win on a sloppy track.

It was the third Preakness victory for Kent, 46, who’s also won the Derby three times. For Keith, it was the biggest win of his career as a trainer.

That it came courtesy of his brother was, seemingly, nothing more than a footnote.

“We had an embrace up there,” Keith said. “But brotherly love? I don’t know, is it different than any other kind of love? When you know you have that type of love, you don’t need to show it outwardly. We know what we have.”

The victory ended Nyquist’s bid for a Triple Crown and provided Keith Desormeaux with a euphoric feeling that was years in the making.

“I personally never had a doubt that I’d get here,” he said. “It wasn’t a matter of if but when. That’s what I tell myself. If I woke up every day wondering if I was going to win a Derby or Preakness or Belmont, I wouldn’t enjoy my work. I wake up every day thankful that I get to do this for a living.”

Kent Desormeaux, a Hall of Fame jockey, also had plenty to be thankful for. His battles with alcohol have been well documented, and he had not won a Triple Crown event since the 2009 Belmont.

“The owners and trainers, absolutely, put me on a pedestal, and I hope they’re all very proud that they’re not wrong about what they gave me,” Kent said after the race. “Because this is where I belong, riding classics.”

After calling their mother in Louisiana, the brothers had a late dinner at a steakhouse as part of a muted celebration.

“With all the emotion leading up to that race, and beginning a meal at 10 o’clock, I don’t care how excited you are, you’re starting to wind down,” Keith said. “We had a nice meal, pleasant chatter and a couple glasses of wine and it was over.”

Keith Desormeaux was asked if he would put Kent on Exaggerator in the Belmont.

With a wry grin, he replied: “No, I’m thinking about giving somebody else a chance. He’s won so many of these things, he’s getting a little greedy. Get Calvin (Borel) out of retirement.”

It was all a joke, of course. The brothers will team again at the Belmont, where on June 11 they will try to make it two in a row over Nyquist after losing four times to the previously unbeaten horse.

Other tentative entrants in the Belmont: Lani, who finished ninth in the Derby and fifth in the Preakness; Cherry Wine, the Preakness runner-up; Suddenbreakingnews; Brody’s Cause; and Destin.