And there you have it folks. The Triple Crown of horse racing has concluded with the running of the 2024 Belmont Stakes. There was no winner of the Triple Crown this year. We also saw three different horses win, one at each jewel. So what happened to the rematches that we had hoped to see within this epic race? How did a horse owned by a former Major League Baseball player come in and steal the show? Was it a come-from-behind win? Was it a wire-to-wire win? Let’s take a look at how Dornoch pull off such a win.
No Rematch Winner in the Final Triple Crown Race
The rematch we had hoped to see between Mystik Dan and two other horses was not what was hoped for. Sierra Leone was the favorite picked to win the final race of the Triple Crown. Mystic Dan was the Derby winner hoping for redemption from his loss at the Preakness to Seize the Grey. Seize the Grey was hoping to ride into victory for a consecutive race.
So what happened? How did Dornoch manage to knock these three horses out of the way and gallop his way to victory? Seize the Grey did lead the race for some time. But Dornoch managed to come in and get ahead of him and held onto the win. Dornoch ran the race of his life at Saratoga. And Saratoga happens to be known as the “graveyard of favorites”. It is a course that sees the upsets come from behind
Fun Fact: Did you know that Dornoch is the brother of Mage, who won the 2023 Kentucky Derby?
Historic Day for the 2024 Belmont Stakes
Today was a historic day. For the first time, the Belmont Stakes did not run at Belmont Park. The final race in the Triple Crown instead, ran upstate at Saratoga. This is big for two reasons. One, because the track at Saratoga is shorter than the track down at Belmont Park, and two, this is the first time in the history of the Belmont Stakes that the race was run and hosted by a different venue.
The Belmont Stakes will run again at Saratoga for the 2025 race and will hopefully run at Belmont Park again in 2026. Belmont Park is looking to be better than ever with the reconstruction and renovations that are currently ongoing. The last time that the Belmont Stakes did not run at Belmont Park was 57 years ago in 1967 when it was run at the Aqueduct Racetrack located in Queens, New York from 1963-1967
Who is Dornoch?
Dornoch is a 3-year-old colt that is co-owned by former Major League Baseball star, Jayson Werth. His jockey, Luis Saez, claimed that Dornoch would be the Kentucky Derby winner this year but unfortunately, he placed 10th at the Derby. The odds of Dornoch winning the Belmont Stakes this year were set at 17-1, which made for a huge upset when he was declared the winner of the 2024 Belmont Stakes.
Even though the track at Saratoga is shorter than the track at Belmont Park, Dornoch’s owners feel that the outcome would have been the same had the race taken place down in Elmont, New York at Belmont Park. They had the utmost confidence in their horse. They let him run his race and he pulled out as the winner in a race that is nicknamed the “Test of the Champion”. There is a reason for that. Belmont is the longest race out of the three races in the Triple Crown. With the race being at Saratoga, Dornoch ran it in just over 2 minutes and 1 second.
About the Author
Amanda Bentle is a mother with many talents under her belt. She is also a wife, co-worker, friend, daughter, and sister. Writing is something that has always come naturally to her. Amanda is able to share her love of many hobbies, as she is not a one-hobby kind of gal, with her husband and son. Not only is Amanda a master of many talents and hobbies, but one of the many things she loves as much as her little family are the cats and dogs that she has rescued and welcomed into her little family over the last seven to ten years.
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