Belmont Stakes 2012 Results: Bob Baffert's Colts Not Built for Triple Crown Wins

There is no ignoring the fact that Bob Baffert's horses were beaten the same way in all three Triple Crown races, and that exposes a flaw in the preparation of these colts.

At the 2012 Belmont Stakes, we watched another stunning, come-from-behind victory. This time it wasn't I'll Have Another with the impressive closing act, it was the previously underachieving Union Rags doing the honors.

The one thing that didn't change was the trainer of the victimized horse. Baffert was left as what Dale Earnhardt would call, "the first-place loser" in a third consecutive Triple Crown race. 

Mark Blaudschun of Boston.com quoted Baffert:

"

“Is there a Triple Crown for seconds,’’ said Baffert. “I need a Triple Crown for seconds. I really thought [Paynter] was going to win today. He was doing so well. I knew we had the horse to do it and that horse [Union Rags] snuck up on him. He’s still a young horse, still learning how to run. It’s over. When you get beat, you get beat.’’

"

No there isn't a "Triple Crown for seconds" Bob, but one must wonder how two different horses are beaten in the same fashion, by two different horses.

Some of this is simply about the personality and tendencies of the horse. The other factors have to be drawn to something under Baffert's watch. Perhaps Baffert is training horses whose breeding hasn't been heavily concentrated on their sires.

The sires are generally believed to generate the distance potential in a horse's pedigree. Both Bodemeister and Paynter were clear sprinters, even though Paynter didn't fade quite as badly as Bodemeister did down the stretch.

Both horses lacked the kick at the end, and the resolve to hold off a hard-charging adversary. We could blame the jockeys, but that doesn't account for two different horses with the same issue. To me, this is about an imbalanced pedigree with too much emphasis on speed, as opposed to classic running.

If Baffert wants to have more success in 2013, he'll need more well-rounded horses.

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