Horse Racing -- War Emblem stumbles, Sarava pulls upset

War Emblem was running for history. Sarava was running for respect.

With a stumble out of the starting gate, War Emblem could not recover and his run for the Triple Crown was essentially over.

On the other hand, Sarava, a 70-1 longshot, made the most of it. Coming around the last turn in second place of the 1-1/2 mile race, he found himself in perfect position to make history of his own.

He came around that turn and continued to come on strong against the leading horse, Medaglia d'Oro. He then took control about halfway down the stretch and came home first for the biggest upset in the history of the Belmont Stakes in 2:29-3/5.

Medaglia d'Oro did finish second, with Sunday Break finishing third. Magic Weisner, the horse that was closing fast on War Emblem at the Preakness, finished fourth in a performance that proved his Preakness run was no fluke.

As for War Emblem, a front runner by nature, the stumble at the gate took him out of his pre-race plan, which was to take an early lead. Instead, he found himself in fourth place around the first turn and boxed in along the rail.

His jockey, Victor Expinoza, still worked him into a good position, and halfway down the backstretch, War Emblem did take the lead. It was short lived.

Medaglia d'Oro fought back to the lead, and War Emblem just seemed to lose his fight. He continued to drift back and at the end, finished eighth.

For War Emblem's trainer, Bob Baffert, it was the third time he has won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, but failed to win the Belmont Stakes. His other two horses were Silver Charm (1997) and Real Quiet (1998).

Sarava didn't exactly come out of nowhere though. A solid horse in Ken McPeek's stable, he suffered an injury to his right front hoof earlier this year.

After treating the injury, McPeek, who also trained Kentucky Derby favorite Harlan's Holiday, brought Sarava back slowly.

In his previous start prior to Belmont, he won Pimlico's Sir Barton by four lengths.

So in the end, history was made at the Belmont Stakes. It wasn't the history that horse racing fans wanted to see -- the first Triple Crown winner in 24 years -- but it was still history and a great story.

Sarava, a 70-1 longshot, recovers from an injury, wins the Belmont Stakes and goes down in history with the biggest upset ever in the third crown of horse racing's Triple Crown.

Here is how all of the horses finished.

Belmont Stakes -- Order of Finish

1. Sarava

2. Medaglia d'Oro

3. Sunday Break

4. Magic Weisner

5. Proud Citizen

6. Essence of Dubai

7. Like A Hero

8. War Emblem

9. Wiseman's Ferry

10. Perfect Drift

11. Artax Too

Scratched: Puzzlement