Belmont Stakes 2014: Expert Reaction to Results from Elmont

By now, most have heard about California Chrome's failed attempt to win the Belmont Stakes, and thus the Triple Crown of horse racing.

With an injury to his foot suffered just before the beginning of the race, the horse could only manage a fourth-place tie with Wicked Strong.

Tonalist was the winner and that doesn't mean a whole lot to the millions of bandwagon fans who paid attention simply because they thought they would see history.

The experts react...

Hurts More This Time

Since Affirmed captured the Triple Crown in 1978, 12 other horses had won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, only to fall short in the Belmont Stakes.

But somehow, this one seemed a little more disappointing.

ESPN's Darren Rovell chimes in:

Perhaps California Chrome was really a special horse and story, or it could be just that he came along at a time where the media can make any angle compelling.

Either way, there was something different about this near miss.

"Cowards" and "Cheaters"

Those two words were used to describe the owners and trainers of horses who entered their animals in the Belmont Stakes after not competing in any or both of the two previous Triple Crown events.

Who uttered these insults? None other than Steve Coburn, the previously likable and amicable owner of California Chrome.

The rant below covers the coward accusation...

The "cheaters" label was given when Coburn spoke to Yahoo! Sports, per Pat Forde.

Coburn said:

"

They're a bunch of goddamn cheaters. If your horse doesn't even have the points to run in the Kentucky Derby, he shouldn't be able to run in the Triple Crown. They're goddamn cheaters.

"

If you watched the post-race interview, you know Coburn didn't take kindly to his horse losing to fresher thoroughbreds that hadn't been run in the Derby or the Preakness.

He does have a point, but it's kind of hard not to hear a bit of sour grapes in his tone. Forde seems to agree. He wrote:

"

Despite the petulance, his sore-loser rant is rooted in a truth that makes the Triple Crown fundamentally flawed: it is rigged against the best horse. While California Chrome was grinding through his third race in five weeks, Tonalist was running for just the second time since February.

"

The Difficulty Makes it Special

Garry Jones/Associated Press

The Triple Crown is tough for various reasons, the fresh vs. worn dynamic is just one of the factors working against hopefuls.

Perhaps this is the way it should be. It will take a truly amazing horse to pull off the feat—especially in this day and age. Maybe California Chrome simply wasn't up to the task.

The Thoroughbred on Twitter seems to think that's the case.

If the rules are changed, and a horse does win the Triple Crown against a field that has run as often as he or she has, wouldn't purists taint the accomplishment as it compares to the previous winners?

People will say: "Back in the day, horses didn't have it this easy. California Chrome, War Emblem, and Alysheba, those horses would have won a Triple Crown too if the rules had been more favorable."

There will always be something to talk about.

One thing is for sure, California Chrome's quest for immortality had almost everyone talking about horse racing. At the end of the day, that's what's best for business.