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Belmont Park Meet Generates $632,208,251

The Belmont Park spring/summer meet generated $632,208,251 in all-sources handle, a 20.6% increase over the 2019 spring/summer meet and 63.5% above the 2020 spring/summer meet, which was abbreviated to just 25 days because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The spring/summer meet, which began Apr. 22 without spectators in attendance before reopening to a limited number of spectators May 1, boasted 59 stakes races worth $16.95 million in total purse money.

Average daily handle over the 48 days of racing was $13,171,005, a 20.6% increase over 2019. The abbreviated 2020 spring/summer meet saw average daily handle of $15,466,198.

This year marked the return of the GI Belmont S. to its customary spot on the racing calendar and its famed distance of 1 1/2 miles. In 2020, a readjustment to the stakes schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic saw the “Test of the Champion” run without spectators in attendance and as the opening leg of the Triple Crown series for the first time in history.

The June 5 Belmont Stakes Day card, highlighted by Essential Quality (Tapit)'s victory in the Belmont, generated all-sources handle of $112,725,278, a NYRA record for a non-Triple Crown year.

On-track handle for the 13-race Belmont Stakes Day card, which included eight Grade I races among nine total stakes, was $7,532,571.

A total of 454 races were run during the spring/summer meet including 243 on dirt and 211 on the turf. A total of 33 races were taken off the turf due to weather. Average field size over the 454 races was 7.6. This compares to 448 total races run in 2019, including 260 on dirt and 188 on turf. A total of 46 races were taken off the turf due to weather that year. Average field size in 2019 was 7.0.

A total of 248 races were run during the abbreviated 2020 spring/summer meet including 128 on dirt and 120 on the turf. A total of five races were taken off the turf due to weather last year. Average field size over the 248 races was 8.6.

Total on-track handle for the 2021 spring/summer meet was $49,343,664.

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‘Quality’ Over Quantity in Triple Crown Finale

ELMONT, NY — What a difference a year makes.

Back in its traditional spot on the calendar and 1 1/2-mile distance after the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world-and Triple Crown-completely upside down in 2020, Saturday's GI Belmont S. will feature a showdown between last year's champion 2-year-old colt Essential Quality (Tapit) and GI Preakness S. upsetter Rombauer (Twirling Candy).

The Godolphin homebred was unstoppable in his first five career starts, headed by a win in the 2020 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Sent off as the 5-2 favorite in the GI Kentucky Derby, he covered all the ground that day and reported home a respectable fourth, beaten just a length.

How will he handle the added distance of the Belmont? His leading sire Tapit is shooting for a record fourth success, and if his training is any indication, the longer the better, per trainer Brad Cox.

“I remember the first time we breezed him,” Cox said in a recent feature in TDN. “I looked at my assistant and said, 'Wow, this horse acts like he can win the Belmont.' He just never stopped.”

Cox added of the Belmont 2-1 morning-line favorite, “He ran what I thought was a winning race in the Derby; he didn't have the trip, but he showed up and he's been improving in every start.”

Cox also saddled the Derby second-place finisher Mandaloun (Into Mischief), who could be elevated to first after a split sample confirmed the prohibited corticosteroid betamethasone in the race's winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) earlier this week.

Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) sat just behind the leaders in the Derby, and, after making his way through some traffic, outfinished Essential Quality by a head to place third. Hot Rod Charlie's resume also includes a 94-1 second-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and a front-running victory in the GII Louisiana Derby Mar. 20.

The half-brother to champion sprinter Mitole (Eskendereya) retains the services of Flavien Prat, who also guided home Rombauer to an 11-1 upset in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

“With the distance, I think it will suit him well,” trainer Doug O'Neill said. “He's won going 1 3/16 in the Louisiana Derby. I think his gate speed and versatility will be an asset as well. I'm super excited having Flavien back on him.”

The versatile Rombauer, also a winner of the El Camino Real Derby over the Golden Gate synthetic Feb. 13, finished behind Essential Quality in each of their two previous meetings, reporting home fifth in the Juvenile and third in the GII Blue Grass S. Excluding recent Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify, Rombauer seeks to become the first sophomore to complete the Preakness/Belmont double since Afleet Alex did so in 2005.

The John and Diane Fradkin homebred will be piloted for the first time by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, his seventh different rider in eight-career starts.

“He's had several different riders and it's not something that's bothered me,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “It would have been nice to have Flavien back, but I feel we have a wonderful substitute.”

The former assistant to Todd Pletcher added, “I have a lot of good memories here. To win any Triple Crown race is fantastic, the Belmont is really the 'Test of the Champion' and it would certainly be nice to hoist a trophy like that on Saturday.”

Pletcher will have three chances to capture his fourth win in the Belmont, led by GI Curlin Florida Derby winner and Kentucky Derby ninth Known Agenda (Curlin). Irad Ortiz, Jr., booked to ride the St Elias Stable homebred, went down in a spill on Friday's card and will be sidelined for two weeks. A replacement rider for Known Agenda has yet to be named.

Pletcher will also saddle longshots Bourbonic (Bernardini) and Overtook (Curlin). The former followed a narrow upset in the GII Wood Memorial S. with a 13th-place finish in the Derby. Overtook, a $1-million KEESEP yearling, enters off a third-place finish in the local prep GIII Peter Pan S.

Never a factor after getting wiped out at the start in the Derby, GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) looks to atone for his 17th-place finish as the 9-2 second choice. The Hronis Racing and Michael Talla colorbearer appears to be the controlling speed, with a better break this time, of course.

“We always thought the longer the better for him,” trainer John Sadler said. “He's come back and done real well since the Derby. We think he can run a long way. He's got Candy Ride on top and with him being out of an Empire Maker mare, he's got the stamina to go the distance.”

