Belmont Stakes 2012: No One Will Stop I'll Have Another from the Triple Crown

The last time the horse racing world saw a Triple Crown winner was in 1978. Since Affirmed won it, 11 horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, only to fall short at the Belmont Stakes.

It is a difficult task for even the most equipped horses: three races all of varying length over only a five-week period. When the starting bell rings at Belmont Park, casual fans and track regulars alike will be holding their breath, hoping I'll Have Another can break the streak of Triple Crown shortcomings.

As the undisputed favorite coming in, he has several advantages over the rest of the field.

Long Track

In both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, I'll Have Another made up distance from the leader with late kicks. The Derby track is 1.25 miles, and the Preakness runs one-and-three-sixteenths.

The Belmont, on the other hand, is a 1.5-mile race. I'll Have Another's past two races have demonstrated that he's an endurance horse with a lot of motor at the end of the race. His great late race kick should help him find the front of the pack even if he starts slow.

With I'll Have Another's late-race strength, you could argue that the toughest part of the Triple Crown circuit for jockey Mario Gutierrez would have been the Preakness, which he only won by a neck.

The longer race gives him more track to hit his late-race stride.

Bodemeister's Absence

The Preakness saw I'll Have Another and pre-race favorite Bodemeister neck and neck in a photo finish.

After repeat disappointing losses at the hands of I'll Have Another at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, Bodemeister's trainer, Bob Baffert, declined the invitation to the Belmont.

The field still contains quality competition, notably Dullahan (third at the Derby) and Union Rags (a pre-race Derby favorite), both of whom are on five weeks' rest, but taking Bodemeister out of the mix can only bode well for I'll Have Another.  

Additionally, Creative Cause (fifth at the Derby, third at the Preakness) will not be running at Belmont.

Jockey Tutelage

One of the biggest slights against I'll Have Another's 25-year-old jockey is that Gutierrez is simply inexperienced. With Belmont's longer track, jockey’s can tend to miss-time their in-race moves, costing them a shot at a first-place finish.

Gutierrez has not previously raced on Belmont's track. In order to compensate for his inexperience, he has been working with Hall of Fame jockey and two-time Belmont winner Jerry Bailey. Bailey was brought in by I'll Have Another trainer Doug O'Neill to help familiarize Gutierrez with the track and strategize for the race.

Training Methods

O'Neill has decided to take an alternative approach to training I'll Have Another in the weeks leading up to the final race of the Triple Crown.

Rather than have the colt run organized workouts, O'Neill decided to have I'll Have Another run "gallop" days. O'Neill's use of gallop is pretty liberal here. Onlookers have said I'll Have Another's "gallops" have been just as brisk as most horses track workouts.  

While pre-race workouts are the conventional approach, few aspects of I'll Have Another's rise have been conventional.

Approaching training with these more free-form gallop exercises allows the colt to catch up on some rest and allows his jockey and trainer to work him as they see necessary for the day. As I'd mentioned earlier, some of his stiffest competition will be five weeks removed from their last race, so giving him some time to rest is certainly a prudent move.

No matter the jockey, horse, trainer or owner, any time you have a Triple Crown bid, the excitement and anticipation will lead to uncontrollable speculation. Hopefully next weekend we can see I'll Have Another end the 34-year drought.