Heartbreak comes in many different fashions.
Since 1978, 13 horses have won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, only to fall short in the Belmont Stakes, the longest and most difficult of the three races. One horse, I'll Have Another, didn't run.
American Pharoah, of course, defied that trend, winning the Triple Crown in 2015.
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There have been several reasons for that heartbreak on the Triple Crown circuit — some were injured, some ran well but just not well enough, and some flopped. Have the wide, sweeping turns of American's largest racetrack been a problem? Has the 1 and 1/2-mile distance been too grueling?
Here's a look at the 13 horses since Affirmed's Triple Crown in 1978 to fail in early June at Belmont Park.
Can Justify avoid the same pitfalls and become the 13th Triple Crown winner?
California Chrome, 2014
Buildup: The Art Sherman-trained colt had six career wins before the Kentucky Derby, including the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. He won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with no particular flash, just steady efforts.
Belmont: Then in the Belmont, he was there. Down the stretch, California Chrome was right there, coming wide on the far turn, and it appeared for a moment he had enough in the tank to run by a trio of horses and win the Triple Crown. He just didn't have the same burst he showed in the first two races and was less than two lengths short.
PHOTOS: Triple Crown misses | Triple Crown winners
Owner Steve Coburn called running rested horses in the Belmont the "coward's way out." But that's what makes the Triple Crown so difficult to achieve — it takes a truly special horse to best a rested field while running a fourth race in two months.
Finish: 4th
Lengths back: 1.5
Beyond: California Chrome finished third in the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2014 and will run a few more races this summer before returning to the Breeders' Cup this fall. After that, the plan is to have him retire and stud in Kentucky.
I'll Have Another, 2012
Buildup: I'll Have Another entered the Derby as the sixth betting choice, but ran down favorite Bodemeister to give trainer Doug O'Neill his first victory in a Triple Crown race. He did the same thing in the Preakness as the second betting choice, once again catching Bob Baffert's Bodemeister to win by a neck.
Belmont: O'Neill and owner Paul Reddam announced a day before the 2012 Belmont that I'll Have Another wouldn't run due to a tendon injury. Union Rags, a Derby contender, won the final leg of the Triple Crown, besting Paynter by a neck after flying down the rail.
Finish: Did not run
PHOTOS: Belmont food
Lengths back: N/A
Beyond: I'll Have Another retired upon the announcement of his injury and was sold to Big Red Farm in Japan, where he's currently a stud.
Big Brown, 2008
Buildup: Big Brown was a 2-1 favorite in the Kentucky Derby and a 1-5 favorite in the Preakness. He won both handily, giving him five wins in five career starts.
Belmont: Big Brown's Triple Crown chances seemed doomed before he ever got to the gate at Belmont Park. He only worked out once between the Preakness and Belmont because of a crack in his front left hoof, and his buildup was anything but perfect.
On race day, as a 1-4 favorite, Big Brown stayed toward the front for the first mile of the race despite stumbling out of the gate and running with a loose boot. Jockey Kent Desormeaux sat in a patient third for much of the race, while 38-1 new shooter Da'Tara stayed out in front. Desormeaux and the horse battled for the first furlong or so before the jockey got him off the rail and into position. But it was never meant to be.
At the top of the stretch, with Big Brown clearly not himself, Desormeaux eased the horse up. The image of Big Brown separated from the pack around the final turn is powerful. Da'Tara, the longest shot in that race at 38-1, ran wire-to-wire in the victory.
Finish: Did not finish
Lengths back: N/A
Beyond: Big Brown won two more races, but tore a piece of flesh off his right front foot after colliding with another horse on Aqueduct's turf course in the fall of 2008. He never raced again. He was a stud in Kentucky for several years before returning to New York.
Smarty Jones, 2004
Buildup: Smarty Jones had eight wins in eight career starts entering the Belmont. He captured the Kentucky Derby as a 4-1 favorite, then the Preakness at 7-10. In the Belmont, at 1-5, he ran a strong race.
Belmont: Unfortunately, it wasn't strong enough. Smarty Jones' second quarter mile was faster than his first, and his third was faster than his second. He just couldn't get a moment to breathe through the first mile of this race.
With about three furlongs to go, Smarty Jones held a four length lead. The first Triple Crown in 26 years was right in front of him. But Birdstone and jockey Edgar Prado began running down Smarty Jones. His jockey, Stewart Elliot, had to bring out the whip and at that point, things looked grim. With every gallant stride, Birdstone inched closer. This was an incredibly challenging race for Smarty Jones — he never got a chance to coast, not even for a second.