Japan's France Go de Ina (Will Take Charge), sixth after a slow start in the G2 UAE Derby Mar. 27 and seventh in the Preakness, rounds out the field of eight. A $1-million bonus–offered to the connections of any Japan-based horse who wins the Belmont– will be on the line.

A year after being conducted spectator-free, around one turn at 1 1/8 miles and as the first race of the Triple Crown on the third Saturday in June, sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 80s will greet a capped crowd of approximately 11,000 for Saturday's loaded 13-race program.

The card features eight Grade I contests, including the prestigious GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. Post time for the Belmont is 6:49 p.m. ET. NBC will have live coverage beginning at 5 p.m.

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Three of Four Oregon Fairs Now a ‘Go’

One of Oregon's four mixed-meet racing fairs has dropped out of the rotation for this summer. The manager of the Harney County Fair in Burns told the Oregon Racing Commission (ORC) May 20 the track won't be running July 24 and 25, but that the fair's management wants to improve its focus on racing so the meet can resume in 2022 after a two-year hiatus.

Last year none of the Oregon fairs raced because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state's lone commercial track, Grants Pass Downs, has been in action since May 10, and meets are to follow at Eastern Oregon Livestock Show in Union (June 11-13), Crooked River Roundup in Prineville (July 14-17), and Tillamook County Fair in Tillamook (Aug. 11-14).

ORC executive director Jack McGrail said that as coronavirus restrictions ease, those venues could be racing in front of full-capacity crowds by the summer.

Jordon Bennett, the fair manager for Harney County, thanked commissioners for the work they had put into trying to get Harney up and running, including by providing the fairs circuit tracks with additional operations funding. As of last month's ORC meeting, Harney had intended to race in 2021.

In turn, commission members thanked Bennett for his candid remarks on how Harney can do better next year.

“I feel as if horse racing here has been kind of haphazard,” Bennett admitted to the board. “We haven't given our full effort, which is something I'm trying to work on. So we're trying to get all of our ducks in a row for 2022…. We're committed. We just want to make sure we do it right.”

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Derby Day 147 Is Here!

LOUISVILLE, KY – Beautiful spring weather, enthusiastic racing fans dressed to impress and the GI Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.

This, of course, wasn't the case last year, far from it, as the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down and forced both the GI Kentucky Oaks and Derby to be held spectator-free over Labor Day weekend.

Masks, temperature checks and social distancing are more of the norm these days as limited crowds of between 40,000-50,000 (40-50% reserved seating, 60% premium dining areas and 25-30% infield) have been welcomed back beneath the Twin Spires.

Last year's Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox will look to become the first native of Louisville to saddle a Derby winner.

He has unbeaten 2-year-old champion and 2-1 morning-line favorite Essential Quality (Tapit) as well as Mandaloun (Into Mischief). The latter, despite a no-show in his final prep in the GII Louisiana Derby, has become a bit of a talking horse on the Churchill backstretch leading up to the main event.

Redemption for jockey Luis Saez? Disqualified from first for causing interference aboard Maximum Security in 2019, Saez has the call aboard Essential Quality.

Chad Brown has been in good form as he prepares the very live GII Blue Grass S. runner-up Highly Motivated (Into Mischief), beaten just a neck by Essential Quality. Looking for his first win in the Derby, Brown asked to sit next to Hall of Famer Bob Baffert at the Kentucky Derby Trainers' Dinner for some advice.

“I've been working him over there all night and I finally cracked him,” Brown said at the event. “He leaned over to me and said, 'If you want to win the Derby, you're best chance is, you got to sneak into Churchill Friday night and put grass seed all over the main track.' He actually didn't say that, but it's something he would say!”

Baffert, currently tied with Ben Jones for the most Kentucky Derby victories with six, will be represented by the overachieving GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby runner-up Medina Spirit (Protonico). The GIII Robert B. Lewis S. winner, just a $1,000 OBSWIN yearling, brought a mere $35,000 as an OBSOPN juvenile.

The unbeaten Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}), meanwhile, figures to go off as the race's second choice. He will look to emulate unbeaten Derby winners Big Brown and Barbaro, who also kicked off their careers on grass.

Two-time Kentucky Derby winning-trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle four–GI Curlin Florida Derby winner Known Agenda (Curlin); GII Wood Memorial S. one-two Bourbonic (Bernardini) and Dynamic One (Union Rags); and GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks second Sainthood (Mshawish). There's been plenty of talk about Known Agenda drawing the rail, but we'll see how much of factor it is with the new 20-horse starting gate, which debuted in 2020.

Who's made the best physical appearance during training hours? Mandaloun, as previously noted, the stunning gray Soup and Sandwich (Into Mischief) and Rock Your World are certainly right at the top of the list.

As far as getting over the surface, Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), Known Agenda and Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) were all traveling very nicely during their morning preparations.

In case you missed it, the aforementioned GII Louisiana Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie has been sporting a special blanket honoring the late Jake Panus, who passed away at 16 last August when he was a passenger in a car involved in a DUI accident. The blanket features a University of South Carolina logo to help spread awareness for The Jake Panus Walk-on Football Endowed Scholarship. Donations to the scholarship fund can be made here: https://donate.sc.edu/JakePanusScholarship.

The supporting cast on the Kentucky Derby undercard includes: the GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic, GI Churchill Downs S., GI Derby City Distaff S. and three other graded races.

Saturday's Kentucky Derby coverage begins at 12:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The action shifts to NBC Sports at 2:30 p.m. ET for a live five-hour telecast. Post time for the Derby is 6:57 p.m. ET.

Happy Derby!

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