Belmont Stakes 2012: How I'll Have Another Compares to Past Triple Crown Hopeful

In the 34 years since Affirmed swept the Triple Crown in 1978, 11 horses have come into the Belmont Stakes with a chance to make history.

On all 11 occasions, those horses have failed.

I'll Have Another will hope to stop that streak rather than extend it to 12 when he takes to the "Big Sandy" track at Belmont Park on Saturday, June 9th.

Only three of those previous 11 failed to finish in the top-three in New York after coming out ahead at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. Alysheba—the son of Alydar, who finished second to Affirmed at the Belmont in 1978—had a shot at his own Triple Crown in 1987, but finished fourth behind Bet Twice. War Emblem checked in eighth at the Belmont behind Sarava in 2002, six years before Big Brown failed to finish at all in 2008.

Other than those three, Triple Crown contenders have done fairly well in the final leg over the past three decades or so. Four have finished as the runners-up, and four more have wound up in third.

This would seem somewhat surprising on the surface. After all, running three lengthy races within a five-week window is no easy feat in and of itself. To come out on top twice and near the top a third time is even more of a chore.

Then again, horses that win the first two legs of the Triple Crown don't do it on luck alone; they do it because they're lucky and gifted. So, really, if a three-year-old colt has the good fortune, the sheer talent and the proper staff to win the Derby and the Preakness, why wouldn't he have the same odds in his favor to win the Belmont?

Because the Belmont isn't the Derby or the Preakness. It's longer, with a more treacherous track, and while the field may be weaker, so too is his body.

That being said, I'll Have Another has as good a chance as any horse of ending the drought. He's demonstrated the stamina to hang around and the late burst to rush ahead of the pack down the stretch.

And without Bodemeister around to challenge him, I'll Have Another won't have to worry about chasing down his rival.

But, as great a bet as I'll Have Another may be to bring home the proverbial bacon, he'll still be running against the history that's preceded him and the unpredictable nature of the sport itself.

Just like the 11 who've followed in Affirmed's footsteps all the way to Belmont and failed to put his ghost to rest.

Will I'll Have Another be the 12th? Or will he have another win, to close out the Triple Crown?

The ghosts of horse racing's past would certainly like to know.

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