Trainers won Triple Crown series
An odd, controversial Triple Crown season ended with another jolt, as Sir Winston won the Belmont Stakes from off the pace at 10-1 odds.
Compared to the Kentucky Derby disqualification over a rider’s objection and Bodexpress’ Preakness Stakes joyride, the Belmont was a relatively uneventful race Saturday.
But this year’s Triple Crown season was undeniably unique. And while it might not be memorable in the ways that American Pharoah and Justify made it so in recent years, it absolutely won’t be forgotten soon.
With that in mind, let’s take a look back at the three Triple Crown races of 2019.
Who won?
Mark Casse: War of Will didn’t complete the double by winning the Belmont, but Casse did with Sir Winston. That’s an exceptional Triple Crown season for any trainer, and Casse also deserves credit for his willingness to run War of Will in all three races. War of Will was the only horse to do that in 2019, and his weariness probably led to a flat performance in the Belmont.
Bill Mott: Despite the controversy surrounding Country House being awarded Mott’s first Kentucky Derby, that horse still crossed the finish line second at 65-1 odds. Country House didn’t return for another Triple Crown race, but another of Mott’s horses — Tacitus — was in the money in both of his Triple Crown starts, being placed third in the Derby (after Maximum Security’s DQ) and finishing second in the Belmont.
Japan’s Road to the Kentucky Derby: There was some criticism when Master Fencer was added to the Derby field ahead of some other horses. The Japanese-based horse’s connections accepted an invitation when others ahead of him in the Derby’s Japanese qualification system had declined. It turns out Master Fencer showed up and proved he did belong. He was gaining late in both the Derby (sixth) and the Belmont (fifth).
Joel Rosario: Jockey Rosario’s ride on Sir Winston is rightfully receiving a lot of credit for Saturday’s Belmont win. This was after a Preakness in which Rosario rode Everfast to second place at 29-1. Even in the Derby, Rosario rode Game Winner from 18th to a fifth-place standing after the DQ.
Other jockeys might get more attention, but in a big race, there’s no one currently better than Rosario.
Derby trail paths through Florida and Louisiana: Note that the top performers of this Triple Crown season did not come through California. While the equine fatalities at Santa Anita might have had something to do with that, it might have played out this way anyway. Maximum Security had raced only at Gulfstream Park in Florida before the Kentucky Derby. War of Will raced this spring at Fair Grounds in Louisiana. Country House ran at Gulfstream and the Fair Grounds before going to Oaklawn for the Arkansas Derby. And Sir Winston ran in the Tampa Bay Derby and in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland after a February race at Aqueduct.
Who lost?
Horse racing in general: And that’s not necessarily because of the Kentucky Derby controversy. If anything, for a sport so often scrutinized for safety, widespread attention for actually enforcing rules intended for safety was probably a positive thing. But there was a lot to unpack here, and it was messy. The process after the Derby dragged out on live television, and the stewards then did a poor job of explaining their decision (though the current legal battles do explain such caution), and then a 15-day suspension of Luis Saez — also unexplained — seemed overly harsh for his actions. Then you had Maximum Security on the sideline. Maximum Security’s connections bypassed an opportunity in the Belmont to return and perhaps change the narrative while also gaining the interest of fans who normally aren’t tuning into horse racing.
Basically, when we look back on the 2019 Triple Crown season, it won’t be fondly. And there are many reasons for that. Even before the Derby, the headlines were bad, with Santa Anita’s situation being especially horrific. And remember Omaha Beach’s surprising scratch? Think how the morning-line favorite running in the Derby could have changed things.
Some great underdog stories:
Though he was bet down to near-favorite status on Derby day, Maximum Security was really quite the underdog in Triple Crown circles. He had a relatively obscure sire in New Year’s Day and debuted for a claiming price of $16,000 in December. Trainer Jason Servis and jockey Saez, while each is accomplished in the field, would have been new faces with intriguing new storylines to follow on the quest for a Triple Crown. And then in the Preakness, Maryland’s local Alwaysmining and trainer Kelly Rubley would have been an outstanding underdog story. But that just didn’t pan out on the track.
The top Triple Crown trainers:
Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher have obviously earned their reputations as the top 3-year-old trainers in horse racing. But this wasn’t their year. Neither had a horse in the top three of any of the Triple Crown races. Pletcher had Cutting Humor, Spinoff and Intrepid Heart miss honors, while Baffert skipped the Belmont after Improbable went off as the post-time favorite in the Derby and Preakness.