Belmont Stakes 2021 Payout: Prize-Money Purse and Triple Crown Order of Finish

The final jewel of the 2021 Triple Crown has come and gone. Essential Quality won this year's Belmont Stakes, edging out Hot Rod Charlie and pulling away from the rest of the pack.

"I knew it was going to be a battle down the line," trainer Brad H. Cox said of the final stretch on the NBC Broadcast.

The total prize purse for this year's Belmont was $1.5 million after dipping to $1 million last year. Essential Quality will claim $800,000 as the winner. The final payout, according to TwinSpires.com, is as follows:

Here's a look at the full order of finish:

2021 Preakness Results

1. Essential Quality

2. Hot Rod Charlie

3. Rombauer

4. Known Agenda

5. Bourbonic

6. Rock Your World

7. Overtook

8. France Go de Ina

There was no chance of a Triple Crown winner coming into Saturday's race, as Medina Spirit finished first at the Kentucky Derby and Rombauer won the Preakness. Still, there was plenty of intrigue surrounding the event.

Some of that intrigue had little to do with the race itself, as Medina Spirit's failed post-race drug test has cast a shadow over the horse racing world. The New York Racing Association barred trainer Bob Baffert from entering horses in races at New York racetracks, including the Belmont, pending an investigation into the failed Derby test.

Much of the attention then turned to some of the other horses who had run in the previous two Triple Crown races. Rombauer was obviously coming off the Preakness win, while Essential Quality was an early Kentucky Derby favorite who was bumped early in that race.

Known Agenda, Rock Your World, Hot Rod Charlie and Bourbonic all ran in the Kentucky Derby. France Go de Ina ran in the Preakness.

Essential Quality, however, was not involved in the Preakness. Cox instead wanted to focus on the Belmont.

"A mile-and-a-quarter is a lot for a three-year-old in the first part of May, and he definitely hasn't went the wrong way physically at all," Cox told reporters. "Real happy with what we've seen since the Derby and it gives us enough confidence to move forward and pursue the Belmont."

Clearly, focusing on the final jewel paid off for Cox, jockey Luis Saez and Essential Quality's racing team. The horse now has six wins in seven races, with the Kentucky Derby the only blemish on his career.

This marked the first Triple Crown win for Cox and for Saez. Should Medina Spirit's Kentucky Derby win end up being vacated, Cox will pick up an additional win. He also trained Mandaloun, who crossed the finish line second in that race.