Belmont Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Blew’s Clues: Sole Volante A Gift Horse Who Keeps On Giving

Just 22 years old, Andie Biancone is living her dream in Thoroughbred racing.

Not only is she the assistant trainer for the successful stable of her father, Patrick Biancone, but she's co-owner of the graded-stakes winner and possible Belmont Stakes (G1) or Blue Grass (G2) starter Sole Volante.

Sole Volante, by Karakontie, was purchased by Patrick Biancone for $20,000 at the OBS April Sale in 2019 as a birthday present for his daughter.

After winning both of his starts last year on turf, Sole Volante finished third in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes in his dirt debut at Gulfstream on Jan. 4, then won the Grade 2 Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 8 at Tampa Bay Downs. He then finished second to King Guillermo in the G2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 7 before returning to win an allowance race at Gulfstream last Wednesday, June 10.

Andie Biancone now races Sole Volante in partnership with Reeves Thoroughbred Racing.

Gulfstream host and analyst Jason Blewitt spoke to Andie Biancone for the latest edition of “Blew's Clues” about working and helping her dad, long trips in horse vans accompanying the stable's stars, and getting gifted Sole Volante by her father on her birthday.

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Tiz The Law Completes Preparations For 152nd Belmont Stakes

Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law, bred in New York by Twin Creeks Farm, breezed a half-mile Sunday on Big Sandy in his final preparation for the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes, to be held without spectators, on Saturday, June 20 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Jockey Manny Franco was aboard Tiz the Law who visited the Belmont main track at 5:30 a.m. The Constitution bay, working solo from the half-mile pole, breezed through splits of 26.50, 50.42 and out in 1:03.12.

Trainer Barclay Tagg said he was pleased with the colt's final prep.

“He went well. We weren't looking for anything special today,” said Tagg, who ponied Tiz the Law to and from the work.

Tiz the Law, who worked five-eighths in 1:00.53 on Monday on the Belmont main, was eager to work once released from the pony.

“When Barclay turned me loose, he got strong a little bit, but when we passed the seven-eighths to the three-quarters he settled down a little bit and he did it nice,” said Franco. “He did it really well and really easy, so I'm very happy with the work.”

A winner at first asking in August at Saratoga Race Course, Tiz the Law followed up with a four-length score in the Grade 1 Champagne in October at Belmont. He completed his juvenile campaign with a close third in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club, contested on a sloppy strip at Churchill Downs.

Tiz the Law prepared for his sophomore season at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach, Fla., which began at Gulfstream Park with a convincing three-length score in the Grade 3 Holy Bull in February which garnered a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure. Last out, he romped the nine-furlong Grade 1 Florida Derby by 4 ¼-lengths on March 28.

Tiz the Law will travel the same distance on Saturday in the Belmont Stakes, which will be run at 1 1/8-miles around one turn as the opening leg of the Triple Crown for the first time in history.

Franco said Tiz the Law provides him with options to navigate the trip.

“He makes my work a lot easier,” said Franco. “He's a versatile horse. He can be there on the pace or sit off, so I can do whatever I want.

“He's run here before and won and I think he likes the track,” added Franco. “So, that's to our advantage.”

The probable field for the Belmont Stakes currently stands at eight horses, including Dr Post (Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz, Jr.), Farmington Road (Pletcher, Javier Castellano), Jungle Runner (Steve Asmussen, Reylu Gutierrez), Max Player (Linda Rice, Joel Rosario), Pneumatic (Asmussen, Ricardo Santana, Jr.), Sole Volante (Patrick Biancone, Luca Panici), Tap It to Win (Mark Casse, John Velazquez) and Tiz the Law (Barclay Tagg, Manny Franco). Modernist, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, is on the bubble.

Tagg said he would prefer to receive an outside post for Tiz the Law at Wednesday's post position draw.

“I'd like to be in 5, 6 or 7. I'd like him to be outside,” said Tagg.

The Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, rescheduled from May 2 to September 5, will go as the second leg of the Classic series, with the Preakness Stakes, originally slated for May 16, to close out the Triple Crown on October 3 at Pimlico Race Course.

