The 156th running of the Belmont Stakes was held this weekend at Saratoga Race Course in New York, with Dornoch overcoming 17-1 odds to pull off the major upset.
The horse is co-owned by former MLB All-Star Jayson Werth, who spent parts of two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2005-2006.
Werth, who was part of the Philadelphia Phillies team that won the World Series in 2008, said the Belmont Stakes victory is on the same level as that career accomplishment, via Tess DeMeyer of The Athletic:
Former MLB player Jayson Werth, who won a World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008, is a co-owner of Dornoch and said he places this victory “right up there with winning (on) the biggest stage.”
“Horse racing is the most underrated sport in the world, bar none. It’s the biggest game, you’ve got the Derby, the Preakness, the Belmont, we just won the Belmont,” Werth said. “This is as good as it gets in horse racing, it’s as good as it gets in sports.”
Dornoch finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby five weeks earlier and did not run in the ensuing Preakness Stakes.
The horse was jockeyed by Luis Saez, who won his second career Triple Crown race. It was the first win in a Triple Crown race for trainer Danny Gargan.
Dornoch’s win extended the streak of a different horse winning each of the three Triple Crown races to six consecutive years.
Jayson Werth’s Dodgers career
Werth hit .247/.338/.426 with 33 doubles, five triples, 23 home runs and 90 RBI in 191 career games for the Dodgers. He was originally selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the 22nd overall pick in the 1997 MLB Draft.
Werth did not appear in a game with the organization as he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. After two seasons with the Blue Jays, he was dealt to the Dodgers at the start of the 2004 season for Jason Frasor.
Werth went on to play four seasons with the Phillies before spending the final seven years of his career with the Washington Nationals.
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