Friday, May 25th, 2012
A field of twelve three year old colts and geldings are scheduled to compete in third jewel of the Triple Crown as they run the Belmont Stakes on Saturday June 5th.
The Belmont Stakes is scheduled as the 11th race on the Belmont Park card and its set for a post time of 6:32PM Eastern Time and you can watch it on ABC TV.
The winners of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes will miss the race as both Super Saver and Lookin at Lucky will be absent from this field.
Many looking at the field will be disappointed by the quality of this field. Even so what has transpired is what turns out to be a pretty good betting race.
Experts around horse racing have speculated about how the distance of 1 ½ miles is not ideal in the breeding shed and if a race horse is not competing for a Triple Crown the connections would be wise to skip this race.
A win going 1 ½ miles just doesn’t do much for the horses breeding fee or syndication and should be better pointed at 1 ¼ mile races during the summer months.
Other than the Belmont Stakes there really isn’t any races that pay very much running at the 1 ½ mile distance.
So many connections have opted to skip this race and look for races competed at a lesser distance which would contribute more to the horse’s stud fee and syndication price at retirement.
For this reason the Belmont Stakes has become more relevant for New York based trainers looking for new business locally and less for those who are stabled outside of New York.
The Belmont Stakes is competed at the distance of 1 ½ mile on the dirt surface of Belmont Park.
The morning line favorite is the #6 horse Ice Box who ran second in the Kentucky Derby and is lined at 3-1.
Scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast with highs in the 80’s for Belmont Park Saturday.
Here is a look at the field of 12 for Saturday’s third jewel of the Triple Crown.
Breaking out of the #1 hole will be Dave in Dixie. This three year old will be ridden by Kentucky Derby winning rider Calvin Borel and is trained by Southern California based trainer John Sadler.
Dave in Dixie made his first four starts on the synthetic surfaces of Southern California. His only victory was against a straight Maiden field at Del Mar back on August 29th of last year. His debut on dirt was not good as he was fifth by 16 lengths in the Illinois Derby where he posted a career low 72 Beyer.
Dave in Dixie is listed as a longshot with 20-1 morning line odds.
From post position number two it will be Spangled Star. The colt will be ridden by Garrett Gomez and is trained by Richard Dutrow. He needed 6 races to break his maiden and it still remains as his only victory in his 8 race career.
He is coming off a career best 87 Beyer effort in a third place finish in the Withers at Aqueduct back on April 24th. Prior to that Spangled Star ran third in an optional claiming event at Laurel Park. Spangled Star as expected is an extreme long shot at 30-1.
The number three horse will be Uptowncharlybrown. The three year old will have the services of Rajiv Maragh and is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin. In five lifetime starts he has two wins and two third place finishes.
Uptowncharlybrown is coming off a third place finish a length and a half behind the eventual winner in the Grade 2 Lexington Stakes run on a synthetic surface. His best ever Beyer on dirt came in a Grade 3 event at Tampa Bay Downs where he produced a 91 Beyer in a third place effort.
Uptowncharlybrown has been solidly backed at the window as he has been no worse than 4-1 in 5 career starts. He has been listed as 10-1 on the morning line.
Breaking out of post position number four will be Make Music for Me. He will be ridden by Joel Rosario and is trained by Alexis Barba. The three year old is coming off a good fourth place finish in the Kentucky Derby back on May 1st at Churchill Downs a closing 4 ¾ lengths behind winner Super Saver. Make Music for Me was 20th in the Kentucky Derby on the backstretch some 24 lengths behind the pacesetter.
He achieved a career best 97 Beyer on that sloppy surface. If the track comes sloppy he could be the wise guy horse in the Belmont Stakes.
Make Music for Me has 9 lifetime starts and has a win, two seconds and a third. His lone win came on turf in the non graded Pasadena Stakes at Santa Anita at 1 mile on March 6th.
The son of Bernstein is lined at 10-1 odds on the morning line.
The number 5 horse will be Fly Down. This colt will have the services of John Velazquez and is trained by New York based trainer Nick Zito. Fly Down in 5 career tries has three wins and a third place finish.
Fly Down is coming off a win by 6 lengths in the Grade 2 Dwyer Stakes where he posted a career best 99 Beyer. The Dwyer was contested at 1 1/8th of a mile at Belmont Park. Fly Down has been lined at 9-2 on the morning line.
This three year old got too far behind in the Louisiana Derby and finished 9th prior to his win in the Dwyer. Fly Down has won three of his past 4 races.
Out of post position number six will be Ice Box. He will be ridden by Jorge Lezcano and is the second of trainer Nick Zito’s entrants in the Belmont Stakes. Ice Box is coming off a closing second place finish in the slop at the Kentucky Derby over a month ago. He posted his career best 100 Beyer on Derby Day.
