Carl Nafzger

was disappointed his Street Sense didn't win the Preakness yesterday, losing to Curlin by literally a whisker, but he is now looking forward to a rivalry.

Perhaps therein lies Street Sense's lone flaw: the failure to realize that a race isn't over until the winner crosses the finish line. After the colt passed the field and saw nothing but empty space ahead, he apparently let up.

"When my horse gets to the lead, he's just sort of happy. He won't quit running, but he's not intense," Nafzger said. "And Curlin ran an unbelievable perfect race today."

Especially over the final 100 yards.

"It was almost a match race at the end. One champion and another potential champion," one of Curlin's owners, Jess Jackson, said. "Street Sense deserves a lot of credit."

Maybe so, but that won't get him a Triple Crown.

It sounds like Street Sense "loafed" on the lead and never saw Curlin coming.

Street Sense

has made history as the first Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner to ever win the Kentucky Derby. Hard Spun was second, Curlin finished third, and Iamawildandcrazyguy finished fourth.

Street Sense also made history as the first two-year-old champion to win the Kentucky Derby since Spectacular Bid did it in 1979.

As the media noted to no end, this race was notable also for it being Queen Elizabeth II's first Kentucky Derby appearance although she has been in Kentucky many times over the years.

Street Sense was the post time favorite, which has been unusual in recent years. The final time was 2:02.17, way off the legendary Secretariat's time of 1:59.2 in 1973.

Trainer Carl Nafzger had his first victory in this race since his memorable win with Unbridled in 1990.

Let's hope this horse can do the job and win the Triple Crown.