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Jena Antonucci became the first female trainer to win a Triple Crown race, as her colt Arcangelo won the Belmont Stakes on Saturday and brought down the curtain on a tumultuous five-week span of racing.
Jockey Javier Castellano, who won the Kentucky Derby aboard Mage, skillfully guided Arcangelo along the rail and burst past Preakness winner National Treasure and held off Forte in the final strides.
Antonucci’s historic triumph came on the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s famed win at Belmont for owner Penny Chenery, one of horse racing’s best-known female figures.
The Florida-based Antonucci goes into the Triple Crown record books and will sure to be mentioned alongside Julie Krone who is the only woman jockey to have won one of horse racing’s three big races.
Krone’s Colonial Affair won the 1993 Belmont Stakes won the 1993 Belmont Stakes to become the first, and so far only, female jockey to win the third jewel of “The Test of the Champion.”
Arcangelo paid $17.80 for a $2 win bet. Forte placed second and Tapit Twice came in third.
As Arcangelo was holding off the hard-charging Forte, Antonucci was screaming and jumping with every stride before nearly falling to her knees in joyful relief.
Moments after her unprecedented victory, Antonucci told other would-be history makers to never lose hope.
“Never give up. If you can’t find a seat at the table, make your own table,” she told Fox Sports. “Build you team and never give up. You are seen. People see you, just keep working your butt off.”
The Belmont was one the last trophies not on the mantel of the Hall of Fame jockey Castellano, The New York -based rider said this triumph had special value.
“It means a lot to me,” he said in the winner’s circle. “My kids grew up in New York. We live in New York City here for 22 years. My neighbors always root for me. Now we have time to celebrate.”
Arcangelo covered the arduous 1 1/2-mile race just outside of New York City in 2:29.23.
“I give all the credit to the horse,” Castellano said. “This is a wonderful horse. I’m really happy for her (Antonucci), you know, she’s a really good woman. She’s a good horseman.”
Saturday’s Belmont Stakes was the third and final jewel of the Triple Crown, capping what’s supposed to be Thoroughbred horse racing’s annual five-week showcase.
Instead, the past 35-plus days have been filled with questions about the sport’s viability in the wake of several equine fatalities on this huge stage.
A week ago Friday, Churchill Downs, host of the Kentucky Derby, announced it had suspended racing on the famed oval to investigate the spike in fatalities.
A dozen horses died there during the spring season, a relatively large number compared with 15 to die at Kentucky tracks in all of 2022.
And shortly before National Treasure won the Preakness, the ordinarily joyful day at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore was marred by tragedy when Havnameltdown broke down at the top of the stretch of the $200,000 Grade IIII Chick Lang Stakes and had to be euthanized.
The Associated Press contributed.
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