Belmont Stakes Results 2014: Video Replay of California Chrome's Race at Belmont

Tonalist shocked the world on Saturday with an upset of California Chrome at the 2014 Belmont Stakes, preventing the favorite from bringing home the first Triple Crown since 1978.

California Chrome struggled to get into position heading around the final turn and was forced to use a lot of energy to go wide. Jockey Victor Espinosa then could not get his horse to make a strong enough push toward the finish line in Elmont, New York.

This left the door open for Commissioner and Tonalist to battle down the stretch, but it was Joel Rosario on Tonalist who made the push late to win by a head.

Here is a complete look at the 1 1/2-mile race:

After Tonalist and Commissioner was Medal Count, who also was able to edge the favorite at the end. California Chrome ended up tying for fourth place in a dead heat with Wicked Strong. Here is a complete look at the results from the Belmont Stakes:

Pos.	Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Lengths
1	11	Tonalist	Joel Rosario	Christophe Clement	-
2	8	Commissioner	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	Head
3	1	Medal Count	Robby Albarado	Dale Romans	1
4	2	California Chrome	Victor Espinoza	Art Sherman	1 3/4
4	9	Wicked Strong	Rajiv Maragh	Jimmy Jerkins	1 3/4
6	7	Samraat	Jose Ortiz	Rick Violette	4
7	10	General a Rod	Rosie Napravnik	Mike Maker	5 1/4
8	3	Matterhorn	Joe Bravo	Todd Pletcher	10
9	4	Commanding Curve	Shaun Bridgmohan	Dallas Stewart	12 3/4
10	6	Matuszak	Mike Smith	Bill Mott	55
11	5	Ride On Curlin	John Velazquez	Billy Gowan	87

Tonalist had an impressive effort throughout the race to come through with a narrow victory, as shown by Bleacher Report:

Both he and Commissioner were making their Triple Crown debuts after missing both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. This allowed each of them to come in fresher compared to those who competed in all three major events, including California Chrome.

The favorite's owner was certainly not happy with the situation, via Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv:

Of course, Tonalist's trainer, Christophe Clement, simply believes this created a bigger challenge, which is good for the sport:

California Chrome obviously has the talent to win many more events in his career, but the now-famous horse has a number of other opportunities ahead of him. Darren Rovell of ESPN provides one possible option:

Still, there is no denying the overall disappointment from the result of the race. Fans thought they were going to see the first Triple Crown winner in 36 years, but it seems the difficult schedule and the longer track remains something that is too tough to overcome.

The good news is that this feat remains a lofty goal for all thoroughbreds, as well as trainers, jockeys and owners. It is certainly a possible achievement, but this extended drought shows how difficult it truly is to attain.

As long as there are talented horses like Tonalist saving themselves for the longer race, the Triple Crown will continue to be an extremely difficult accomplishment.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.