No Triple Crown possibility means disappointment at Belmont

— -- ELMONT, N.Y. -- It was the second-biggest day of the year at Belmont Park. Or the biggest, depending on how you look at things.

The Preakness Stakes is down in Baltimore, of course, about a four-hour drive south. But the Preakness is the difference between whether Belmont hosts one of the sporting highlights of the year in this country, or just another noteworthy event on our sports-littered landscape.

The Preakness Stakes giveth, or taketh away, the Triple Crown.

That's why hundreds of horse-racing fans stuck around here Saturday evening, nearly an hour after the 10th and final live race of the day had concluded -- to see if this grand old track would have another chance at history in three weeks' time.

It looked promising for a while. But Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming couldn't finish the job, succumbing to Classic Empire, who was then caught by Cloud Computing down the stretch.

A couple of hours before the Preakness, things were far sunnier at Belmont Park -- literally, and figuratively. New York Racing Association senior vice president and chief experience officer Lynn LaRocca was in her office, eagerly awaiting the race.

Several other NYRA officials were on site in Baltimore.

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Alas, there won't be 100,000 fans at Belmont Park on June 10, or anywhere close to that. When the Preakness ended on Saturday, the fans watching trackside here slowly filtered out, shuffling along amid the many discarded betting slips scattered across the ground.

But back inside, lots of fans were still lingering, eyes fixed on several TV screens as other races went off at tracks around the country.

There's always another race. And there will be another Triple Crown, too.

Just not this year.