Over the last 10 years, we have witnessed many astonishing feats in the sports world. Roger Federer won 16 Grand Slam Finals (and still counting) to surpass Pete Sampras for most in history, 6 no-hitters thrown during one season, Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals in Beijing, and Brett Favre retiring 957 times.
However, during this time, we have not witnessed the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. Actually, this feat last occurred back in 1978 when Affirmed won all three races. With a 33 year drought, there seems to be a higher level of build up during the racing season.
Since 1997, there have been seven horses that have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby & Preakness Stakes to only fall short in the Belmont Stakes. For each of those occurrences, the talk of a Triple Crown winner rose. Could it finally happen? Will this horse finally beat the streak?
The answer is yes. There will be a horse down the line that will win the Triple Crown and end this streak once and for all. Following the 2011 Kentucky Derby, Animal Kingdom was discussed to the fullest extent if it could be the next winner. On Preakness weekend, every media outlet was glued to Animal Kingdom to see if he will win and bring its success to the Belmont Stakes. He unfortunately fell short finishing in second place to Shackleford.
After Animal Kingdom failed to win at Preakness, the talk was over and the Belmont Stakes did not get the hype the Preakness received. It almost appeared that the Belmont was pushed away and would not be thought about until next year. The fact is that it deserves equal or more recognition than the Preakness. The Belmont Stakes started their inaugural race in 1867. Consider all the history and incredible moments that have occurred over the last 144 years.
I'm excited to say that we will witness the Triple Crown happen. If it's next year or 20 years from now, we will just have to be patient. Until that day, here is hoping for the best in 2012.