Orb and the Preakness; Powerball Lottery

Orb is a very good horse, and he is the betting favorite for today's Preakness Stakes, the second jewel in the Triple Crown.  Orb will be breaking from the inside post, and will be under his usual jockey Joel Rosario.  Joel has been pretty much unbeatable since before the Kentucky Derby, making the most of his mounts and using exquisite judgement in his racing decisions - yesterday's Black-Eyed Susan win aboard Fiftyshadesofhay is a great example.  Orb has great breeding - his paternal grandsire is A. P. Indy, while his maternal grandsire is Unbridled.  This morning, Orb was the three-to-five favorite, and he deserves to be.  I, however, look for a longshot - I will place money on Departing, Govenor Charlie and Itsmyluckyday.
  If Orb does win today's Preakness, then he will be the favorite for the Belmont Stakes in June.  And he will be in a long line of horses who have won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.  The question is, whether he will be able to "shorten up" today, running in a race shorter than a Derby, and then "lengthen out" to the mile and a half long Belmont.  The track at Pimlico seems to be heavier and slower than usual, and there is another high chance of rain for the Preakness itself.  If Orb can win today, does he have the "Real Stuff" to become a Triple Crown winner?  The Belmont race track is known as "the giant killer" - the great Secretariat was defeated by Onion on that track... and it was also the site of Man o'War's only loss (to Upset).  Horse racing can use a shot in the arm - and a Triple Crown winner this year would do the trick.  The question is:  Is Orb the next Triple Crown contender, or Triple Crown winner?  (The last Triple Crown winner was Florida-bred Affirmed in 1978.)
  And, I blogged last week about dreaming of winning the Powerball lottery.  There hasn't been a jackpot winner since my post, and the estimated jackpot for tonight's drawing is $600 million.  My dreams have not changed - other than that if I won such a large amount, I'd like to buy a lot of acreage out here in the western United States, and I'd allow a lot of BLM mustangs to roam free for the rest of their lives....