Haskin's Belmont Wrapup (Cont.)

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McPeek had slain his giant. The words "poetic justice" flowed from the mouths of numerous people. The good guy had finished first. Frankel came down to the track, leaned on the railing, and said of his horse, "He ran his ass off." Lukas, standing next to Frankel, learned that Proud Citizen had been pulled up, as a horse ambulance whizzed by him. It was later discovered the colt had suffered a cracked shin, and will be out three to four months. The only other casualty was Sunday Break, who came back stiff behind.

Baffert's disappointment turned to relief when he realized the ambulance was not for War Emblem. "When I saw the ambulance it scared the hell out of me," he said. "I'm very disappointed, because the fans didn't get a chance to see the real War Emblem. We just had bad racing luck today. I'm going to reload and, hopefully, come back next year. This race was great for New York."

When the McPeeks returned to their hotel later that night, the first ones to congratulate them were Baffert and his fiancée, Jill Moss.

Jenner stopped by the barn, happy that he and Jorgensen had completed their own personal Triple Crown. "I won the Belmont by proxy," he said.

When Jorgensen began mixing Sarava's dinner, the horse went wild and nearly jumped the webbing. "Kenny, we better feed this sucker fast," she said.

For the McPeeks, this was one of their biggest steps forward. "In the last two years, Kenny lost his grandmother and grandfather," Sue said. "We recently lost Blinkers (their beloved and infamous black Lab) and my friend Dana. I always think of her whenever we run in a big race. I always look up and say, 'OK, Dana, please, this time.' But it hasn't worked out. Then I say, 'I don't know when, but you're going to help at some point.' I thought it would be in the Derby and Preakness, but it turned out to be the Belmont."

The morning after the race, Gary and Kitty Drake stopped by the barn. Gary went over to Sarava's stall and noticed something was different. "You look bigger today, Sarava," he said to his horse. "Bigger than life."

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