Belmont Stakes 2012: Underrated Reasons Why I'll Have Another Won't Win Belmont

I'll Have Another is on the verge of capturing the first Triple Crown since 1978, but sadly, the chestnut colt will experience the same fate as Funny Cide, Smarty Jones and Big Brown. 

Those horses emerged victorious in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but fell short at the Belmont Stakes. 

I'll Have Another dramatically came from behind to win the first two legs of this year's Triple Crown, but there are a couple of relatively underrated factors that will keep the horse from a triumph at the Belmont. 

No Nasal Strips

As reported by the New York Post, I'll Have Another will not be allowed to wear the "Flair equine nasal strips" he wore in all four victories this year—including the Derby and Preakness—at the Belmont. 

Here's a blurb from the article that discusses why the Belmont has outlawed these strips: 

"According to Dr. Ted Hill, the Jockey Club steward at the NYRA tracks, studies have shown that equine nasal strips can be performance-enhancing by reducing fatigue and possibly preventing bleeding."

The absence of the strips won't have a major influence on I'll Have Another, but it definitely doesn't help the horse's chances. 

It's clear I'll Have Another needs every possible advantage he can get to pull ahead late in the 1.5-mile race. 

First-Time Jockey 

Hall of Fame jockey Ken Desormeaux doesn't have faith in I'll Have Another's 25-year-old jockey, Mario Gutierrez, at Belmont Park. Certainly, the opinion of a former jockey won't have an impact on the race itself, but the legendary jockey was certainly insightful with his statement: (h/t Sporting News)

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A first-time jockey will be lost at Belmont Park. A first-time horse will be lost, equally. "If you think you can bring a horse here and introduce him to Belmont Park a few days before the Belmont Stakes, you have wronged yourself. When you're on a mile track as a jockey, it's time to start prepping forward when you hit the last turn. The horses learn it and think it's time to go because that's what they know and that's what they're trained. As a jockey, when you get to Belmont Park, you have to mediate it and that's very difficult.

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The Belmont is the longest of the Triple Crown races, so a horse's stamina is extremely crucial, as is the jockey's experience to prepare the horse for a late run—like Gutierrez may once again have to do with I'll Have Another. 

It'd be an amazing feat if I'll Have Another, a horse that was not favored to win the Derby or Preakness, can win the first Triple Crown in 34 years, but even more impressive will be the fact that a first-time jockey will be on his back. 

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