Ten Failed Triple Crown Attempts since 1978
Here is some things gathered about the Failed Triple Crown attempts of the last 30 years. This is meant to indicate how hard it is to accomplish and how impressive it would be if Big Brown does succeed.
1979 - Spectacular Bid - 3rd at Belmont (spoiler - Coastal)
1981 - Pleasant Colony - 3rd at Belmont (spoiler - Summing)
1987 - Alysheba - 4th at Belmont (spoiler - Bet Twice)
1989 - Sunday Silence - 2nd at Belmont (spoiler - Easy Goer)
1997 - Silver Charm - 2nd at Belmont (spoiler - Touch Gold)
1998 - Real Quiet - 2nd at Belmont (spoiler - Victory Gallop)
1999 - Charismatic - 3rd at Belmont (spoiler - Lemon Drop Kid)
2002 - War Emblem - 8th at Belmont (spoiler - Sarava)
2003 - Funny Cide - 3rd at Belmont (spoiler - Empire Maker)
2004 - Smarty Jones - 2nd at Belmont (spoiler - Birdstone)
VIDEOS:
Spectacular Bid in 1979:
Spectacular Bid losing the 1979 Belmont Stakes:
Pleasant Colony in 1981:
Pleasant Colony losing the 1981 Belmont Stakes to Summing:
1987 - Alysheba vs Bet Twice (spoiler) and 1989 - Sunday Silence vs Easy Goer (spoiler)
Alysheba losing the 1987 Belmont Stakes to Bet Twice:
Sunday Silence losing the 1989 Belmont Stakes to Easy Goer:
Silver Charm losing the 1997 Belmont Stakes to Touch Gold:
Real Quiet (and Kent Desormeaux) losing the 1998 Belmont Stakes to Victory Gallop (did Desormeaux move to early?) - One of the great (or most heart-breaking) finishes of all-time:
Charismatic losing the 1999 Belmont Stakes to Lemon Drop Kid:
War Emblem losing the 2002 Belmont Stakes:
Funny Cide losing to Empire Maker in 2003 Belmont Stakes:
Smarty Jones in 2004 (full video of all 3 races):
