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The Triple Crown of 2006 will leave two enduring images: Barbaro's finest hour in the stretch at Churchill Downs and his darkest hour, when he stood helpless in the shadow of the Pimlico grandstand, holding his shattered right hind leg off the ground.

There is no certainty that Saturday's Belmont Stakes would be more meaningful had the Kentucky Derby winner not broken down in the first 100 yards of the Preakness. Though it was largely overlooked in the post-race morass that focused on the effort to save the injured favorite, Bernardini was no less a convincing winner in Baltimore than Barbaro was in Louisville. He might have been the best horse on the day even if Barbaro had not been hurt.

But the Preakness winner will not be given the opportunity to underscore the impression he made at Pimlico. The decision made by his owners in Dubai to withhold Bernardini from the third leg of the Triple Crown leaves the 138th Belmont Stakes without consequence, lacking drama and historical importance. It leaves the race known as "The Test of the Champion" without so much as a clearly defined favorite.

Of the 13 prospective starters, six were crushed by Barbaro in Kentucky, two by Bernardini in Baltimore. Only one is the winner of a Grade I race and just one is the winner of a graded stakes in his last start. No horse will have run in all three legs of the Triple Crown. There is no champion to test this Belmont, which is left with the winner of neither the Derby nor the Preakness for the first time since 2000, when Fusaichi Pegasus and Red Bullet got hurt before reaching New York.

Still, a $1-million purse will be divided among those who show up to run in the Belmont. The winner will earn $600,000 and own a prestigious title that comes with no asterisk. In times like this, horsemen often look first to the bottom line.

"I'd say we're 60-40 to run," said trainer Joe Lostritto, who sent an overmatched Platinum Couple to the Preakness and watched him run to expectations. "I want to try him on the turf and we're also considering the Colonial Turf Cup [in Virginia]. It costs $20,000 to enter the Belmont and only $750 to run in the Colonial Turf Cup, which has the same purse. It may come down to a business decision."

Large fields in the Belmont are rare. If more than 12 start Saturday, the field will be the largest since 1996, when a field of 14 was assembled in the absence of Grindstone, who won the Derby in what was the last start of his career. Louis Quatorze, the Preakness winner, finished fourth in a field that included six who ran at Pimlico, including the winner, Editor's Note. Only the field of 15 for the 1983 Belmont was larger. One other field, in 1875, numbered 14.

It is inevitable that this will be a race run in the shadow of Barbaro, still recovering at the University of Pennsylvania veterinary facility in Kennett Square, Pa. The void left in his absence is not lost on those who remain to participate.

"I'm a racing fan, too," said trainer Dan Peitz, who will send Steppenwolfer, third in the Derby, into the Belmont. "I felt like someone kicked me in the gut for a few days after the Preakness. It's very difficult to deal with these things. I still think this is a good race. It's a pretty deep crop of 3-year-olds. By the end of the year, I think people will see that this is more than Barbaro and Bernardini.

"For the people out there gambling, it's a better race than you get most years. There's a lot of ways to go."

Saturday

Belmont Stakes

6:35 p.m.

TV: Ch. 7

Radio: WFAN (660)

Horse Racing