire first this weekend in the Preakness. We can always dream, right?