Announcer Tom Durkin said it best: "Smarty Jones was valiant, but vanquished."
Finish: 2nd
Lengths back: 1
Beyond: The Pennsylvania-born colt retired two months later because of chronic bruising in his feet. The Belmont was his final race, and his only defeat. He stood as a stud in Kentucky until 2012, when he returned to the Keystone State.
Funny Cide, 2003
Buildup: The New York-bred gelding had no business contending in any Triple Crown races. He was a gelding bred in New York, after all. But he bested Empire Maker in the Kentucky Derby and won the Preakness by 10 lengths. Despite his upbringing, this horse could run.
Belmont: Unlike in the first two races, Funny Cide set the pace in the Belmont over an extremely wet track. He ran first for much of the initial mile, with Empire Maker keeping close the whole time. Around the final turn, it was Funny Cide who began to fade, while Empire Maker — who didn't run in the Preakness — surged ahead.
Funny Cide went hard for as long as he could, and jockey Jose Santos couldn't maintain that speed for an entire 1 1/2 mile race. Empire Maker consistently pushing him through the early part of the race was a big reason for that.
Finish: 3rd
Lengths back: 5
Beyond: The gelding ran until 2007, winning 11 races in 38 career starts.
War Emblem, 2002
Buildup: Bob Baffert's third Triple Crown hopeful was, if anything, fast, and used speed to win the Kentucky Derby wire-to-wire. He set the pace again in the Preakness. He needed to run in the front to be successful.
Belmont: But in the Belmont, War Emblem — saddled by Baffert and ridden by Victor Espinoza, the same duo guiding American Pharoah — stumbled out of the gate and fell back early. Despite all the speed he had, the race seemed over early.
Espinoza managed to get him into contention, but shortly after the mile mark, he fell back and finished eighth. Sarava, at 70-1, captured the 2002 Belmont as the longest shot in history.
Finish: 8th
Lengths back: 19
Beyond: War Emblem won the Haskell Invitational two months later, but finished sixth in the Pacific and eighth in the Breeders' Cup Classic. He was sold to a stable in Japan and has not had a successful career as a stud.
Charismatic, 1999
Buildup: Charismatic came out of nowhere in the spring of 1999. He finished fourth in the Santa Anita Derby and was entered twice for a claiming fee of more than $62,000, but pulled off a terrific upset in the Kentucky Derby at 31-1 before winning the Preakness.
Belmont: Charismatic, trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, entered the Belmont as a favorite for the first time since breaking his maiden. The colt hung tough for most of the race, staying on the pace, until the final stretch. Lemon Drop Kid passed Charismatic on the outside and the Triple Crown hopeful finished third.
Somewhere in this race, though — likely at the top of the stretch — Charismatic suffered multiple fractures in his left front leg. After crossing the line, jockey Chris Antley pulled the horse over, dismounted and stabilized his leg until medical help arrived. It greatly improved his chances of survival.
Finish: 3rd
Lengths back: 1.5
Beyond: The injuries were too severe for Charismatic to continue racing. He was sold to a Japanese stable in 2002.
Real Quiet, 1998
Buildup: Real Quiet wasn't the favorite entering the Kentucky Derby, but had finished second at Santa Anita in his final prep race and was thought to be a contender. Baffert's colt won at 8-1 at Churchill Downs, then captured the Preakness at 5-2.
Belmont: On the 20-year anniversary of Affirmed's Triple Crown, Real Quiet had a four-length lead with just one furlong to go. The Triple Crown was in the crosshairs.
But Victory Gallop, who finished second in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, charged hard with Gary Stevens aboard. Victory Gallop split a pair of horses at the top of the stretch and edged Real Quiet by a nose. It was originally too close to call. Had either horse been in a different stride pattern, the result would have been different.
Desormeaux has been criticized for his trip aboard Real Quiet that day. He made a move fairly early to take that four-length lead into the finish and just didn't have enough gas to complete the grueling 1 1/2 miles. But had Real Quiet held on — he was mere inches from doing so — Desormeaux would have been lauded. That's the way it often goes. And had Stevens not made a perfect move, it wouldn't have mattered.
Real Quiet is still the closest to a Triple Crown in the last 37 years.
