Preakness the key to Orb’s Crown

Is Orb the answer to the Triple Crown drought of 35 years?

A sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes has not been accomplished since Affirmed did it in his epic battles with Alydar in 1978.

As I see it, the next race in the series, the Preakness Stakes on May 18, is the key for Orb. At 1 3/16 miles, the middle leg of the series is a bit shorter than the Derby, and that factor might work against him.

That said, Orb has shown the ability to race much nearer the pace than he did in the Derby, in which he rallied from 16th place.

Another factor in the Preakness could be some new faces that are fresh and ready for the Derby winner, who needs to recover from his monster effort at Churchill Downs. I think he will, and I think he is a horse that gets better with hard racing, sort of a throwback to the sturdy campaigners of the past.

But whatever you want to say about Orb, and whatever obstacle you want to throw in his path, the truth is that he is in a zone right now with five consecutive victories. He will be tough again in the Preakness, and if he wins that race, will return to New York as a very short price in the Belmont Stakes.

And the Belmont, at 1 1/2 miles, is right up his alley. Orb just may find the “Test of the Champion” his easiest race of them all.

Derby notes

Kudos to owner Mike Repole for his comments to The Daily News about the prices at Churchill Downs, where the press box was dismantled in favor of a new facility in which the cost of a single admission runs as high as $12,500 for the day. He is also a defender of Aqueduct Race Track, which is continually threatened with closure.

I wish more New York owners would defend our racing, especially in this period of state control.

The New York Racing Association, make that the New York State Racing Association, is now in a period of “reform” under state control. The reform is moving along swiftly, as evidenced by the failure to secure a chief executive officer more than one year after the dismissal of former president Charles Hayward.

Verrazano, who entered the Derby unbeaten in four starts and who led