Mo Donegal Wins Belmont Stakes; Derby Winner Rich Strike Finishes Sixth

Rich Strike, the 80-1 winner of the Kentucky Derby, was held out of the Preakness so he would be well rested for the Belmont Stakes, but in the end it didn’t matter. Mo Donegal, the favorite at 5-2 as the horses entered the gates, won the final jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown, and for the fourth year in a row, the three races had three different winners.

There were no horses that ran all three races this year. Mo Donegal had raced in the Derby, but finished out of the money and skipped the Preakness. Preakness winner Early Voting did not race at Belmont. Nest was second, and Skippylongstocking was third. Mo Donegal and Nest are both trained by Todd Pletcher. Mo Donegal was Pletcher’s fourth Belmont winner.