ELMONT, N.Y. -- As you can probably figure out by now, thoroughbred racing was Saturday's big loser here.
The big winner? That would be Visa.
Forget show me the money, somebody show me a Triple Crown winner. There hasn't been one of those since 1978. Next year marks the 20th anniversary of what has become the most elusive individual feat in all of sports.
How hard is it to win horse racing's Triple Crown? Since 1919, it has happened only 11 times. Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed, those are the names.
On Saturday, however, Silver Charm joined another list -- Triple Crown wannabes -- as he became the 13th horse to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness ... but not the Belmont Stakes.
LIKE PENSIVE, TIM TAM, Forward Pass, Majestic Prince and Sunday Silence before him, Silver Charm finished second here. After winning the first two legs of the Triple Crown both in photo finishes, Silver Charm lost to Touch Gold by three-quarters of a length.
How close was Silver Charm's near miss? The 3-year-old colt with the iron gray coat and trademark fighting spirit came within a lousy 10 jumps at the tail end of a grueling series of three races, totaling almost four miles, spanning five weeks, covering three states.
If Silver Charm hadn't been blindsided -- literally -- by Touch Gold on Saturday, he would've earned that cool $5 million Triple Crown Challenge bonus put up by the credit card that lets you leave home with or without it.
This, indeed, was a cruel ending to what has been a joyride through the heretofore dying sport of thoroughbred racing this spring.
It has been a joyride made possible by Silver Charm's silver-thatched trainer, Bob Baffert, whose glib expressions, self-effacing mannerisms and ever-present sunglasses finally gave the so-called "Sport of Kings" a human quality the rest of us could embrace.
Bob Baffert is D. Wayne Lukas with a personality.
ENTERING THE INTERVIEW ROOM 10-12 minutes after the race, Baffert looked into the long faces of a glum media seated before him and said, "Look at the mood in here. Hey, I'm going to live ... "
If my math is right, Baffert -- based on his 10-percent cut -- lost out on $543,260 here Saturday.
"There goes my kids' college education," he quipped.
Baffert still hadn't lost his sense of humor despite the fact that the third time was not a charm; that Silver Charm took the silver (and Touch Gold the gold) ... and that he had just waved bye-bye to 10 percent of $5 million, plus what would've been the $432,600 winner's share.
The only time tears came to Baffert's eyes was when he talked about letting down the sport and disappointing the fans -- a record 70,682, plus all those millions who watched on TV.
Horse racing is desperately ready to make a comeback, so anxious to return to the spotlight of mainstream America.
SILVER CHARM WAS SUPPOSED TO be the new 3-year-old savior who would exorcise those demons left by the big buildup and fizzle of former so-called "super horse" Arazi in 1992. (Arazi's eighth-place finish in the '92 Kentucky Derby left the racing public feeling a little duped.)
"I wanted to pull this off so bad for you guys," said a sincere Baffert, hiding his emotions behind those dark shades. "It would've been great for racing ... now I'm going to cry."
According to Silver Charm jockey Gary Stevens, there were only two real surprises Saturday.
One was a sympathetic reaction from the New York crowd.
"When we were coming back, I kind of expected to hear some boos ... and that would've been wrong. Silver Charm did not deserve that," Stevens said. "But (the fans) applauded and cheered. I want to thank them."
Secondly, Stevens never expected to be caught by Touch Gold, who had helped set a slow early pace, dropped back and basically had to make a second run entering the stretch.
"That was the last horse I expected," said Stevens, who caught a "shadow" out of the corner of his eye 75 yards from the wire. "I thought it had to be Crypto Star, I mean, it had to be Crypto Star."
It wasn't. It was Touch Gold, acrylic patch and all, doctored up from a quarter crack to his left front hoof, following his infamous nosedive out of the gate in the Preakness -- a race in which he recovered to finish fourth.
SO ON SATURDAY, WITH $5 million on the line, with horse racing poised for a comeback, Silver Charm bravely held off old West Coast rival Free House down the stretch and seemed to have the Triple Crown won 75 yards from the finish line ... when Touch Gold came up on the far outside to spoil the party.
"The only way you can beat Silver Charm is if he can't see you," said Baffert, adding only half-jokingly, "I wish (Free House jockey) Kent Desormeaux would've seen Touch Gold for us."
Horse racing didn't get the booster shot it was hoping to get, but it's an easier sport to like because of Bob Baffert.
Thirty minutes before the race, just before Silver Charm was escorted from Barn 9 to the paddock, Baffert was still cutting up with a handful of media.
At one point, he hammed it up by playing an overzealous traffic cop, personally directing two trucks and a limo past a quiet-area that he was trying to create for Silver Charm to begin his trek to the track.
But just before Silver Charm appeared in all his majesty, all his hope, Baffert ducked his head behind a parked red VW bus and feigned a violent act of throwing up.
"I'm all right," he said.
He wouldn't be. Racing wouldn't be. But that would come 30 minutes later.
Ray Buck is CBS SportsLine's national columnist.
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