Belmont Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Belmont Stakes May Lack Extra ‘Star Power,’ But Connections Are Excited To Kick Off Triple Crown

The past several weeks' three major defections from the 3-year-old season – Charlatan, Nadal, and Maxfield – may have turned this Saturday's Belmont Stakes into a smaller field, but connections were still quick to express their excitement for the the non-traditional first leg of the Triple Crown during an NTRA conference call Monday afternoon.

“My original thought was that it could potentially be a race that would oversubscribe, but now it looks like it's going to be more in the neighborhood of an eight or a nine-horse field, max,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who plans to enter the pair of Dr. Post and Farmington Road. “That does surprise me a little bit, and I think that's partly due to some bad luck for some horses and also the uncertainty due to the timing of everything.”

The changing schedule of the Triple Crown, caused by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, saw the Kentucky Derby pushed back from the first Saturday in May to the first Saturday in September. The Preakness was rescheduled for the first Saturday in October, and the Belmont was pushed back three weeks from its originally-scheduled date, and is now the first leg of the classic series.

Rather than running the Belmont at the traditional 1 1/2-mile distance, the New York Racing Association made the decision to shorten it to nine furlongs, turning the “Test of the Champion” into a one-turn affair.

“I had spoken to people three or four weeks ago, and said that in many ways I felt I thought the Belmont was going to be this year's Kentucky Derby, because its the first time that the best horses in training were going to be meeting each other, the West Coast and East Coast and in-between,” echoed Jack Knowlton, co-owner of likely favorite Tiz the Law. “Clearly because of the injuries in Bob's two horses, and now with Maxfield out, there isn't the star power that we all expected.

“But, I feel good about the race being a mile and an eighth. We know that Tiz the Law can handle Belmont, he trains on it, he won the G1 Champagne there. I think the configuration, with a long run down the backside, Manny (Franco's) gonna have an opportunity to put him where he wants to put him. He'll be able to make the run that he's made in all four of his wins, just kind of stalking a little bit off the pace, then moving forward around the turn and winning the race in the stretch.”

It is not yet clear whether any owners will be able to attend the Belmont Stakes, which Knowlton especially acknowledged was a new challenge. His Sackatoga Stable group became famous when they won the 2003 Kentucky Derby with Funny Cide, after riding several school busses from their hotel to Churchill Downs with a 53-person entourage.

This time around, the majority of the Sackatoga group plans to watch the Belmont Stakes from a restaurant patio in Saratoga.

“Funny Cide was a once in a lifetime for an outfit like ours,” Knowlton said. “To have it happen again, it looks like lightning really has struck twice… so the school bus will be reserved for Louisville, and we're hopeful we will be able to have owners and a number of fans at Churchill.”

Meanwhile, Knowlton has all the faith in the world in veteran trainer Barclay Tagg.

“Barclay's been in the game for 50 years, and he's got all the experience you need,” Knowlton said. “He doesn't get horses like Funny Cide or Tiz the Law very often, but when he does, he makes the most of it.”

Looking to upset the favorite will be a recent allowance winner trained by Mark Casse, who also took time to speak to media during Monday's teleconference. The 3-year-old son of Tapit broke his maiden at Saratoga back in August, and Casse immediately started thinking about bigger and better things.

“After he broke his maiden, I told (owner) Mrs. Weber, 'I think this colt could win the Breeders' Cup this fall, but it's going to be a bit of a rush, and we're going to have to run him two turns in his next start,'” Casse recalled.

His first two-turn race, the Breeders' Futurity, was a bit of a disaster when he missed the start, rushed up and fought with jockey Tyler Gaffalione, and faded to finish 10th. Trying again in the listed Street Sense Stakes, Tap It To Win was gashed up at the start and again finished at the rear of the field.

“He couldn't hardly walk for a couple weeks after, and it turns out a piece of bone actually died, so we had to operate on him,” Casse explained. After taking the winter off, Tap It To Win “came back with a vengeance, and with a much better attitude. He's always shown, from the time we got him, that he was something exceptional.”

He won his first start off the layoff, and his second start on June 4 resulted in a five-length romp at Belmont Park.

“Johnny (Velazquez, jockey) is the one that kind of convinced me for sure that the Belmont is the way to go.” Casse said. “He felt like he finished with something left, and he said he galloped out very strong.”

The Belmont will be the colt's third race off the layoff, and Tap It To Win could be poised for a career-best performance.

Meanwhile, Pletcher's pair of Farmington Road and Dr Post, both sired by Quality Road, are also preparing well for Saturday's big test. The lightly-raced Dr Post got a “good education” last out when he won the listed Unbridled Stakes at Gulfstream Park, Pletcher said, and should be close enough to the pace to make his presence felt.

