Belmont Stakes 2013: Most Disappointing Showings at Triple Crown's Final Leg

By becoming the third different winner of the 2013 Triple Crown season, Palace Malice secured exemption from this list. The rest of the horses, however, are all candidates. 

Jockeyed by Mike Smith, Palace Malice had the most left in the tank at the finish of the 1.5-mile race. Like the two Triple Crown races before it, the Belmont Stakes was an exciting event. However, the Triple Crown as a whole was disappointing. 

The most enticing facet of the Triple Crown is the chance it offers to reveal greatness and dominance, and with no repeat winners, it simply revealed parity. 

Below the results and replay are three horses who capped off a lackluster Triple Crown in disappointing fashion. 

2013 Belmont Stakes Results
Pos	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Post	Payout
1	Palace Malice	Mike Smith	Todd Pletcher	12	$29.60 (Win) $11.20 (Place) $6.20 (Show)
2	Oxbow	Gary Stevens	D. Wayne Lukas	7	$9.90 (Place) $6.10 (Show)
3	Orb	Joel Rosario	Shug McGaughey	5	$3.90 (Show)
4	Incognito	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Kiaran McLaughlin	6
5	Revolutionary	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	9
6	Unlimited Budget	Rosie Napravnik	Todd Pletcher	13
7	Overanalyze	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	3
8	Vyjack	Julien Leparoux	Rudy Rodriguez	11
9	Golden Soul	Robby Albarado	Dallas Stewart	14
10	Will Take Charge	Jon Court	D. Wayne Lukas	10
11	Giant Finish	Edgar Prado	Anthony Dutrow	4
12	Midnight Taboo	Garrett Gomez	Todd Pletcher	8
13	Freedom Child	Luis Saez	Tom Albertrani	2
14	Frac Daddy	Alan Garcia	Ken McPeek	1

*Odds based on $2 bet, courtesy the NBC Sports broadcast.

Oxbow

Preakness winner Oxbow ran a nice race at the Belmont. He didn't get sucked into the unsustainable early pace, and he barely missed out on the win. 

In the process, he bested Kentucky Derby winner Orb. However, this race missed out on being a true rubber when Palace Malice was allowed to crash the party. 

There is no denying that Oxbow proved his merit as a top horse. America's Best Racing touches on that with this tweet:  

Still, he missed out on the bigger greatness of being a two-time Triple Crown winner. 

Oxbow has a bright future ahead, but it was disappointing to see he couldn't elevate his legacy by winning the Belmont following his impressive showing at the Preakness. 

Orb

Orb won the Kentucky Derby with a dominant finishing kick that launched dreams of a Triple Crown winner. Those dreams came quickly crashing down as he looked like a different horse altogether at the Preakness and finished off the pace.

Orb ran a stronger race at the Belmont, but it was still only good for third.

There is no doubt that Orb cemented his status as one of the more dangerous horses out there, but it will be hard not to think of what could've been.

ESPN anchor Bram Weinstein highlights that sentiment with this tweet:

Instead of standing head and shoulders above the best of the best, Orb is now just one of the horses in that pack. 

Will Take Charge

After finishing eighth in the Kentucky Derby and seventh in the Preakness, trainer D. Wayne Lukas decided to have Will Take Charge make a run in the Belmont. 

This offered the horse one last chance for a shot at Triple Crown glory. It didn't happen. 

Finishing 10th in the Belmont only further proved that he could not hang with the elite. 

And this came despite conditions at the Belmont being conducive to Will Take Charge's success. The Daily Racing Form's Jay Privman explains:

Will Take Charge could never put his speed to good use, and this had to be disappointing for everyone involved with him.