James Brady, editor for SB Nation Bay Area, writes that this year’s Belmont, even without the Triple Crown on the line, made him a fan of the sport of horse racing. Prior to the Belmont, his coverage of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness involved recapping from other sources. But he decided to watch the Belmont to find out what all the hype was about I’ll Have Another. When I’ll Have Another didn’t run, he watched anyway.

Brady writes: “And then something happened: the race started. I was blown away by the horses leaving the gate, and for some reason, I was rooting for Paynter to lose. I guess it’s the underdog mentality, but I found myself frantically trying to identify which horses were around Paynter – who was easy due to the blue. I couldn’t follow a lot, but something weird was happening still: my heart was pounding.”

After Paynter’s loss, Brady says, “I was ecstatic, and a couple minutes after the race was over I realized how … thrilled I was. It was an exciting experience throughout, and I’m not sure if it was because of the build-up or not, but I loved it.”