The win attracted further attention on social media because Gun Runner ran the final half mile with a horseshoe caught in his tail; a shoe from Cautious Giant flew loose just as Gun Runner was starting his move. "We watched the tape repeatedly, repeatedly", said Asmussen, "and if you never seen anything before, just wait around. Can you believe that? I mean if we tried to throw one and stick in one's tail as he was standing, still we'd go 0-for-1,000 – let alone at a run, let alone Gun Runner, let alone in the Whitney – and it stayed. [With] how fast he was going [during the race], it was held out from him. When he slowed down to walk, then it came into him. We were obviously unaware of it until he came back to the winner's circle, but not a nick on him. I mean, there's still nails in it." The shoe was originally thrown out by Asmussen's assistant trainer Scott Blasi, but after realizing the rarity of the situation Blasi paid $100 to a fan to get it back. It was eventually given to Asmussen's children. The race improved Gun Runner's rating to 127 in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings August update, third place worldwide.
