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In the old days, horses often raced between the Triple Crown events.

In 1948, Citation won the Jersey Stakes before completing the Triple Crown with a record time in the Belmont.

“I think they trained harder and for longer distances,” Maryland-based Hall of Fame trainer King Leatherbury said.

Still, Leatherbury, 82, compares trying to win three stakes races in a span of six weeks to manual labor.

“You did a ditch, and the first day, you might dig 40 yards or something. The next day, you might dig another 40 yards, but the third day, you’re going to say: ‘I can’t go as hard. I need a break,’ ” Leatherbury said.

Six of the past14 horses who won the first two Triple Crown legs but failed in the Belmont finished second there. Three had a realistic chance but faded in the stretch: Real Quiet lost by a nose to Victory Gallop in 1998, Silver Charm by three-quarters of a length to Touch Gold in 1997 and Smarty Jones by a length to Birdstone in 2004.

Motion believes the Belmont’s larger fields hurt the chances for a Triple Crown.

American Pharoah will be going up against seven others at Belmont Park. A year ago, another Triple Crown hopeful, California Chrome, finished fourth in a field filled with fresh “shooters” — or “cheaters,” as the favorite’s co-owner, Steve Coburn, called Belmont winner Tonalist before apologizing.

“It’s not like we’re that far from it having happened, and I think people really get caught up in the fact that we haven’t had a Triple Crown winner,” Motion said. “Everyone wants to be in these races and take a shot … and that makes it so much harder than it used to be.”