BALTIMORE -- I'll Have Another did just that, winning another Triple Crown race with even more flash and dash than he did in the Kentucky Derby.

By surging past Bodemeister -- again -- this time in Saturday's Preakness, all that stands in the way of racing glory is the Belmont Stakes in three weeks.

Win that and the smooth-striding 3-year-old will find himself in the company of Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed, the last to win thoroughbred racing's most coveted prize in 1978.

That's heady company for a colt who has yet to be favored in any of his seven races. That should change in the Belmont.

"We're thinking Triple Crown, baby," elated winning trainer Doug O'Neill said. "He's a special horse. We'll see how he comes out of it, and if he comes out of it in good shape, we're heading to New York, baby."

I'll Have Another won by 1½ lengths in the Derby and by a neck in the Preakness -- the same margins Affirmed posted in wins over rival Alydar in those two races 34 years ago.

But there's one big storyline difference this time: Bodemeister is skipping the Belmont. "He's getting off the bus here," trainer Bob Baffert said.

The 1 3/16-mile Preakness unfolded the same way as the 1 1/4-mile Derby, with the speedy Bodemeister moving to the lead under Mike Smith and I'll Have Another hanging back in fourth in the 11-horse field. The early fractions were slower than the Derby, but when it came time for Bodemeister to dig in, it was I'll Have Another who found another gear under young jockey Mario Gutierrez and reeled in the tiring pacesetter in the shadow of the wire.

Since Affirmed became the 11th Triple Crown winner, 11 horses have won the first two legs only to come up short in the 1½-mile Belmont, the longest of the races also known as the "Test of the Champion." The most recent try came in 2008, when Big Brown was pulled up around the turn for home and did not finish. Before that, Smarty Jones was run down in the final 70 yards by Birdstone in the 2004 Belmont.

With the colorful and controversial O'Neill squarely in the limelight, scrutiny is sure to intensify about his violations for allegedly giving his horses improper drugs. He was fined $1,000 and suspended 15 days in one incident. He is contesting another.

I'll Have Another, left, again overtook Bodemeister late to win. The rally gave I'll Have Another a Preakness victory and the chance to win the first Triple Crown since Affirmed did it in 1978. Patrick Smith/Getty Images

"We know we play by the rules," O'Neill said. "It's all about the horse, and we're just going to focus on the horse."

O'Neill has been accused in California of "milkshaking," the illegal practice of giving a horse a blend of bicarbonate of soda, sugar and electrolytes. The mixture is designed to reduce fatigue and enhance performance.

The trainer's most recent violation dates from an Aug. 25, 2010, race at Del Mar in California. A blood test on his horse, Argenta, showed elevated levels of TCO2 -- the so-called milkshake -- before it finished eighth.

He faces penalties ranging from a minimum 90-day suspension and a $5,000 fine to a maximum 180-day suspension and fine of $15,000.

Any suspension almost certainly wouldn't occur before the Belmont.

I'll Have Another seems to have made a habit of close calls lately. Before the Derby and Preakness, the chestnut colt won the Santa Anita Derby by a nose over Creative Cause. As usual, owner Paul Reddam wasn't sure his colt would come through this time.

"I didn't feel confident we were going to get there until 10 yards from the wire," Reddam said. "I wasn't sure that we would get there, but I knew that our horse had a lot of heart and a lot of fight."

With a record crowd of 121,309 watching, I'll Have Another was sent off as the second choice at 3-1, with Bodemeister the 8-5 favorite. The winning time was 1:55.94.

I'll Have Another paid $8.40, $3.80 and $2.80. Bodemeister returned $3.20 and $2.80, and Creative Cause paid $3.60 to show.