Yankees 4 Cleveland 0: The Yankees will have to hold their breath and wait until Bartolo Colon's MRI comes back. Colon was pitching another dominant game when he hurt himself covering first in the seventh inning. He left the game with a hamstring strain, but further tests are being conducted. more ›

Jay-Z is in, Frank Sinatra is out. At least that's how it was at the 142nd running of the Belmont Stakes. Hova's "Empire State of Mind" replaced Sinatra's version of "New York, New York", which had been the pre-stakes song since 1997. With the threat of thunderstorms, Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky both sitting out, only 45,243 race fans were on hand to witness Drosselmeyer win the 1.5 mile "Test of the Champion." more ›

The horse racing organization that has threatened to cancel the Belmont Stakes due to monetary woes says it will take the state to court instead of opening its books to auditors, according to the Daily News. The New York Racing Association refused to turn over its records to State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli after he subpoenaed the group yesterday, arguing that because a court has ruled that nonprofit charter schools don't need to open their books to the state, neither should the nonprofit horse-racing organization. more ›

The horse racing organization that threatened to cancel the Belmont Stakes due to monetary woes will be subpoenaed for refusing to open its books. The state is skeptical of the New York Racing Association's claims that it doesn't have enough money to hold the final leg of the Triple Crown, because the organization was awarded $105 million in taxpayer money and had its $200 million debt erased last year, according to the Daily News. more ›

It's a bad week for New York horse racing fans. First, cops nabbed an 18-year-old suspected of having sex with race horses at a Goshen track, now comes news that the Belmont Stakes might be called off because of the state's monetary woes. According to the Daily News, Governor Paterson and state legislators haven't been able to come to a consensus on a revitalization plan for the racetrack, which will run out of money "in the May-June timeframe," according Charles Hayward, president of the New York Racing Association. The race is scheduled for June 5. more ›

• At the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes a horse sired by 2004 stakes winner Birdstone won, but it wasn't the horse that most people bet on. Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird wasn't able to give Calvin Borel his "personal triple crown." Instead, it was Kent Desormeaux on Summer Bird that walked away with the blanket of white carnations. The win was Desormeaux's first Belmont Stakes. He previously lost by a nose on Real Quiet in 1998 and was forced to ease Big Brown in 2008. Summer Bird went off at 11-1 odds in the "Test of the Champion," a race in which the favorite has only won 6 of the last 30 times. Summer Bird beat Dunkirk by 2 3/4 lengths with Mine That Bird finishing third. Desormeaux was also a big winner on the day, winning four races at the track for the day.
• Rays 9, Yankees 7: After rallying for two runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game, the Yankees saw Mariano Rivera wilt and give up four runs in the top of the ninth. This game had six errors -- including three by Rays catcher and former Yankee Dioner Navarro. Both teams forfeited the designated hitter in the ninth inning. David Price didn't last as long as CC Sabathia, but he did leave in line for a win before the Rays' bullpen blew it. Sabathaia, like so many other Yankees pitchers, got burned by the longball. Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez had solo shots for the Yankees, who are now 2-9 against Tampa Bay and Boston.
• Nationals 7, Mets 1: Quick but not painless. Long Beach's John Lannan shut down the Mets in a complete-game four-hitter. John Maine didn't have it, allowing seven runs (and three homers) in four-plus innings. Four innings of strong relief by Ken Takahashi and Fernando Nieve were meaningless.

The showdown won’t happen tomorrow at the Belmont Stakes. Mine That Bird, winner of the Kentucky Derby, will not get the chance to avenge his loss in the Preakness to Rachel Alexandra because the filly's owner has decided to rest her out of concern for her long-term health. more ›

Saturday's Belmont Stakes wasn't the swan song for Big Brown. The three-year-old horse will reportedly race again. While they are still searching for an injury to explain the horse's last-place finish in the Belmont, his owners, IEAH, have decided to enter him in the Travers Stakes in Saratoga Springs on August 23rd. The Travers usually attracts the top three-year olds in racing and perhaps it will give us the much-anticipated Big Brown-Casino Drive matchup that was scheduled for last Saturday, but scratched when Casino Drive stepped on a stone. more ›

In the end, Big Brown was nothing more than a tease. Rick Dutrow, Jr., Big Brown’s trainer had guaranteed victory before the race, but his horse was unable to complete delivery. Dutrow’s bluster disappeared in the dust of the Belmont track as his horse went from a 1-4 favorite to dead last in a stunning result Saturday. more ›

Will he do it or won’t he? That is the only question heading into the Belmont Stakes tomorrow. Will Big Brown become the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978 or will he join the nine other horses since then who won the first two legs, only to fall short at the Belmont? more ›