Farmington Road hasn't shown the same success rate on the track as his stablemate, and Pletcher admitted that the 1 1/2-mile distance might have been more his style.

“He's come close to a breakthrough performance, and he would appreciate a good honest pace up front,” Pletcher said. “On paper, it looks like it should have solid pace. Because of the one-turn dimension, horses lay a little closer to the pack because the first turn doesn't spread them out… that's to the benefit of Farmington Road because he won't be so far out of contention early.”

Also expected for Saturday's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes are: Jungle Runner, Max Player, Modernist, Pnuematic, and Sole Volante.

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Tiz The Law Continues To Lead NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll Ahead Of Saturday’s Belmont Stakes

All eyes figure to be on Tiz the Law when he makes his expected start in the Belmont Stakes on June 20 as the son of Constitution heads into the first leg of the 2020 Triple Crown with a firm lead in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Poll.

Trained by Barclay Tagg for Sackatoga Stable, Tiz the Law is expected to be the favorite for the Belmont Stakes, which will be contested over 1 1/8 miles this year instead of its usual distance of 12 furlongs. The bay colt most recently captured the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 28 and is the leader of the sophomore male ranks, earning 28 first-place votes and 360 points from poll voters this week.

Tiz the Law completed his final serious workout in preparation for the Belmont on June 14, breezing a half mile in :50.42 under regular rider Manny Franco.

“He makes my work a lot easier,” Franco told the NYRA publicity team after the colt's workout. “He's a versatile horse. He can be there on the pace or sit off, so I can do whatever I want.”

Honor A. P., winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on June 6, remains second in the poll behind Tiz the Law with 9 first-place votes and 339 points. Authentic, second in the Santa Anita Derby, moved up one spot this week to third overall with 260 points followed by King Guillermo (201 points) and expected Belmont Stakes runner Sole Volante (171).

Grade 1-winner Maxfield (109 points) dropped to sixth overall in the wake of news that he would miss this year's Kentucky Derby due to a condylar fracture suffering during a June 10 workout.

Fellow Grade 1-winner Charlatan (97 points) is seventh with former stablemate Nadal (78) in eighth. Basin (72 points) and Ete Indien (70) complete the top 10.

Rankings were relatively stagnant this week in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with champion Midnight Bisou continuing to be unshakable from the No. 1 spot. The daughter of Midnight Lute earned 26 first-place votes and 343 points to stay atop the rankings as she prepares for an expected run in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 27.

Grade 1-winner Mucho Gusto (245 points) and By My Standards (2 first-place votes, 244 points) remain second and third, respectively, followed by Code of Honor, who earned 3 first-place votes and 190 points in the wake of his victory in the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes on June 6.

Tom's d'Etat (138 points) holds in fifth followed by Zulu Alpha (1 first-place vote, 129 points). Vekoma, winner of the Grade 1 Carter Handicap on June 6, remains in the seventh spot with 119 points with champion Maximum Security (4 first-place votes, 100 points), Improbable (88), and McKinzie (83) rounding out the top 10.

Tiz the Law (25 points) was not ranked in the top 10 but did receive one first-place vote.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in both the Top 3-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

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Lamoreaux: ‘Cripple Crown’ Or Not, There Is Nothing Like The Belmont

Something is glaringly missing in all the conjecture about this year's so-called Triple Crown – the energy and the engrained memories that all you “improvers of the breed” bring to the sport. When Chic Anderson up in the Belmont announce booth intoned, “they're on the turn and Secretariat is moving like a tremendous machine,” my feet felt like they came off the ground and the sweat poured out of me as a full-throated roar enveloped the race track.

Even if you weren't there but are old enough to have seen the race on television, it's a memory that must be forever etched in your psyche, Secretariat running like the wind at the end of a mile-and-a-half. My longtime CBS colleague Heywood Hale “Woodie” Broun, who was part of that broadcast team, said he saw fans waving their $2 winning tickets in the air, never intending to cash them in. “That was to be their souvenir because when you are in the presence of something marvelous, some little piece of it, like a piece of glitter, drops on you and you've got it. You've got that ticket. Part of Secretariat's glory is with you!”

That's what separates the Belmont crowd — with a Triple Crown on the line — from other major sporting events. It's a fan's race, corporate connections or a large stash of cash be damned! Connections and money may be a prerequisite to attending any Super Bowl or seventh game of the World Series. But any guy or doll with an eye on history can usually force their way into “Big Sandy” on Belmont day — just not this year.

A record 120,139 showed up in 2004 when the popular Smarty Jones lost his Triple Crown bid to Birdstone. Still, another 102,199 came in 2014 to watch West Coast heartthrob California Chrome lose to Tonalist. And 90,327 were rewarded when undefeated Justify brought home the bacon two years ago. While there won't be any spectators Saturday at the 152nd Belmont, the betting handle could be huge and that would really be something to celebrate for a Thoroughbred sport that is forever looking over its shoulder because of a lack of unity in its leadership.

