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Tom Keyser

I'll Have Another would become the 12th Triple Crown winner with a victory in Saturday's Belmont Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. Ill Have Another was born in Kentucky, received his early training in Florida, began his racing career in California, and has flown to Kentucky, Maryland, and twice to New York in the past nine months. He has traveled many miles, but no journey will seem farther than the one on which he embarks on Saturday, when Ill Have Another, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, attempts to become a Triple Crown winner in the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park.

The Belmont is 1 1/2 miles, one lap around Belmont Park, but there is a 34-year history of failure in this endeavor. Not since 1978 has a horse swept the Triple Crown.

Thirty-four years of it not happening. Thats a pretty strong statistic, Doug ONeill, the trainer of Ill Have Another, said earlier this week. Youve got to stay injury-free. You have to maintain your physique and your energy. Thats a huge hurdle.

The numbers 11 and 12 are prominent in this Belmont Stakes. There are 11 Triple Crown winners, the last being Affirmed. Since Affirmed, 11 horses have won the Derby and Preakness and failed in the Belmont. Ill Have Another will be the 12th horse to join one of those lists. The Belmont is the 11th race on the card. Ill Have Another will start from post 11 in a field of 12 in a 12-furlong race. This is the 144th Belmont 12 squared is 144.

Post time for the Belmont is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Eastern; the first race is at 11:35 a.m. The Belmont will be shown live by NBC in a 2 1/2-hour telecast beginning at 4:30 p.m. NBC Sports Network has live Belmont programming from 3-4:30 p.m, and a postrace show from 7-7:30.

The forecast for Saturday, according to The Weather Channel, is for a high of 80 degrees, and a 30-percent chance of isolated thunderstorms.

[BELMONT STAKES: Past performances, video updates, contender profiles, odds]

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I'll Have Another one lap away from Triple Crown immortality