Prior to his closing second place finish in the Kentucky Derby it was Ice Box running first at 20-1 odds by a nose in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on a dirt fast surface on March 20th at Gulfstream Park. He produced a 99 Beyer in that event.
Ice Box is the morning line favorite as he is posted at 3-1.
The colt has shown the ability to run well on fast or off tracks. In 8 career starts he has posted 3 wins and a second.
Drosselmeyer will be the number seven horse and he comes into the Belmont Stakes 12-1 on the morning line. He will be ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith and is trained by Bill Mott.
This three year old has 8 lifetime starts and 7 in the money finishes which include 2 trips to the winners circle. He is coming off a second place finish in the Grade 2 Dwyer at Belmont Park on May 8th some 6 lengths behind the winner Fly Down.
His career best Beyer figure was a 92 which he earned in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby ran at Fairgrounds Racetrack. He finished third that day just 1 length behind the winner in the 1 1/8th of a mile Kentucky Derby prep.
His wins came against a straight maiden field and in an Allowance race at Gulfstream Park on January 31st. This one has no graded victories and is lined at 12-1 in the Belmont Stakes morning line.
Running from post 8 is the lone gelding in the race Game on Dude. This three year old by Awesome Again will have Matt Garcia aboard and is trained by Southern California trainer Bob Baffert.
Game On Dude has 5 career starts with 2 wins and second to his credit. He was the winner of the Lone Star Derby back on May 8th where he produced a career best 95 Beyer in the 1 1/16th of a mile race contested over a dirt fast surface.
If the Belmont Stakes is run over a sloppy track take note. His worst race of his career came over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs where he produced a 65 Beyer in the Grade 3 Derby Trial back on April 24th.
Game On Dude is 10-1 odds on the Belmont Stakes morning line.
For the Latest Horse Racing Odds Please Visit our Horse Racing Odds Page
Racing from post position number 9 is the colt Stately Victor. He will be ridden by Alan Garcia and is trained by Michael Maker.
Stately Victor in 9 career starts has posted 2 wins and a second. He is coming off an 8th place finish in the Kentucky Derby over a month ago where he produced a 91 Beyer. That was his best ever Beyer figure on dirt.
Prior to his Kentucky Derby effort it was Stately Victor winning the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes competed over a synthetic surface at Keenland. He produced his career best 94 Beyer in that effort.
The three year old’s best performance over a dirt fast surface was a 5th place finish in a straight Allowance race at Gulfstream Park where he produced a 75 Beyer. Stately Victor is lined at 15-1 in the Belmont Stakes.
From post #10 will be the colt Stay Put. He will be ridden by jockey Jaimie Theriot and is trained by Steve Margolis. Stay Put has been lined in the morning with odds off 20-1.
This three year old in seven lifetime starts has posted 3 wins and 2 second place finishes. He is coming off a victory in an optional claiming effort over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs back on May 1st. He posted a 90 Beyer and that tied his career best he posted in the race before in his fifth place finish in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby.
Stay Put has been no better than 5th in his two graded stakes efforts. His three wins came in a Maiden effort and in 2 optional claiming races. This long shot is praying for rain on Saturday.
First Dude will be the colt breaking out of post position number 11 in the Belmont Stakes. He will be ridden by Ramon Dominguez and is trained by Dale Romans.
The colt is coming off a second place finish in the Preakness Stakes back on May 15th just ¾ of a length behind the eventual winner Lookin at Lucky. First Dude produced his career best Beyer figure in the Preakness with a 101.
He has been a bridesmaid for most of his career starts with just 1 win, 4 seconds and a third in 7 lifetimes races.
He has been on the improve since his 5th place finish in the Florida Derby which was followed up with a third in the Blue Grass Stakes. The odds makers have lined First Dude as the second favorite at 7-2 on the morning line for the Belmont Stakes.
Drawing the far outside in post position number twelve is Interactif. This three year old will be ridden by Joe Castellano and is trained by New York based trainer Todd Pletcher.
Interactif enjoyed a good 2 year old campaign as he earned 3 wins and a third place finish in 5 starts. His 2010 efforts has produced just 2 second place finishes in three starts. He was lined at 12-1 on the morning line.
Interactif has raced 4 times on the turf with two of his three wins coming on grass. His best ever Beyer came in his second place finish in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes where he finished 2nd a length behind Sydney’s Candy where he produced a 94 Beyer on that run on synthetics.
His dirt races came way back in July of 2009 in his first two races of his career which were sprints. His best Beyer figure in those two efforts was a 63 in breaking his Maiden on the dirt at Monmouth Park in his first start of his career. Interactif’s past six races have been either on the synthetic or turf courses.
The Todd Pletcher trained entrant is lined with a morning line odds of 12-1.
For the Latest Horse Racing Odds Please Visit our Horse Racing Odds Page
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