Palace Malice held off Oxbow and Orb to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 8, 2013. The colt owned by Cot Campbell's Dogwood Stable won the race by 3 1/4 lengths on a fast track that just hours earlier had been muddy from a 24 hour downpour.
Bugler announcing post time at Belmont Stakes
Palace Malice ridden by Mike Smith was one of five entries by Todd Fletcher and came through earning $600,000 of the $1 million purse, giving Fletcher his third win in a Triple Crown Race.
© 2013 by Dfmock
Palace Malice ridden by Mike Smith was one of five entries by Todd Fletcher and came through earning $600,000 of the $1 million purse, along with giving Fletcher his third win in a Triple Crown Race. Palace Malice ran without the experimental blinkers worn in the Kentucky Derby
The 14 horse field, the largest since 1996, got off to a fast, even start on a warm sunny day. Palace Malice seized the lead with a quarter mile to the finish line. Neither Oxbow, the Preakness winner or Orb, the Kentucky Derby winner were able to come through with a winning kick.
Gary Stevens riding Oxbow was happy to take second place, but Shug McGaughey was obviously disappointed with the way Orb ran. He had every opportunity to catch Palace Malice and Oxbow in the Belmont Stakes, and he was unable to take advantage of the long stretch.
Although no horse was in the running to win the Triple Crown, as all three races were won by different horses, this year's Belmont Stakes marks the sixth time in eight years that separate horses have won all three events.