Horse racing's Triple Crown drought continues.

Da' Tara went wire-to-wire to win Saturday's Belmont Stakes, preventing Big Brown -- the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner -- from sweeping the prestigious trio of races.

Da' Tara, the longest shot on the board, won by 5¼ lengths over Denis of Cork and covered the distance in 2:29.65. There was a dead heat for third between Anak Nakal and Ready's Echo. Macho Again was fifth, followed by Tale of Ekati, Guadalcanal, Icabad Crane and Big Brown.

There have been 11 Triple Crown winners. Affirmed was the last to accomplish the feat in 1978. In the past three decades, 11 horses -- including Big Brown -- have had their Triple Crown bids ended at the Belmont.

Big Brown, who entered the race as a heavy favorite, started the 1 1/2-mile contest from the No. 1 post. That starting gate has produced the most Belmont winners (23) since 1905.

The colt ran third for much of the race before falling back and finishing ninth, last place.

"I had no horse," said Big Brown's jockey, Kent Desormeaux, who eased the colt up after he failed to respond to the jockey's urging in the final turn.

Da' Tara -- who was a 38-1 longshot to win the race -- took the lead out of the gate and held on throughout the lengthy test. He extended his lead down the stretch to clinch the Belmont title.

In their only meeting, Da' Tara -- who is trained by Nick Zito -- finished 23 and a-half lengths behind Big Brown in the Florida Derby earlier in the year.

But Big Brown might not have been racing at 100 percent Saturday. In the days leading up to the Belmont, Big Brown suffered a minor hoof injury to his left front foot. The crack in the hoof required hoof specialist Ian McKinlay to put an acrylic patch on the foot Friday.

"This horse is the best I've ever ridden," said Desormeaux, who also lost a 1998 Triple Crown bid on Real Quiet. "Something's wrong, and I took care of him."

Even Zito said something was wrong with Big Brown.

"He wasn't himself," Zito said, referring to Big Brown. "Things happen for a reason."

McKinlay and Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow, were confident that Big Brown's hoof had healed well enough for it to not be a problem during the race. Dutrow even said his colt's victory in the Belmont was "a foregone conclusion."

Dutrow, who has been outspoken about his horse's abilities throughout the Triple Crown races, also admitted that he gives his horses steroids. However, Dutrow told the New York Times that he last injected Big Brown on April 15. Several experts told the Times that if Dutrow did in fact last give Big Brown steroids nearly two months ago, then the colt should have been drug-free during Saturday's race.

Before the start of the Belmont, Casino Drive -- who was thought to be Big Brown's biggest competitor -- was pulled out of the race because of a bruised left hind hoof.

Racing manager Nobutaka Tada for Casino Drive's Japanese connections said the horse was fine during a three-furlong jog early Saturday. But he said the horse appeared to be favoring the hoof while receiving a bath following the workout.

Casino Drive was the early second choice behind Big Brown.

Tada said the decision to scratch the Peter Pan Stakes winner is precautionary. He classifies the injury as minor, but didn't want to take any chances during the grueling 1.5-mile race.

Casino Drive developed symptoms on Friday, and was held out of his morning gallop.

Shaq The Jockey? NBA star Shaquille O'Neal made an appearance at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.

The popular Phoenix Suns' center, wearing the same red-and-white checkered jockey silks that he also donned for a popular commercial -- almost certainly the largest jockey outfit in the history of racing -- made the rounds at Belmont Park in the hours before the Big Brown's shot at history.

"Big Brown, baby," O'Neal said while storming through the paddock on the way to the grandstand as fans shouted his name. While O'Neal made it clear he was rooting for Big Brown, he did not bet any money on the race.