NEW YORK -- California Chrome went home to the West Coast on Sunday with a bandaged right front foot -- and no Triple Crown -- after bumping another horse leaving the Belmont Stakes starting gate. Steve Coburn, who co-owns California Chome, was still smarting, too. He was irked Belmont winner Tonalist didnt run in either of the first two legs of the Triple Crown. After the race, he complained others took "the cowards way out" by skipping the Derby and/or the Preakness. A day later, Coburn was unrepentant. "Its not fair to these horses that are running to entertain these people in all three legs of the Triple Crown," he said. "Its not fair to them to have somebody just show up at the last minute and run. I may have gone off half-cocked yesterday, but thats the way I feel." Under Coburns premise, there would have been just three horses in the $1.5 million Belmont, making it unlikely the third-largest crowd of 102,199 would have shown up or that a record $19,105,877 would have been wagered on-track. California Chrome, General a Rod and Ride On Curlin were the only horses to run in the Derby, Preakness and Belmont. General a Rod finished seventh and Ride On Curlin did not finish. Art Sherman, the 77-year-old trainer of California Chrome, distanced himself from Coburns comments. "Horses arent cowards and the people arent cowards," he said. "He was at the heat of the moment. Dont forget hes a fairly new owner. Sometimes your emotions get in front of you. He hasnt been in the game long and hasnt had any bad luck." Coburn and Perry Martin named their racing operation Dumb Ass Partners, with California Chrome the lone horse in their stable. The chestnut colt has earned $3,317,800 this year and brought a six-race winning streak into the Belmont. California Chrome had smooth trips in winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness to set up a shot at racings first Triple Crown in 36 years. But he had a rough trip in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont on Saturday, getting a chunk of flesh torn from his foot after bumping with Matterhorn coming out of the starting gate. California Chrome finished in a dead heat for fourth with Wicked Strong. "It was kind of scary. You come back and see a horse bleeding from the foot," Sherman said. "Hes never had anything wrong with him. Weve been awful fortunate." Sherman said California Chrome has a superficial wound that should heal in two to three weeks. The colt will then rest for six to seven weeks after a tough Triple Crown campaign that involved running in three races at different tracks and distances over five weeks. His camp plans to point him toward the Breeders Cup this fall at Santa Anita. Sherman thought Coburn would apologize for his comments. Instead, the outspoken co-owner went even further Sunday. "It wouldnt be fair if I played basketball with a child in a wheelchair because I got an unfair advantage," Coburn said. "If your horse is good enough to run in the Belmont, where was he in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness? It says Triple Crown, not one out of two, one out of three or two out of three." Sherman said, "I cant make excuses. Thats not really what you should do in these type of races." Frenchman Christophe Clement, who won his first Triple Crown race with Totalist, declined to comment on Coburns remarks. Coburn had predicted California Chrome would win the Triple Crown. "If they want to call me a sore loser, I dont care," he said. Horses are made eligible for the Triple Crown races in January. Owners and trainers of horses not nominated can pay a late fee of $6,000 in March to get in. The 20-horse field for the Kentucky Derby is decided by a points system, with horses earning points for running in prep races. The Preakness and Belmont have maximum fields of 14, but no points system is used. Its common for horses to drop in and out of the Triple Crown series. In 1978, when Affirmed won the Triple Crown, the Belmont had a five-horse field. Two of the colts rivals did not run in the first two legs and one only ran in the Derby. In 1977, Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown. The Belmont had eight horses, and five did not run in the first two legs. One ran only in the Preakness, and one other besides Slew raced in all three legs. On Saturday, second-place finisher Commissioner was new to the Triple Crown series. Winner Tonalist wasnt ready for the Derby, so trainer Clement prepared him for the Belmont. "California Chrome was running with tough, fresh horses that were waiting in the wings, and thats what happens," Sherman said. "We all know when youre on this trail you got to have an iron horse." The veteran trainer hopes California Chromes owners will keep him running next year as a 4-year-old. He credited the colt for having a lot of talent and taking his handlers on an exciting ride. "This is one of them races that we couldnt win," Sherman said, "but he didnt disgrace us any." Thomas Vanek Jersey . Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were third with 210.84 points. Teammates Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto were fourth. Duhamel and Radford, who were seventh at the Sochi Olympics, also won bronze at last years world championships in London, Ont. Zach Bogosian Jersey . During the furious first few hours of free agency Tuesday, the team agreed to terms with strong safety Donte Whitner, a Cleveland native who cant wait to play in his hometown. http://www.officialsabresfanstore.com/au...-sabres-jersey/. Kuper, a fifth-round pick in Denvers 2006 draft, started 79 games at guard over eight seasons. He dislocated his left ankle in the last game of the 2011 regular season, and though he started another seven games after that, he never returned to his previous level. Marco Scandella Jersey . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. Evan Rodrigues Jersey . "Last year we were in a ton of situations, late-game situations we couldnt pull out. Wed kind of fold under the pressure, get frustrated or let a big shot frustrate us," guard DeMar DeRozan said. WINNIPEG -- Paul Maurice wasnt in the mood to be a coroner. The head coach of the Winnipeg Jets watched his teams playoff hopes die with a 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. "Weve got a week to do the autopsy, lets do it later," a grim-faced Maurice told reporters. Pittsburgh defenceman Paul Martin, who missed the last 18 games because of a broken hand, scored the winner 11 seconds into a power play at 7:42 of the third period. Centre Brian Gibbons added the insurance marker when the Jets turned over the puck and he beat goalie Ondrej Pavelec with a low shot at 16:24. Greg Adams and Beau Bennett, also on the power play, had the other goals, while Sidney Crosby added a pair of assists for the Penguins (49-23-5), who clinched the NHLs Metropolitan Division title. Marc-Andre Fleury made 13 saves for his 37th win of the season, while Pavelec stopped 17 shots. Jets forward Olli Jokinen scored his 17th of the season and defenceman Zach Redmond marked his first. Blake Wheelers assist on Jokinens goal gave him a career-high 65 points this season. "We missed the net 18 times. Thats more shots than we put on goal," said Maurice, who was sporting a cut forehead from an errant puck. "So that, to me, was the difference from our offensive point of view." The Winnipeg franchise hasnt made the playoffs since the team was the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006-07. Dallas and Phoenix are tied with 85 points for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but the Stars have a game in hand. They also still play each other. Winnipeg has 78 points (34-34-10) and only four games left in the season. Maurice took over on Jan. 12 after Claude Noel was fired and sparked the squad to nine victories in his first 11 games behind the bench. Hes now 15-11-5 in trying to turn around the club and has a believer in Jokinen. "Since Pauls got here, I think everybodys been buying into the system," Jokinen said. "I know weve been in every game. Its been close games..ddddddddddddI think from that standpoint, looking early in the year, its been a big change and I think the teams been going in the right direction." Bennett had the only goal of the first period on the power play. Winnipeg then went ahead with two straight markers, but Adams tied it up with under two minutes left in the second. Jets defenceman Mark Stuart was in the penalty box for both of Pittsburghs power-play goals. "Its not like were playing bad. Were doing a lot of good things and were playing our asses off," Winnipeg defenceman Adam Pardy said. "Were just not getting results. Its tough, its frustrating. Were battling a lot of injuries. Its been a tough road for us. Its definitely frustrating, but we just got to keep moving ahead and keep trying to create an identity as a team and as a group of players." Fleury said reaching the goal of winning their division is only a first step. "I dont think weve been playing the best hockey lately and the best that we can do," he said. "Were missing some key guys in the lineup, too." It was only Pittsburghs third victory in its past seven games. Martins return was praised by coach Dan Bylsma and Crosby. "Hes really patient," Crosby said. "His poise back there, his patience with the puck. Hes just really smart and that kind of calming aspect brings a lot to the power play." Martin actually led all skaters in ice time with 23:46. The game was the first of a three-game road trip for the Penguins, who head to Minnesota for a match against the Wild on Saturday. Winnipeg plays in Toronto on Saturday. Notes: With the win tonight, Bylsma marked his 250th career regular-season victory, the fastest coach in NHL history to reach that milestone in his 396th games. Anaheims Bruce Boudreau won 250 games in 416 games ... Penguin Brooks Orpik was playing in his 700th game ... Its the second time in franchise history that Pittsburgh has won back-to-back division titles, with the last in 1992-93 and 93-94. ' ' '