As the exclusive broadcast partner of the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown, NBC Sports will present live coverage from Belmont Park on Belmont Stakes Day beginning at 2:45 p.m. Eastern.

Belmont Stakes Day June 20 will feature six graded races including four Grade 1 events led by the historic Belmont Stakes, which will offer 150-60-30-15 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

Rounding out the Grade 1 entertainment on Belmont Stakes Day are the $300,000 Acorn for 3-year-old fillies going one mile; the $250,000 Woody Stephens presented by Claiborne Farm, a seven-furlong sprint over Big Sandy for 3-year-olds; and the $250,000 Jaipur, presented by America's Best Racing, for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs on turf, which offers a berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. A pair of one-mile turf races for sophomores, previously contested at nine furlongs, completes a stakes-laden card with the Grade 2, $150,000 Pennine Ridge and the Grade 3, $150,000 Wonder Again for fillies.

NYRA Bets is the official online wagering site for the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes, and the best way to bet the 2020 Belmont Park spring/summer meet. Available to customers across the United States, NYRA Bets allows horseplayers to watch and wager on racing from tracks around the world at any time. The NYRA Bets app is available for download for iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

For more information, please visit www.BelmontStakes.com.

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‘Owner Conversation’ To Determine Status Of Modernist After ‘Nice And Smooth’ Breeze

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott sent out Pam and Martin Wygod's graded stakes-winner Modernist to the Belmont Park main track in Elmont, N.Y., for a five-furlong breeze on Sunday morning.

Under mostly sunny skies, the graded stakes-winning son of Uncle Mo, piloted by regular rider Junior Alvarado, worked in tandem with two-time graded stakes winner Tacitus, who was piloted by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, recording a 24.40 opening quarter before finishing off their breeze in 59.20 seconds and galloped out in 1:11.40 over a main track rated “fast.” The moves were the fastest of 16 recorded works at the distance.

“He broke off in a nice rhythm and turning for home I was one length behind Tacitus,” Alvarado said. “As soon as we turned in, we got together and galloped out. I thought the work was extremely good.”

Following a third out maiden victory going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct, Modernist won his graded stakes debut in the Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds en route to a third-place effort in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at the New Orleans oval.

Alvarado praised his horse's versatility.

“He's a late [developing] horse. He's learning and learning. Last time we tried to sit a little bit off the pace to see what he was capable of…when we won at Fair Grounds we went wire to wire, so he's a versatile horse,” Alvarado said. “We can do anything we want in the race depending on how he breaks out of there. He always will be there to put me in the spot that I want.”

Mott did not confirm Modernist for the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 20, but said that a start in the American classic remains a possibility. The Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby, slated for June 27, also is in play for Modernist.

“We're going to have an owner conversation before too long,” Mott said. “The work looked good, nice and smooth. Modernist and Tacitus both worked together and looked great. They finished up well, galloped out nice and strong.”

Modernist is currently sixth on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with a total of 70 qualifying points toward the 'Run for the Roses'. In the Louisiana Derby, Modernist fell victim to a wide trip during the 1 3/16-mile journey, but still managed to come up a strong third finishing 4 ¼ lengths in arrears of Wells Bayou.

“He had kind of a wide trip in the Louisiana Derby but he's been off a while,” said Mott. “We don't know whether we'll go. We'll see how he comes out of it and we're going to talk with the owners.”

Should Modernist enter the Belmont Stakes, he will attempt to give Mott his second win in the American Classic. He saddled Drosselmeyer to victory in the 2010 edition.

Juddmonte Farms' Tacitus, last year's Belmont Stakes runner-up, is a likely contestant for the 1 ¼-mile Grade 2, $200,000 Suburban on July 4 at Belmont Park. A last out fourth in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on May 2, the gray son of Tapit won the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and Grade 2 Wood Memorial last year en route to a third in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.

“We're looking at the Suburban,” said Mott, who won the Suburban with Wekiva Springs (1996) and Flat Out (2013).

A Kentucky homebred, Tacitus is out of 2014 Champion Older Filly Close Hatches and boasts career earnings of over $2 million.

Juddmonte Farms homebred Hidden Scroll, who unseated Hall of Famer John Velazquez in his turf debut on June 3 at Belmont Park, worked a bullet half-mile in 47.88 Sunday on the Belmont green.

