The 2012 Belmont Stakes is on June 9—still more than a week away—and I was beginning to think we were out of interesting storylines to discuss already. But Maryam Louise, on Yahoo!, went the extra mile in her search for Triple Crown narratives: Which horses shared a bloodline with the most recent Triple Crown winners? Affirmed, as it turns out, was shut out of this Belmont Stakes field—but his rival, Alydar, and the penultimate Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew, are all over the track.

Read the whole article, but as it turns out none of the top contenders—I'll Have Another, Union Rags, and Dullahan—figure into her analysis. Alpha, recently pulled out of the race, is in the line of both Alydar and Seattle Slew, while sleeper picks Optimizer and Paynter are both Seattle Slew descendants. Meanwhile, Guyana Star Dweej—and this one really surprised me—is a distant relative of a large dog I had when I was a kid.

Here's more 2012 Belmont Stakes coverage from SB Nation St. Louis:

• Win, place, or show, NBC, who looks to benefit handsomely when the ratings come in, has already had a great Triple Crown season, thank you very much.
• It's hard to see the role of favorite slipping away from I'll Have Another before race day.
• I, for one, find it comforting to know that horses speak human sports cliche exactly like humans. He thinks he's people!