Sir Winston Chases Down Joevia to Win 2019 Belmont Stakes

Adam Wells @adamwells1985Featured ColumnistJune 8, 2019

Exercise rider Brian Calo rides Sir Winston during a workout at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., Thursday, June 6, 2019. The 151st Belmont Stakes horse race will be run on Saturday, June 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

This year's Triple Crown season has ended with Sir Winston coming from behind down the stretch to capture the 2019 Belmont Stakes title Saturday.

Coming out of the gate, Joevia controlled the race most of the way. It wasn't until the final turn that jockey Joel Rosario kicked Sir Winston into gear to earn the biggest victory of the horse's career.

NBC Sports @NBCSports
In the stretch, Sir Winston makes some MOVES to win the final jewel of the #TripleCrown! https://t.co/nYoDaBjFab

Here are the results from Belmont Park:

1st: Sir Winston

2nd: Tacitus

3rd: Joevia

4th: Tax

5th: Master Fencer

6th: Spinoff

7th: Everfast

8th: Intrepid Heart

9th: War of Will

10th: Bourbon War

Betting Payouts

Win: Sir Winston ($22.40, $8.80, $6.10)

Place: Tacitus ($3.90, $3.20)

Show: Joevia ($8.70)

If there was a defining characteristic of the three Triple Crown races, it was how unpredictable everything was. It started with a controversial finish at the Kentucky Derby with Country House being awarded the victory after Maximum Security was disqualified for interference.

✨ Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content

Country House also won at Churchill Downs with the second-longest odds in history (65-1), ahead of only 1913 champion Donerail (91-1), per Action Network's Evan Abrams.

The Preakness Stakes got things back on track with War of Will, who went off the board with the second-best odds, coming out on top. Any hope for a Triple Crown champion was dashed even before the race because Country House, along with the rest of the top four finishers at the Kentucky Derby, didn't make the trip to Pimlico.

Per the Belmont Stakes' official website, Sir Winston came off the board tied with Spinoff and Bourbon War for the fifth-best odds in the field (10-1).

Despite the variance in competitors on the track, there was one repeat winner in this year's Triple Crown. Trainer Mark E. Casse won the final two legs with War of Will and Sir Winston.

Rob Longley @longleysunsport
Big win for Canada's top thoroughbred trainer Mark Casse, as Sir Winston takes the Belmont Stakes. That's two of the three Crown jewels for Casse, who won the Preakness with War of Will.

Even though Sir Winston won't be considered the most unlikely winner of the three Triple Crown races this year, he wasn't an expected champion on the grueling 1.5-mile track.

The Tracy Farmer-owned horse hadn't won a race since December 2018, finished outside the top four in the Tampa Bay Derby and Blue Grass Stakes and didn't take part in either of the Kentucky Derby or Preakness Stakes.

Tacitus, who was the betting favorite (8-5), also had a strong performance, crossing the finish line right behind Sir Winston. He had two top-three finishes in two Triple Crown races.

The ultimate prize was just out of jockey Jose Ortiz's grasp riding Tacitus, but this was still a strong four-week run for him after he previously came in third at the Kentucky Derby.

Since 2015, the Triple Crown has been feast or famine, with two horses winning all three legs (American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018). In 2016, 2017 and 2019 there wasn't one repeat winner in the field.

Maximum Security's disqualification completely altered the trajectory of this year's events. He hadn't lost a race going into Churchill Downs, including the Florida Derby in March.

Country House turned into one of the biggest Cinderella stories in recent sports history. His team decided to go out on top, opening things up to a field that didn't have one dominant performer.

Sir Winston, Rosario and Casse grabbed the spotlight in thrilling fashion to close out the Triple Crown season on a high note.