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There will be no Triple Crown winner this weekend after the horse that placed first in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness was pulled from the Belmont Stakes.
" I'll Have Another" will not run in Belmont, ending its chances to be the first winner of all three races in 32 years.
Had he won he would be the first horse since "Affirmed" to win all three races in 1978.
The colt was removed from the Belmont Stakes due to a swollen left front tendon late Friday morning, one day before he was to have run in the third jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown.
According to Dennis O'Neill, brother of trainer Doug O'Neill, the horse galloped Friday morning and after a veterinary scan, the tendon seemed "kind of tender."
O'Neill told The Associated Press that, "the horse is sound and happy, but it's not worth it."
Trainer Doug O'Neill sent the horse out for a final gallop in secrecy hours before the announcement was made. The colt jogged and then galloped around the 1 1/2-mile oval accompanied by stable pony Lava Man.
"It's been very hectic the last few days, so we thought we would take him out when it's quieter," O'Neill said in a statement on the early secret gallop released by the New York Racing Association. "The detention barn setup with all 12 of the horses going out at the same time has been a little bit hectic."
After a loose horse nearly collided with I'll Have Another on the track last week, NYRA established a 15-minute window, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.- just for Belmont horses to be on the track.