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California Chrome wins Preakness; Triple Crown try in Belmont up next
• BALTIMORE (AP) -- It gets even harder from here on out for California Chrome.
• He won easily in his home state of California, he dazzled in the Kentucky Derby and he dug deep to win the Preakness on Saturday.
• Now comes the toughest test of all, the Belmont Stakes in three weeks.
• The chestnut colt with four white feet will attempt to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont, something that hasn't been done since Affirmed in 1978. Since then, 12 horses have won the first two legs and failed to complete the sweep in the 1 ½-mile Belmont; the last was I'll Have Another, who was scratched on the eve of the Belmont two years ago.
• "You have to have a very good horse to win these three races," said Art Sherman, the winning 77-year-old trainer. "I'm hoping I've got one right now."
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AP PHOTOS: California Chrome eyes Triple Crown
• California Chrome kicked into another gear to storm in front of Ride on Curlin and win the Preakness on Saturday.
• While it's a long shot, a victory at Belmont on June 7 would secure a Triple Crown win for the chestnut colt. Since 1978, 11 horses have won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but failed to win Belmont.
• "It's an awesome feeling," said California Chrome jockey Victor Espinoza. "Today it was just a crazy race."
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Turkish miner who survived says company to blame; last of 301 bodies found
• SAVASTEPE, Turkey (AP) -- Miner Erdal Bicak believes he knows why so many of his colleagues died in Turkey's worst mining disaster: company negligence.
• And he knows one other thing -- he's never going back down any mine again.
• Bicak, 24, had just ended his shift Tuesday and was making his way to the surface when managers ordered him to retreat because of a problem in the Soma coal (Continued on page 23)
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