Longshot Sir Winston wins 2019 Belmont Stakes

Jack Baer
·Staff writer
Updated

Quite possibly the most controversial Triple Crown season in horse racing history has come to an end. Its final victor: longshot Sir Winston, who came in at 10/1 odds.

Sir Winston took the Belmont Stakes thanks to a powerful surge at the end of the race, overtaking Joevia from the outside to notch only its third career win in 10 starts. The horse had not competed in either the Kentucky Derby or Preakness Stakes.

Jockey Joel Rosario reacts atop Sir Winston (7) after winning the 151st running of the Belmont Stakes horse race , Saturday, June 8, 2019, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Steven Ryan)
It's been an interesting few Triple Crown races. (AP Photo/Steven Ryan)

Top jockey Joel Rosario actually opted to ride the 3-year-old for the race rather than his Preakness mount in Everfast. Clearly, the horse trained by Mark Casse ended up paying off.

Race favorite Tacitus came in second, while Joevia, who faced the race’s longest odds at 20/1 odds, eventually finished in third. Preakness winner War of Will ended all the way back in 9th.

2019 Belmont Stakes finish

  1. Sir Winston

  2. Tacitus

  3. Joevia

  4. Tax

  5. Master Fencer

  6. Spinoff

  7. Everfast

  8. Intrepid Heart

  9. War of Will

  10. Bourbon War

Another controversial win?

Because the shadow of the 2019 Kentucky Derby is inescapable, Sir Winston’s win came with a bit of controversy because the horse appeared to cut off War of Will when moving to the outside. No challenge came from the horse that faced the same controversy at the Kentucky Derby, possibly because the two horses shared a trainer in Casse.

It was probably for the best that Sir Winston’s win didn’t undergo another lengthy review, as the sport of horse racing might not have been able to handle another win by review.

Both the Preakness and Belmont came with a decent helping of what-if’s due to Country House’s controversial win at Churchill Downs, where the longshot was only handed victory after racing stewards ruled that apparent winner Maximum Security had improperly cut off War of Will on the way to its win.

Neither Country House nor Maximum Security ran the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, taking away any chance of a Triple Crown or a dramatic redemption arc.

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