Mo Donegal won the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday night, beating out Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike and closing out the third and final leg of the Triple Crown season.
We the People, whose ownership group includes celebrity chef Bobby Flay, was the favorite heading into the notoriously long race which tests competitors’ speed and endurance on the mile-and-a-half-long track, which has come to be known as the “test of a champion.”
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. celebrates after Mo Donegal (6) won the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 11, 2022, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Mo Donegal finished the race in 2 minutes, 28.28 seconds, ahead of Nest and Skippylongstocking, giving trainer Todd Pletcher his sixth victory in the Triple Crown race and his fourth at the Belmont Stakes.
Rich Strike stood a slim chance of winning the Belmont Stakes, even after skipping Preakness to rest up. Had he won, Rich Strike would’ve been the first horse since 1995 to win both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont but not the Preakness. He finished in sixth place.
Horses leave the starting gate during the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race Saturday, June 11, 2022, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Mo Donegal (6), with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., won the race. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Owner Seth Klarman and trainer Chad Brown announced last month that they would skip the Belmont with hopes of competing in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York on Aug. 27.
Mo Donegal (6), with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. up, crosses the finish line to win the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 11, 2022, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Paulina Dedaj is a Digital Reporter for Fox News and Fox Business. Follow Paulina Dedaj on Twitter at @PaulinaDedaj. If you’ve got a tip, you can email Paulina at [email protected]
source: Fox News