When the Covid pandemic took over our lives a few months back, the usual calendar markers — birthdays, weddings, Belmonts — were snatched from us. And the Belmont took a bigger hit when it was not only placed first in the Triple Crown lineup, but also had its distance shortened to a mile-and-an-eighth. That shouldn't be too tough a get for these maturing 3-year-olds, but it will not really battle-test them. For nearly a century now the Belmont has always been the musclebound cleanup hitter. Now it's just a table setter trying to get on base.

For the record, the “test of the champion” Belmont has a storied history. It was first a “wrong way” race, run clockwise, English style until 1920. It had its beginning in Jerome Park, birthplace of modern American racing located in the Bronx, New York. Leonard Jerome, founder of the American Jockey Club had a daughter, Jennie, who gave birth to Winston Churchill. And, on a grand opening day in September of 1866, the biggest celebrity in the house was Civil War Commanding General of the Army Ulysses S Grant, soon to be President of the United States.

Turf writer Joe Palmer and his classic book, “This Was Racing”

I found those incidental facts in “This Was Racing,” selected columns by the splendid turf writer Joe H. Palmer, published in 1953. Palmer, a Kentucky-born college professor and PhD candidate who went on to grace the sports pages of the New York Herald Tribune alongside the columns of his Hall of Fame pal, the great Red Smith, had no doubt that the Preakness and even his sacred Kentucky Derby paled in comparison to the Belmont.

In his opinion, “The Belmont is a better race than either of them, and who has to tell you so? Why, a Kentuckian, probably now barred. If you doubt it, read down the list of winners and then dig into the books to see how they went into the stud and sent the great racers back.”

Palmer loved the race track too, “It hasn't the homey charm of, say, Keeneland or the intimacy of Pimlico, or the nostalgic somnolence of Saratoga — (but) Belmont lies over other metropolitan tracks like ice cream over hay and the quality of its racing is the highest in the nation.”

The Belmont has always held a sweet spot with me, ever since I began covering the Triple Crown for CBS News back in 1969 with Woodie Broun. That's the year Canadian industrialist Frank McMahon, owner of Majestic Prince, uttered the immortal words, “the Cripple Crown.”

We were interviewing McMahon on the eve of the race, where his horse was a short favorite over arch-rival Arts and Letters and rumors were rampant that Majestic Prince was not sound. The pair had been a neck apart in both the Derby and Preakness, with Arts and Letters flying at the end, but coming up a head short each time.

Frank had been out partying the night before and looked it. Woodie asked him what it was like to be on the cusp of history. He stared into the camera for what seemed like an eternity and then out came something like, “Well Woodie, the Cripple Crown …” Majestic Prince finished a game second to Arts and Letters, but came out of the race lame and never raced again.

So, maybe that's all we have this year, a “Cripple Crown” that few denizens trackside will be talking about this Belmont day due to the peculiar circumstances surrounding the race. And to all those who want to shake up the old order or to change the classic Belmont distance, beware. History is never kind to those who ignore it.

For now, let's consider the words of Joe Palmer from Kentucky, who wasn't shy back in the day in reminding the hard-bitten New York bettors that on Belmont day it's history that matters most. “On race day I want a band. I don't care if it plays 'The Sidewalks of New York' or 'Camptown Races' when the Belmont field comes out, but I want it to say something that says to the assembled multitude, 'Look chums, this isn't the ninth race. This is the Belmont!'”

E.S “Bud” Lamoreaux III is a creator and former executive producer of CBS News Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt. He won four Eclipse Awards for national television excellence.

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Sole Volante To Wheel Back In 10 Days For Belmont Stakes

Following a strong performance in an allowance race last Wednesday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Sole Volante will run back in just 10 days to start in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, reports the Daily Racing Form. To be run this Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., the Belmont will be the first leg of the 2020 Triple Crown due to sweeping schedule changes caused by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

Sole Volante, a 3-year-old son of Karakontie trained by Patrick Biancone, won the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes back in February before finishing second to King Guillermo in the G2 Tampa Bay Derby. The late-running colt is owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Andie Biancone.

Wednesday's allowance race saw Sole Volante fall back to the rear of the field, as much as 10 lengths off the pace, then close around the outside with a sustained bid and cross the wire a comfortable 3/4-length winner.

“His energy level is very high, very good,” Biancone said. “We gave him a prep for the Belmont, and he came out of it the way I was expecting. The only way you cannot win a race is if you don't run.”

Sole Volante will ship to New York on a Tuesday flight out of South Florida.