The 11 winners of the Triple Crown form the most elite fraternity in thoroughbred racing, with Big Brown poised to make it an even dozen on June 7. But we’ve been down this road before.

In the 30 years since Affirmed (1978) joined the Triple Crown club, 10 horses won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, only to have their membership declined in the Belmont Stakes. Some came so tantalizingly close, it broke your heart. But through one twist of fate or another, the mile-and-a-half “Test of the Champion” proved a race too far.

Hall-of-Fame legend

D. Wayne Lukas won six straight Triple Crown races (1994-96), but Charismatic in 1999 was his lone chance to sweep the classics with a single horse. Favored at 8-5, Charismatic broke down in the Belmont and was pulled up after the race by his jockey, the late Chris Antley. But in Lukas’ opinion, that’s not why he lost.

“He got a very questionable ride,” Lukas said. “The very thing that got us in position to win the Triple Crown, and the style that we had trained our horse (to sit off the pace and make a late run), didn’t materialize. Antley took him completely out of his style, chasing (the filly) Silverbulletday. The very thing we did the best, we didn’t do.”

Another rider that went too fast, too soon, through no fault of his own, was Stewart Elliott four years ago on Smarty Jones.

Like Big Brown, Smarty Jones was undefeated. Coming off runaway scores in the Derby and Preakness, he was the heaviest favorite (1-5) since Spectacular Bid in 1979. But three other horses pressured him early, and although Smarty opened 3½ lengths turning for home, Birdstone came on late to beat him.

“Smarty Jones started off a sprinter,” Elliott said. “We got him to go long, but it was tough. It was, can we get him to go a mile? A mile-and-an-eighth? A mile-and-a-quarter? He learned to relax, but you always had to grab him right away, otherwise, he was a fast, aggressive horse, and he would run if you let him.

“The Belmont was just one of those days where he came out of there running. He had horses beside him, and he just went too fast.”

No one has experienced the heartache of a Triple Crown near miss more than trainer Bob Baffert. In 1997, his Silver Charm looked home free in the Belmont until Touch Gold ran him down in the final yards. A year later, Baffert was back with Real Quiet. Ridden by Big Brown’s jockey, Kent Desormeaux, Real Quiet opened a four-length lead with a furlong to run, but Victory Gallop nailed him on the wire.

“Silver Charm ran a great race, but he never saw (Touch Gold) on the outside,” Baffert recalled. “Real Quiet got out there by himself, and when he saw the photographers (near the finish line), his ears went up. He was skittish about certain things. When (Victory Gallop) came to him, he started running again and was in front the next jump. When you get beat an inch, it’s easy to second guess, ‘maybe he moved too soon.’ But I was never upset with Kent.”

Baffert had a third shot at the Crown in 2002 with War Emblem, but that front-runner lost all chance when he stumbled badly out of the gate.

“War Emblem was a really good horse, but he was one-dimensional and couldn’t carry it to the third race,” Baffert said. “Even if he didn’t stumble, I don’t think he would have won that day. He was cooked.”

Despite his close calls in the Triple Crown, Baffert says his toughest beat ever came in the 1996 Derby, when Cavonnier lost by a nose.

“People don’t realize that winning the Kentucky Derby is more important than anything else,” Baffert said. “There’s not a better feeling in the world. When it looked like Real Quiet was going to gallop in the Belmont, I felt good, but it was almost like I was glad it was over. Give me the first one.”