Excitement builds for Belmont Stakes

In the 34 years since Affirmed swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes to become the 11th Triple Crown winner in thoroughbred horseracing history, 11 horses have won the first two legs only to fall short at Belmont.

This Saturday at about 6:45 p.m., I’ll Have Another will join one of the aforementioned groups after running down favorite Bodemeister to capture both the Derby and Preakness. “We’re thinking Triple Crown, baby,” I’ll Have Another trainer Doug O’Neill said after the chestnut colt took the Preakness as the 3-1 second choice on May 19. “He’s a special horse.”

If he crosses the wire first in the 144th running of the Belmont Stakes, I’ll Have Another will join Affirmed (1978), Seattle Slew (’77), Secretariat (’73), Citation (’48), Assault (’46), Count Fleet (’43), Whirlaway (’41), War Admiral (’37), Omaha (’35), Gallant Fox (’30) and Sir Barton (’19) in the history books.

The most recent bid for the Triple Crown came in 2008, when Big Brown became the first Derby and Preakness winner to finish last in the Belmont. A prohibitive 1-4 favorite, he was a close as third but failed to respond at the ¼ pole and was eased down the stretch by jockey Kent Desormeaux as 38-1 longshot Da Tara completed a wire-to-wire victory.

Four years prior to Big Brown’s bid, before a record crowd of 120,139, Smarty Jones, bet down to 1-5, had the finish line in sight before 36-1 longshot Birdstone edged past him in the final 70 yards.

“One of the great things about horse racing is you never know what’s going to happen,” said New York Racing Association Director of Communications and Media Relations Dan Silver, who is expecting a crowd in the neighborhood of 100,000 to flood through the turnstiles to cheer I’ll Have Another and jockey Mario Gutierrez.