Belmont Stakes Results 2014: Reviewing Race Standings, Prize Money Chart

A Triple Crown was not to be for California Chrome. The beloved horse finished fourth at the Belmont Stakes as Tonalist played the spoiler.

Just a head behind Tonalist was Commissioner in second, and Medal Count was third.

The total purse for the race was $1.5 million. Here's how it was divided

Pos.	Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Prize Money
1	11	Tonalist	Joel Rosario	Christophe Clement	$800,000
2	8	Commissioner	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	$280,000
3	1	Medal Count	Robby Albarado	Dale Romans	$150,000
4	2	California Chrome	Victor Espinoza	Art Sherman	$80,000
4	9	Wicked Strong	Rajiv Maragh	Jimmy Jerkins	$80,000
6	7	Samraat	Jose Ortiz	Rick Violette	$45,000
7	10	General a Rod	Rosie Napravnik	Mike Maker	$35,000
8	3	Matterhorn	Joe Bravo	Todd Pletcher	$30,000
9	4	Commanding Curve	Shaun Bridgmohan	Dallas Stewart	—
10	6	Matuszak	Mike Smith	Bill Mott	—
11	5	Ride On Curlin	John Velazquez	Billy Gowan	—

Of the top-five finishers, California Chrome was the only horse that had run in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. In fact, General a Rod was the only other horse in the field that appeared in all three Triple Crown races.

That dynamic drew the ire of California Chrome's owner Steve Coburn. After the race, Coburn ripped the process and fell just short of saying there was a conspiracy against his horse.

Take a look at the full interview:

There could be some truth to what Coburn said, but there also seemed to be a bit of sour grapes influencing the rant.

California Chrome hadn't raced in almost a month. Perhaps the fatigue was more mental than physical.

The pressure from the expectations and media attention could have been passed to the horse from the jockey and trainers.

No matter what other horses were in the field, that pressure would have still been present.

There's also the thought that jockey Victor Espinoza cost California Chrome a chance to win the Belmont. Instead of getting the horse out to an early lead, and out of the crowd, he stayed buried in the pack and tried to make a move outside late.

California Chrome simply didn't have the kick he needed.

Some may criticize Espinoza, but don't look for Las Vegas handicapper Richard Eng to be one of Espinoza's critics:

Discussion is a good thing for the sport. There's no doubt the chase for the Triple Crown captivated America.

Perhaps if California Chrome had won, the sport would be in for a letdown. Thanks to Tonalist, we'll never know.