I'll Have Another now has one less competitor to possibly quash his Triple Crown dreams. Alpha, currently a 15-1 draw at June 9's Belmont Stakes, has been pulled out of the race by trainer Kiaran McLaughlin after the horse spiked a fever on Tuesday.
The horse's temperature has dropped back down after an antibiotic regimen, but McLaughlin claimed that the horse had missed too much training time and it would put undue stress on the horse in the longest race of the Triple Crown according to Daily Racing Form.
It's just not the thing to do. It's a demanding race, the mile and a half. We need to be 110 percent and we're not.
Alpha had won the Withers and the Count Fleet in prep races for the Kentucky Derby. He also finished second by a neck to Gemologist at the Wood Memorial before finishing twelfth at the Kentucky Derby.
For more on the Belmont Stakes and the race for the Triple Crown, stay with this StoryStream and check out SB Nation's horse racing blog And Down The Stretch They Come. There, you'll also find a A Beginner's Guide To Following Horse Racing and a glossary of horse racing terms.