As the longest test of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes pushes its participants to a distance they have never faced before in competition and probably won’t face again. While the field is filled with horses who competed in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and other elite two-turn races, there are no prior 1 1/2-mile races for North American 3-year-olds to prove their mettle at the distance. ::2014 BELMONT STAKES: Latest news, video, and more A helpful set of statistics in analyzing which Belmont horses might thrive at 1 1/2 miles are the average progeny winning distances of a horse’s sire and dam. Those numbers can provide a snapshot of a sire’s ability to impart stamina on his progeny or a dam’s capabilities as a producer. For example, if a stallion’s average winning distance (AWD) is 7.75 furlongs, then the average distance of a race won by one of his offspring is between 7 1/2 furlongs and one mile. A runner by that sire ought to be more likely to successfully navigate a classic-distance race than a runner by a sire with a lower AWD. By these criteria, Grade 2-placed Commissioner appears to be the Belmont Stakes entry most capable of handling a route of ground. The bay colt is from the final crop of 1992 Belmont winner A.P. Indy, whose 18 foal crops have won at an average distance of 8.24 furlongs, putting him second among the Belmont sires. The 25-year-old pensioned son of Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew is the sire of 2007 Belmont winner Rags to Riches and 2000 runner-up Aptitude. Commissioner’s dam, the Grade 3-placed multiple stakes winner Flaming Heart, has produced four winners from as many runners, with an AWD of 8.06 furlongs to lead all Belmont mares. The daughter of 1997 Belmont winner Touch Gold is the field’s only mare with an AWD greater than a mile. Commissioner is the best example of distance aptitude among Flaming Heart’s runners, having earned both of his career victories at 1 1/8 miles. He is a half-brother to Grade 3 winner and 2013 Breeders’ Cup Sprint runner-up Laugh Track. That horse has performed best as a sprinter but boasts a pair of wins at 1 1/16 miles. Wood Memorial winner Wicked Strong finished with the second-highest combined AWD rank of the Belmont field. The colt is by sixth-ranked Hard Spun, who has an AWD figure of 6.96 furlongs from four crops of racing age. His dam, Moyne Abbey, ranks second among the Belmont broodmares with three winners from as many runners at an average distance of 7.99 furlongs. Coming in third was Matterhorn, a probable longshot by Tapit, whose seven crops of racing age win at an average distance of 7.37 furlongs, ranking him fifth. His dam, the Grade 3-winning Roy mare Winter Garden, ranks fourth, with four winners from as many foals to race with an AWD of 7.7 furlongs. California Chrome, an odds-on favorite to complete a sweep of the Triple Crown on Saturday,  is in the sixth position among the Belmont entrants by combined sire and dam rankings. The son of Lucky Pulpit has defied his parents’ AWD figures throughout the Triple Crown season, as he had little trouble handling distances up to 1 1/4 miles. Lucky Pulpit ranks last among the 10 Belmont sires with an AWD of 6.46 furlongs from five crops of racing age. California Chrome is the first graded stakes winner for the 13-year-old son of Pulpit and is one of four stakes winners by his sire. Excluding California Chrome, Lucky Pulpit’s other three stakes winners have won a combined seven stakes at an average distance of 6.79 furlongs. California Chrome is the first foal out of his dam, the winning Not For Love mare Love the Chase. This means her AWD figure is the same as her star runner’s personal number of 7.81 furlongs, putting her third on the list. While having just a single foal makes it difficult to measure Love the Chase’s ability to produce horses who can run a distance, California Chrome has held up his end of the bargain, with wins at 1 1/4 miles, 1 3/16 miles, 1 1/8 miles, and two wins at 1 1/16 miles. California Chrome is the only runner in this year’s Belmont field who is the first foal out of his dam. The leading sire of the Belmont field by AWD is the late Dynaformer, who is represented by Medal Count. The son of Roberto was the sire of 22 foal crops with an AWD of 9.15 furlongs, making him the only sire of the entire Triple Crown season whose foals win at an average distance greater than 1 1/8 miles.