CNN
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Dornoch crossed the finish line first Saturday evening in the Belmont Stakes, the first time the race was held in Saratoga Springs, New York, 200 miles north of Belmont Park, which is being renovated.

The Danny Gargan-trained horse broke away late on the final turn to take the lead of the 10-horse field with Luis Chais. The Kentucky Derby Champion Mystic Dawn and Preakness Stakes Champion cheese the gray, who Among the favorites for the final jewel of this year’s Triple Crown, he is tied for third with betting favorites Sierra Leone.

Marked Saturday First time The race was run on a different track in the 156-year history of the Belmont Stakes.

Surprise Kentucky Derby champion Mystic Dawn failed to keep alive a chance at a Triple Crown victory after finishing second in the Preakness Stakes last month.

Cheese the Gray won the race, holding off a challenge from Mystic Don in the home stretch.

Sierra Leone was the pre-race Belmont Stakes favorite despite two champions lining up at Saturday’s start.

The 3-year-old was one of the horses involved in the Derby’s dramatic photo-finish, eventually breaking free from a crowded group to finish second behind Mystic Dawn.

Derby, in a news release, called it “the closest three-horse photograph since 1947.”

“If (Sierra Leone) had been in a straight line, it’s hard to imagine she wouldn’t have won,” coach Chad Brown said. New York Post.

“But it’s horse racing, and a nice consolation prize is the Belmont.”

The field of star contenders who competed in Saratoga Springs on Saturday had to adapt the course and distance for this year’s race.

For years the Belmont Stakes has been known as the “Test of Champions” because of its one-and-a-half-mile course on the large sandy track at Belmont Park, but this year, the race has scaled back. miles and feet.

1. Conquer Gray (8-1)
2. Regression (10-1)
3. Mystic Dawn (5-1)
4. The Wine Steward (15-1)
5. Antiquity (12-1)
6. Dornoch (15-1)
7. Defense (20-1)
8. Honor Mary (12-1)
9. Sierra Leone (9-5)
10. Mindframe (7-2)