Mo Donegal won the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes, the third and final leg of the Triple Crown for thoroughbred racing.
Trainer Todd Pletcher’s Mo Donegal entered the race with 5–2 odds to win, while Nest, which entered at 8–1, placed second.
Mike Repole, the owner of both horses, said it was “his derby” ahead of Saturday’s win.
“This has been a dream I’ve had for 40 years,” Repole said after winning the race. “This is New York’s race. ...Getting first and second here ... this is the biggest day of my racing life.”
Mo Donegal’s win marks the fourth consecutive year that three different horses have won the three Triple Crown races, after Rich Strike won this year’s Kentucky Derby and Early Voting won the Preakness Stakes. The last time this happened in four straight years was between 1926 and ’29.
Skippylongstocking and We The People finished third and fourth respectively in the 1 1/2 mile race.
We The People, a newcomer to the Triple Crown trail who got out to an early lead, entered Saturday’s race with the best odds at 2–1, while Mo Denegal’s 5–2 and Rich Strike’s 7–2 odds were second-and third-highest ahead of the race.
Rich Strike, after not racing in the Preakness Stakes on May 21 , finished sixth. Richard Dawson, owner of Red TR-Racing, made the decision for the horse to skip racing in the Preakness to train and prepare for today’s race instead.
