Belmont Stakes 2012: Top Contenders to End I'll Have Another's Triple Crown Bid

You'd have to be crazy not to root for I'll Have Another to win the Belmont Stakes on June 9 in Elmont, New York. You'd be crazier to believe that Doug O'Neill's horse already has a victory locked up.

There's a reason why we root for a Triple Crown winner every year. There's also a reason why it seldom occurs. It's so hard for a horse to finish atop such a good crop of thoroughbreds for three consecutive contests that bring out the best ponies in the sport.

Here are three horses that could end I'll Have Another's quest for horse racing immortality.

Dullahan

In case you didn't know what an Irish Dullahan is, it's a headless, unseelie fairy who rides a black horse while running around terrorizing humans.

Dullahan, who is listed at 8-1, definitely takes the cake for the most menacing name in the field, but that's not why he poses the biggest threat to derail I'll Have Another's bid for the Triple Crown.

In the Kentucky Derby, while I'll Have Another was overtaking Bodemeister in the final 330 feet, Dullahan was steadily catching up to the eventual winner. The Belmont is a quarter-mile longer than the Kentucky Derby. It's possible that Dullahan could have caught I'll Have Another in the Kentucky Derby if the race were as long as the Belmont is.

Kent Desormeaux will be riding Dullahan at the Belmont and the jockey is no stranger to winning. The Hall of Famer holds the record for most victories in a single year, set in 1989.

This is the main horse that I'll Have Another and jockey Mario Gutierrez have to look out for on the second Saturday in June at Belmont Race Track.

Union Rags

Since 1978, when Affirmed achieved the last Triple Crown, 11 horses have won the first two races at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, but saw their dreams cut down at the Belmont Stakes.

Union Rags is now going off at 9-2 odds, the second favorite behind I'll Have Another to win the Belmont Stakes. He was held out of the Preakness, meaning that he'll have fresh legs in New York and will reportedly be ridden by a new jockey after a disappointing seventh-place finish at the Kentucky Derby.

His finish shouldn't be looked down upon though, as he got off to a rough start at Churchill Downs when he was cut off and squeezed by Dullahan and Desormeaux, then got caught up again on the far turn and was still able to end the race respectably.

Watch out for Union Rags and whoever trainer Michael Matz chooses to ride the horse on June 9.

Paynter

Paynter is trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike Smith, both of whom will be looking to avenge their two narrow losses to I'll Have Another at Churchill Downs and Pimlico.

It would be an interesting development if the trainer-jockey tandem could bring a different horse to victory following the announcement that Bodemeister will not be running in the Belmont Stakes.

The three-year-old colt has two victories in four career starts and will have the backing of people who bet against I'll Have Another everywhere as he is looking to play the role of spoiler in New York.

Working against him though, is his loss to I'll Have Another at the Santa Anita Derby in which he ran to a fourth-place finish.

Look for these three horses to give I'll Have Another a run for his money in the third leg of the Triple Crown.