Hidden Scroll flashed his potential with a 14-length win on debut in January 2019 in a one-mile maiden contested on a sloppy track. The eye-catching effort earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure. He followed up with a fourth in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and was sixth in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.

The talented bay was again spectacular in his seasonal debut with a 12 1/2-length score in a six-furlong optional-claiming sprint at Gulfstream that garnered a 102 Beyer, but was off-the-board in the Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap in April at Oaklawn.

Alvarado was aboard the two-time winner for Sunday morning's return to the turf.

“He's a horse that's been very unlucky but he works like a freight [train],” said Alvarado. “He worked very fast today even though the way he was going it seemed like he was just enjoying the ride around there.”

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‘I’m Kind Of Speechless’: Reylu Gutierrez Tabbed By Asmussen For First Classic Ride

Jockey Reylu Gutierrez has maintained an even keel despite the natural fluctuations in a young rider's career. That tenacity has paid off in a big way.

Gutierrez was a finalist for the Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice in 2018, earned his first graded stakes win in 2019 and has become a regular on the New York Racing Asssociation circuit, garnering a place in one of the world's most competitive jockey colonies.

Now, another milestone has come for Gutierrez: his first mount in an American Classic, as Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen tabbed the 23-year-old to ride Jungle Runner in the 152nd Belmont Stakes on June 20 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

“I'm kind of speechless. I was working the horse for the Belmont Stakes, but I was assuming I was working him just to get him ready,” said Gutierrez, whose surprise was palpable when informed of the news. “It's an incredible opportunity. I've had a good start to the spring meet and I wasn't expecting it. I'm super excited.”

A native of Rochester, N.Y., Gutierrez took a non-traditional path to his career, first attending Cortland State University, where he graduated with a degree in exercise physiology. The son of trainer Luis Gutierrez and the nephew of jockey Jose Gutierrez, Reylu started riding in 2017, winning just once in 61 starts.

But in 2018, Gutierrez made 843 starts and won 109 races, earning more than $3.3 million. His wins and earnings ranked second among all apprentices in 2018. In 2019, he won his first graded stakes aboard Do Share in the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap.

“I've really had to put in the time and get better,” Gutierrez said. “Last year, I rode a lot in Florida. I got more experience, but my long-term goal was to ride here in New York. I came back this winter a much better rider. I work with my agent, Rudy Rodriguez, Jr., and it's been great for my career.

“With the pandemic, we wanted to stay here and build our business and help the horsemen here. It's a great opportunity now, and we'll embrace it with open arms and do our best.”

Gutierrez said he has some experience in a big race in the Empire State, finishing second aboard Not That Brady to Bankit in the New York Derby last July at his local track at Finger Lakes. The million-dollar Belmont Stakes – the oldest of the Triple Crown races – is one of the sport's biggest stakes and for the first time in history will be run as the first leg of the Triple Crown to properly account for the schedule adjustments and overall calendar for 3-year-olds in training.

“I've been preparing for this my whole life,” Gutierrez said. “Last year, I rode in the New York Derby up in Finger Lakes, and that's the biggest race at Finger Lakes. I lost that race; it was a heartbreaker since a lot of people from home were cheering me on and came up to see me. But the Belmont is the biggest race in New York, so I'm very excited. I haven't had a lot of these moments, but I'll be prepared.”

Jungle Runner has two wins in eight career starts. With the Belmont Stakes moved to 1 1/8 miles as the first leg of the Triple Crown this year, the Candy Ride colt will be competing at that distance for a second consecutive start after running eighth in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on May 20 at Oaklawn Park.

Jungle Runner won his stakes debut in the Clever Trevor on November 1 at Remington Park and has finished out of the money in four subsequent starts. As one of the expected long shots, Gutierrez said he will approach the Belmont the same as he did a maiden claimer at Finger Lakes or Aqueduct.

“I approach it like any other race,” Gutierrez said. “I have a job to do out there. You have to prepare, get there early and get my jog in before the races. I'm just really happy to be out there. I'll take a moment before the race and have it sink in. But once we're on to the post parade, it's time to focus.”

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