Essential Quality (2), with jockey Luis Saez up, crosses the finish line ahead of Hot Rod Charlie (4), with jockey Flavien Prat up, to win the 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 5, 2021, At Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Seth Wenig / AP
Seth Wenig / AP
Essential Quality (2), with jockey Luis Saez up, crosses the finish line ahead of Hot Rod Charlie (4), with jockey Flavien Prat up, to win the 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 5, 2021, At Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
(New York) — Favorite Essential Quality won the Belmont Stakes to give trainer Brad Cox his first win in a Triple Crown race.
He could get another from the Kentucky Derby if Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit is disqualified.
Essential Quality passed early leader Hot Rod Charlie around the final turn and held on to win the 1 1/2-mile $1 million race.
Hot Rod Charlie was second, Preakness winner Rombauer third and Known Agenda fourth.
The race was run without any horses from Baffert.
New York suspended Baffert indefinitely after Medina Spirit failed a post-Derby drug test.
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