The Triple Crown has come to a close with a striking finish. The Belmont Stakes has its winner, and it's a horse no one was expecting. Dornoch ended up winning the race, and while many are happy, many are also frustrated.
One wrote, "So Dornoch, in winning the Belmont Stakes, defeated the Ky Derby winner and the Preakness winner and Sierra Leone, who should have won more than he has. All three legs of the Triple Crown have been won by longshots. What a year. But fun."
Another complained about Sierra Leone's performance. They felt that the horse should have easily won. They wrote, "Sierra Leone is going down as one of the most frustrating horses out there - if he could run straight he'd be the winner of the Kentucky Derby and @BelmontStakes. As it is...he's just annoying! Still, means @coolmorestud can run City of Troy against him! Yeeehaaa."
Meanwhile, one viewer called out a jockey. They wrote, "Desperate 'ride' from Irad Ortiz on the second...(my tip...)...frantically, uses the whip in the left hand in the straight, which caused the horse to become unbalanced and cost him the race, instead of trying to duel alongside with the eventual winner, poor stuff."
Yet another complained about the channel, writing, "Fox had another chance to fix their audio issues from last year yet somehow they did worse. In addition to background noise drowning out the announcer their feed was glitchy most of the time unless that was just."
Incredible! ?
Dornoch wins the 2024 @BelmontStakes! pic.twitter.com/EvMx3CQqxV
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 8, 2024
The Belmont Stakes Completes The Triple Crown
This completes the third race in the trio of prestigious horse races. The Kentucky Derby kicks off the festivities at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky in a photo finish. Mystik Dan beats out Sierra Leone and Forever Young by a mere nostril.
There was plenty of controversy revolving around the finish, from those who love the sport to those fed up they lost their bets. There were plenty of complaints of Sierra Leone bumping into Forever Young down the stretch of the close race. Similarly, other fans were quick to note that Leone was also the victim of some pushing around by different jockeys. It's possible Dan benefits from the rough waters of other racers.
Unfortunately, there's no triple crown winner this year. That was nipped in the bud by Seize the Grey beating out Derby winner Mystik Dan at the Preakness Stakes. According to onlookers and trainers for the race, Grey thrives on muddier grounds. The slips and slides didn't seem to affect him the way it does for your usual racer. Who knows if Dan pulls away on more even playing grounds?
This marks 6 years since we've seen a horse complete the legendary trifecta. The longest stretch in recent memory dates back almost 35 years ago. From 1989 to 1997, different steeds took home different prizes but not a trilogy of wins. We're awfully close to that becoming a reality.
We'll have to wait until next year to see if any of these horses can beat the brutal drought.
