I’ll Have Another was supposed to have the latest chance at adding another name to the list of Triple Crown on Saturday at the Belmont Stakes, running for history. Instead, he has been scratched from the race and will be retiredas a result of a tendon injury sustained in a Friday practice.
VIDEO: I’ll Have Another Retires, Horse Racing Expert Discusses Fallout
What does that mean for horse racing? SB Nation’s Matt Gardner, editor of And Down The Stretch They Come, analyzes it in a new video from SB Nation’s YouTube channel.
“It looked like we might have our first Triple Crown winner since 1978,” Gardner says, “but instead, the jinx lives on for one more year.” Tendon injuries like I’ll Have Another’s are typically not life-threatening for a horse, but make thoroughbred racing near-impossible. But a recovery from another tendon injury is much harder for a horse, and given his immense value to breeders, Gardner says, I’ll Have Another has likely started his last race.
With I’ll Have Another out of the Belmont, Gardner suggests that Dullahan and Union Rags will become the heavy favorites and likely winners. But the mood at Belmont Park is likely to be “very much subdued.”
For more on the Belmont Stakes and the race for the Triple Crown, stay with this StoryStream; for more on I’ll Have Another’s injury and retirement, follow this StoryStream. Check out SB Nation’s horse racing blog And Down The Stretch They Come. There, you’ll also find A Beginner’s Guide To Following Horse Racing and a glossary of horse racing terms.
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