Finish: 2nd
Lengths back: Nose
Beyond: Real Quiet didn't run for the rest of 1998, then won two of five races he entered as a 4-year-old in 1999. He died in 2010 in a paddock accident.
Silver Charm, 1997
Buildup: The gray colt bested a strong field of 3-year-olds in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness to setup a run at the Triple Crown. He had won both races by just a nose and showed how difficult it was to top him in a neck-and-neck battle.
The field didn't get any easier in the Belmont, though.
Belmont: By all accounts, Silver Charm ran a terrific race that day with Stevens aboard. He and Free House were battling down the stretch, and Silver Charm appeared fit to hold him off. But all along, Touch Gold had been sitting in fourth, waiting to make a move. He emerged down the stretch and passed both to win by three-quarters of a length.
Finish: 2nd
Lengths back: 3/4
Beyond: He continued racing for two years, winning the 1998 Dubai World Cup and several other Stakes races. He was sold to a Japanese stable in 2004, but returned last year and currently resides in Kentucky.
Sunday Silence, 1989
Buildup: Between 1997-2004, six horses won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and lost in the Belmont. But there was a relatively large gap between Sunday Silence in 1989 and Silver Charm in 1997.
Easy Goer entered both the 1989 Derby and Preakness as the favorite, but fell to Sunday Silence in each race.
Belmont: The Belmont was Easy Goer's and Easy Goer's only. On his home track, he cruised to an eight-length victory. The long, sweeping turns of Belmont Park played right into his hands, as he maintained a steady and consistent stride throughout.
Sunday Silence moved early and may have tired a bit as a result, but still managed to finish second. Easy Goer was not going down that day.
Finish: 2nd
Lengths back: 8
Beyond: Sunday Silence bested Easy Goer in the Breeders' Cup Classic and raced twice more the next year, but retired during midway through 1990.
Alysheba, 1987
Buildup: Alysheba entered the Kentucky Derby having won just a maiden race. He had dealt with an entrapped epiglottis, an issue with the throat, but had successful surgery and was ready to run in the Derby. He won at a slow pace, then captured the Preakness.
Belmont: Jockey Chris McCarron didn't have his best ride that day. He waited early, instead of using Alysheba's speed to get to the front, then got boxed in around the far turn. But at that point, it probably wouldn't have mattered.
Bet Twice, runnerup in the Derby and Preakness, could not be stopped that day. He rolled to a 14-length victory. McCarron's mistakes likely cost Alysheba the chance to finish second, but nobody was beating Bet Twice.
Finish: 4th
Lengths back: 14.5
Beyond: Alysheba won the Breeders' Cup Classic in 1988, and won seven of nine races during his 4-year-old season, garnering United States Horse of the Year honors. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993.
Pleasant Colony, 1981
Buildup: Pleasant Colony closed hard in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, winning each by less than a length. His late speed made him successful.
Belmont: In the Belmont, it seemed as if he just didn't have enough in the tank. The slow pace also played into his failed Triple Crown bid. Rounding the final turn, Pleasant Colony was in striking distance, but Summing held on.
It was a similar effort to California Chrome's in 2014 — he was right there, but because of all the work he'd done over the previous two months, he just didn't have enough left.
Finish: 3rd
Lengths back: 1.5
Beyond: He raced three more times during his 3-year-old season, winning once. He was a successful stud before passing away in 2002 in Virginia.
Spectacular Bid, 1979
Buildup: The buildup wasn't like it's been in the last two decades, because Spectacular Bid was trying to become the third Triple Crown winner in as many years. After Citation in 1948, Secretariat won the Triple Crown next in 1973, then Seattle Slew in 1977, then Affirmed in 1978. It was becoming strangely familiar after not happening for 25 years.
Belmont: Trainer Bud Delp claimed Spectacular Bid stepped on a safety pin the morning of the 1979 Belmont. Whether or not that actually happened, we'll never know. But whether or not it affected him? That's much less likely.
Spectacular Bid won 26 races in 30 career starts and only finished off the board once. It's hard to believe a safety pin could slow down a horse that successful. Instead, it was likely the blistering pace he and jockey Ronnie Franklin used to lead much of the race. Around the final turn, he couldn't maintain that pace, began to fade and was passed by Coastal.
Finish: 3rd
Lengths back: 3 1/4
Beyond: Franklin, 19 at the time, never rode Spectacular Bid again. Instead, Bill Shoemaker took the mount and won 12 of 13 races with him, dropping only the Jockey Club Gold Cup to Affirmed.