But even with the anticipation of a possible Triple Crown missing for the second straight year, the Belmont Stakes was still the main attraction, and its anthem — “New York, New York” — was appropriate. The winning jockey, Jose Ortiz, is perennially at the top of the New York Racing Association’s rider standings. He said he thought that Always Dreaming was the best 3-year-old in his barn and had a real chance to win the Triple Crown. “Winning the Triple Crown is my ultimate dream, but he was training so well, I got worried about what we were going to do with Tapwrit,” he said. You can’t always have the third leg of the Triple Crown immortalized in the sport’s history books.

Source: New York Times June 11, 2017 00:37 UTC