A lot has changed for women in professional sports since 1905, but in that same time period no female horse has won the Belmont Stakes. Spectators at 139th running of the Belmont Stakes witnessed a little bit of history as Rags to Riches became only the 3rd filly in history to win the race. It was the first filly to win a Triple Crown race since the 1988 Kentucky Derby. Excelling at "Test of the Champion" seems to be in the blood of Rags to Riches. A.P. Indy, her father won the stakes in 1992, and her half brother Jazil won last year. more ›

The Belmont Stakes may be missing Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, and it may only be a field of seven, but that doesn't mean the 139th edition of the race won't be exciting. Some say that this is one of the most competitive fields in recent Belmont history. The odds makers have set Curlin, the Preakness winner, as the 6-5 favorite, a line that will likely come down by post time. The $1 million race is the longest race in the Triple Crown at 1.5 miles and is considered the "Test of the Champion." Odds makers also like Hard Spun (5-2), the horse that finished 2nd in the Derby and 3rd in the Preakness (Curlin finished 3rd in the Derby). Rags to Riches, who looks to become the first filly to win since 1905, is the third favorite at 3-1. more ›

On a windy day at Belmont Park, 18 year-old Fernando Jara rode Jazel to the horse's 2nd win ever. Jara was the youngest jockey to win the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, since 1978 when Steve Cauthen rode Affirmed to the Triple Crown. 1978 also happened to be the last time the Triple Crown was won. Only 61,168 were on hand to witness the day's races. Despite the small crowd on hand, $8,958,323 was bet on races throughout the day. more ›

- Get your seersucker suits and sun dresses out! Tomorrow evening is the 138th running of the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown and horse racing's "Test of the Champion." Races on stakes day begin at noon with post time for the Belmont Stakes at 6:33 pm Television coverage starts at noon on ESPN with coverage on ABC starting at 5. The current favorite for the race is Bluegrass Cat, but the winners of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness will both be absent from the race. Barbaro was injured at the Preakness and the owner of Preakness winner Bernardini decided to rest him. Pre-Derby favorite Brother Derek will also be absent. But that doesn't mean there won't be plenty of fun at Belmont, especially since general admission is only $5. more ›

The 137th running of the Belmont Stakes had been promoted as the rubber match between Giacomo and Afleet Alex, but the duel never materialized. Afleet Alex left the field in the dust, running the fastest final quarter mile at the Belmont since 1969 and winning the race by seven lengths. more ›

Saturday evening, Smarty Jones was attempting to win the Triple Crown, something most people at Belmont Park wanted to happen. It was a chance for Smarty Jones to make history and a chance for the record crowd of 120,139 to witness history. Unfortunately for them, that didn't happen. Smarty Jones lost the Belmont Stakes - the "Test of the Champion" - to Birdstone. more ›

- Everything you need to know about tornadoes more ›

Today is Gothamist Sports's lucky day getting so much attention. Tomorrow will bring the 136th running of the Belmont Stakes where, with a little luck of his own, Smarty Jones will attempt to become racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner. more ›

Tomorrow evening, Smarty Jones goes for the Triple Crown at Belmont Park, looking to become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to accomplish horse racing's biggest feat. The Triple Crown starts with the Kentucky Derby, followed by the Preakness Stakes, and finally the Belmont Stakes tomorrow. There is plenty of Belmont coverage from The Times, from Newsday, and from the Post. The official Belmont site also has a lot of information. more ›

On Saturday, Smarty Jones set records as he won at Pimlico in Maryland. With his 11 1/2 length victory, Smarty Jones looks to become the first undefeated horse to win the Triple Crown since Seattle Slew in 1977. To do this, he will have to win the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown. Belmont's distance of 1.5 miles is often a tough test for the thoroughbreds, but Smarty Jones looked so strong on Saturday, that it is very possible that the public could see a Triple Crown. Since 1997, four other horses have had the chance to win the Triple Crown but lost in New York - Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Charismatic, and Funny Cide. more ›

In today's Metro Section, Clyde Haberman, closet Gothamist, applauds the Belmont Stakes for changing their official song from "Sidewalks of New York" (which you might know from Ken Burns' documentary on the City, if no where else) to the slightly more up to date "New York, New York". Haberman feels however, that our fair Gotham is poorly represented by the whinings of a "self-involved parvenu who wants to be 'king of the hill, top of the heap.'" He goes on to suggest several other songs that might replace it, including: "New York, New York (It's a Helluva Town)" by Leonard Bernstein, "New York State of Mind" by Billy Joel, "I Happen to Like New York" by Cole Porter, "New York" by U2, "We Run N.Y." by Redman, "Manhattan" by Rodgers and Hart, and "N.Y.C." from the musical "Annie" with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin. more ›