THE TRIPLE CROWN: NOBODY SAID IT WAS GONNA BE EASY

In this June 8, 1958, file photo, Tim Tam eats hay in a stall the day after the Belmont. The Calumet Farm bay colt finished second to Cavan by 5 1/2 lengths after running the final quarter-mile with a broken bone in his right front ankle. (AP Photo/Jacob Harris, File)

In this June 7, 1969, file photo, Virginia-bred Arts and Letters and jockey Braulio Baeza, front, passes Majestic Prince and jockey Bill Hartack, left, to win the Belmont Stakes. Hartack was criticized by many for moving too late in the stretch in the loss to Arts and Letters. (AP Photo, File)

In this June 9, 1979, file photo, Coastal (owned by Virginian William Haggin Perry) and jockey Ruben Hernandez, second from right, make the move to pass Spectacular Bid (5) and jockey Ron Franklin on the final turn during the Belmont Stakes. Spectacular Bid stepped on a safety pin in his stall the morning of the race and would later fade in the stretch under Franklin to finish third. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm, File)

In this June 7, 1997, file photo, Touch Gold and jockey Chris McCarron, bottom, pass Silver Charm and jockey Gary Stevens, top, and Free House, left, to win the Belmont Stakes. With 75 yards to go, Touch Gold snuck up on Stevens, who only caught the horse out of the corner of his eye, and Silver Charm did not react until 10 jumps from the wire when it was already too late. (AP Photo/Bill Kost)

In 1998,  much of the blame for Real Quiet not winning the Triple Crown went to Kent Desormeaux, who, it’s said, jumped out too quickly at the beginning, causing Real Quiet to fade at the end. He was run down and beaten by a nose by Victory Gallop in an impossibly close finish. The homestretch has rarely been treated to such drama, with 80,162 spectators surely aware that they’d witnessed a race for the ages.  (NYRA Photo)

 With a quarter mile to go, Charismatic fractured two bones in his left front leg but still finished third behind 29-1 long shot Lemon Drop Kid. (Bill Kostroun/AP)

In this June 8, 2002, file photo, War Emblem and jockey Victor Espinoza, right, stumble into Magic Weisner and jockey Richard Migliore as they leave the starting gate during the Belmont Stakes. The front-running War Emblem never recovered from the early collision, resulting in an eighth-place finish behind 70-1 long shot Sarava. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

Over 120,000 people packed into Belmont Park to watch Smarty Jones chase history. It’s still the largest crowd in New York racing history. He appeared to have the race won, before Birdstone, a 36-1 longshot, caught him at the end. (Richard Drew/AP)

A stunning 10-length Preakness win brought Funny Cide back to his home state, where the crowd, 101,000 strong made their loyalties known as he was introduced and then as he took the lead rounding the first turn. But the now famous gelding couldn’t be rated and Empire Maker cruised past Funny Cide, leaving the hometown hero five lengths behind, in a distant third place.  (Mark Lennihan/AP)

Before the 2008 Belmont Stakes, Rick Dutrow, trainer of the bay colt Big Brown, guaranteed that his horse would win the Triple Crown…Oops. (Richard Drew/AP)

Finally, In 1981 Virginia-bred Pleasant Colony lost the Belmont to Summing and Highland Blade. A poor ride seemed to doom the son of His Majesty who was parked out four wide following a leisurely pace. Here's the video, you be the judge...