By James A. Lyons
By arming the rebels, we're aiding al Qaeda
Feeling the heat? So is a lot of the country.
Phyllis Wyeth had a dream her horse, Union Rags, would win the Belmont Stakes, one that he fulfilled Saturday evening.
I'll Have Another's tendon injury eliminates the possibility for a historic Belmont Stakes on Saturday evening. But it also drastically changes the race with the horse considered to be the best now scratched.
Sullen faces and depressed looks weren't hard to find around Belmont Park on Friday. News of I'll Have Another's injury, the end of a historic run at the Triple Crown and his retirement had even those not associated with him upset.
The world was primed to see I'll Have Another turn the corner at Belmont Park on Saturday evening with the Triple Crown on the line. But as the other horses in the Belmont Stakes make that run, the colt who captured the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes will not be with them.
Since Seattle Slew won the 1977 Triple Crown, co-owner Sally Hill has watched from Belmont Park as several horses fell short. Since Affirmed in 1978, co-owner Patrice Wolfson wasn't ready to let go for a long time.
The button says it all: "We want another." I'll Have Another's trainer, Doug O'Neill was wearing one Tuesday at Rockefeller Center, and so were others not even affiliated with the horse going for the Triple Crown on Saturday.
Nothing comes easy in the nerve-racking weeks before the Belmont Stakes with a Triple Crown on the line.
Talk about a tough crowd.
The 1-2 finishers in the Kentucky Derby are 1-2 on the morning line for the Belmont Stakes.
Looking to pull off another remarkable race, Animal Kingdom's trip from the back of the pack at the Preakness Stakes came up half a length short.
In on a sloppy track Thursday morning, Shackleford looked like the best horse in the world. If he could just run the Preakness then, co-owner Mike Lauffer said, he would have won.
Jesus Castanon doesn't have the high profile of other jockeys like Calvin Borel or Animal Kingdom rider John Velazquez. But on Saturday, his story shone through like no one else's.
Mr. Romans said he thinks most of the horses and humans could handle the heat, but it's not worth the risk, especially when the dirt track soaks up the sun's heat.
"I think it puts Union Rags in the picture for an Eclipse Award, I would think," said Dale Romans, trainer of beaten favorite Dullahan. "There's a lot of year left, and with I'll Have Another out, it's definitely in his own hands."
Belmont win puts Union Rags in conversation for horse of year →
