Originally published June 10, 2002 on the New York Racing Association, Belmont Stakes web site.

ELMONT, N.Y. — The 134th Belmont Stakes is destined to be remembered more for the records it set (attendance, parimutuel wagering, biggest longshot winner) and The Stumble that might have cost War Emblem the Triple Crown, than for the uncanny faith that trainer Kenny McPeek had in himself and his colt, the victorious Sarava.

Already the media’s horse-racing dilettantes are saying that the astonishing Belmont outcome proves that this is a mediocre crop of 3-year-olds and that War Emblem is as counterfeit as a $3 bill because, to quote one idiot, "Great horses aren’t shoved aside by 70-1 shots."

That’s completely unfair to War Emblem, insulting to Sarava, and downright untrue. Gallant Fox, the 1930 Triple Crown winner, was upset by a 100-1 shot in the Travers at Saratoga; Carry Back’s 1961 Triple Crown bid was ruined by 65-1 shot Sherluck in the Belmont; and Damascus lost the 1967 Kentucky Derby to a 30-1 shot but went on to become Horse of the Year.

All those "losers" are in the Hall of Fame.

So just because Sarava shocked the Belmont crowd of 103,222 by paying $142.50 for a $2 win ticket, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he will exit the big stage as quickly as he arrived. Nor does it mean that War Emblem won’t turn out to be a truly exceptional horse. Always remember that if a Spectacular Bid can lose the Belmont, as he did in 1979, anybody can.

Some media blockheads also seemed more interested in pounding trainer D. Wayne Lukas than praising McPeek. Almost gleefully, they pointed out that Proud Citizen, the colt who finished second for Lukas in the Derby and third in the Preakness, was only fifth in the Belmont and suffered a minor leg injury that caused him to be taken off the track in a horse ambulance.

"Chalk up another injury for D. Wayne Lukas, who ran Proud Citizen relentlessly this spring," a particularly mean-spirited column said.

Relentlessly?

The colt didn’t start until the Santa Anita Derby on April 13, the first of five races in a two-month period. But was that any worse than War Emblem getting five starts in two and a half months? Was trainer Bobby Frankel "relentless" in running Medaglia d’Oro five times from March 17 through June 8?

Nope. It was just another cheap shot at Lukas, who was only a bit player at the beginning of the year, when McPeek was the straw that stirred the Triple Crown drink because of Repent and Harlan’s Holiday, his potent 1-2 punch. By the time the Belmont rolled around, however, McPeek was the Triple Crown’s forgotten man, a trainer who inspired more pity than interest. He was yesterday’s news.

McPeek’s breathtaking descent from the penthouse to the outhouse began when Repent was knocked out of the hunt by an injury in the Illinois Derby on April 6. Then Harlan’s Holiday, the lukewarm Derby favorite, finished seventh to War Emblem at Churchill Downs and fourth to him in the Preakness at Pimlico.

Instead of waiting until McPeek was out of the Triple Crown spotlight and back in Louisville, Harlan’s owner, Jack Wolf, fired him by fax on Wednesday afternoon, two days after McPeek had left for New York. Each said nice things about the other to the media, but those remarks were as transparent as a piece of Saran Wrap.

The truth was, Wolf blamed McPeek for Harlan’s Triple Crown fizzle. The not-so-subtle implication was that McPeek wasn’t enough of a big-time trainer, so he turned his horses over to Todd Pletcher, an accomplished Lukas product.

The way it worked out, Wolf now is Russell Reineman’s most serious competitor for this year’s Empty Bobblehead Doll award. Reineman, 84, is the Chicago businessman who declared after War Emblem’s smashing win in the Illinois Derby that he wouldn’t take him to Louisville because he wasn’t good enough to run for the roses.

If Reineman was fishing for a buyer, he hooked a big one when Prince
Ahmed Bin Salman offered him $900,000 for 90 per cent of War Emblem, despite bone chips in his ankles. Reineman grabbed the money and set an octogenarian world record for the dash to the nearest bank.

At least Reineman needed the money to bail out his failing business. With Wolf, it was all about ego and power. Obviously, it never crossed Wolf’s mind that, when all is said and done, astute racetrackers might be saying that McPeek did a masterful job in milking Harlan’s Holiday for wins in the Florida Derby and the Blue Grass Stakes.

So Sarava’a win in the Belmont was as good for McPeek’s soul as it was bad for Wolf’s image.

The colt had to miss the big Triple Crown prep races because a serious quarter-crack injury put him behind schedule. But the third-stringer showed McPeek something he liked in winning the Sir Barton Stakes on Preakness Day.

Naturally, the media dismissed his decision to run in the Belmont as little more than an act of desperation by a frustrated trainer. As it turned out, however, McPeek knew what he was doing. Now he’ll have to deal with the opinion that Sarava’s victory was tainted by War Emblem’s bad break.

For those who claim to be handicapping wizards, their failure to give Sarava a chance was the final mistake in an embarrassing Triple Crown. Before the Derby, most completely overlooked War Emblem. Before the Preakness, Magic Weisner and breeder-owner-trainer Nancy Albert made for a warm-and-fuzzy human interest story, but nobody dreamed the gelding would finish a close second to War Emblem.

And before the Belmont, the vast majority of attention revolved around War Emblem and celebrity trainer Bob Baffert, with most of the rest of it spread around among Proud Citizen, Sunday Break, Perfect Drift, and Megdalia d’Oro. Even a Kentucky paper, the Lexington Herald-Leader, didn’t bother to do a pre-Belmont story about local boy McPeek, his firing, and his work with Sarava.

Finally, it would be premature to dimiss Sarava’s victory as a "fluke" or say it only proves that this, indeed, is a mediocre crop of 3-year-olds. Of the 16 horses who have had their Triple Crown dreams spoiled in the Belmont, all but two proved to be better than the horses who upset them in the Triple Crown’s third jewel.

The exceptions are Arts and Letters, who upset Majestic Prince in the 1969 Belmont and went on to be Horse of the Year, and Victory Gallop, who was better than Real Quiet in 1998 even though Real Quiet won the divisional championship.

So history is on War Emblem’s side. Heck, had he gotten War Emblem’s start in the 1978 Belmont, Affirmed wouldn’t have beaten Alydar. On the other hand, Omaha in 1936, Assault in 1946 and Citation in 1948 all were good enough to overcome poor starts in their Belmonts. And in the 1977 Derby, Seattle Slew got a War Emblem-like start, but recovered to win.

In every sport, there’s always something to argue about. But only in racing can one horse’s poor start lead to another’s immortality, not to mention a $142.50 payoff for all those smart enough, or lucky enough, to see a Belmont winner where others only saw an unknown colt with an unlucky trainer.

William F. “Billy” Reed, a free-lance writer based in Louisville, Ky., has covered Thoroughbred racing for 38 years. He is a former sports editor of The Courier-Journal in Louisville and a former senior writer with Sports Illustrated. He has covered the last three Triple Crown winners and 20 runnings of the Belmont Stakes.

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