ELMONT, N.Y. – Before there was Rich Strike, there was Sarava. Twenty years before Rich Strike became the second-longest shot to win the Kentucky Derby at 80-1, Sarava upset the 2002 Belmont Stakes at 70-1. The $142.50-win mutuel still ranks as the highest-priced winner in the 153 runnings of the race. Ken McPeek was the trainer of Sarava, who under Edgar Prado beat Medaglia d’Oro by a half-length in the same race in which War Emblem was going for the Triple Crown. Saturday, for the fourth time since that memorable day, McPeek is back in the Belmont Stakes with Creative Minister, the third-place finisher in the Preakness who looms the fourth choice in an eight-horse Belmont Stakes field. In a year in which McPeek seemed pretty loaded with 3-year-olds for the Triple Crown, it is somewhat surprising that Creative Minister is the one who will represent him in two legs of the series. This is similar to 2002 in that McPeek had several 3-year-olds who were more highly regarded than Sarava going into the Triple Crown. :: DRF's Belmont Stakes Headquarters: Get the latest news, info on contenders, past performances, picks, and more  In 2002, McPeek had Harlan’s Holiday, who won the Florida Derby and Blue Grass; Repent, who had won the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby; and the filly Take Charge Lady, who had dominated her own gender in the Fair Grounds Oaks and Ashland. Harlan’s Holiday went off the 6-1 favorite in the Kentucky Derby and finished seventh, behind upset winner War Emblem. Repent ran second to War Emblem in the Illinois Derby and came out of that race with an ankle chip and was sidelined. Take Charge Lady ran in the Kentucky Oaks and was upset by Farda Amiga. “At one point in April I had the first and second favorites for the Derby that year,” McPeek recalled Monday morning at Belmont Park. “Everybody was expecting one or the other to win it. We misjudged the pace in the Derby with Harlan’s Holiday, and Repent had to be shelved. Take Charge Lady might have beat them all if I had run her in it.” Sarava, a son of Wild Again, had started his career on turf in Europe for Brian Meehan. He made his first two starts in the U.S. for Burk Kessinger, who won a maiden race on dirt with him at Churchill Downs. Following a second-place finish in an allowance, Sarava was sent to McPeek because he was going to be in Florida for the winter. But Sarava didn’t get to the races at 3 until April due to a foot abscess. “It was an infection underneath the wall,” McPeek said. “He lost about a third of his hoof wall over it. It took us a long time to get him sound enough to get back to the track.” Sarava finished second in a Keeneland allowance on April 14 and again in a Churchill allowance on April 27. McPeek was planning on going in another allowance until he got a call from the Pimlico racing office saying the field for the Sir Barton Stakes on the Preakness undercard was coming up light. Sarava, in a six-horse field, won the Sir Barton by four lengths. Leading up to that Belmont, all the focus was on War Emblem, who was attempting to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Sarava flew well under the radar. “I felt like he’d run well,” McPeek said. “I couldn’t say I was going over there extremely confident. Edgar doesn’t like instructions. . . . I said, ‘Go shock the world.’ He just smiled. Went out and did it, too.” War Emblem, who had stumbled at the start and was behind horses, was basically done by the top of the stretch. Turning for home, Medaglia d’Oro was in front and Sarava was charging at him. “I had my binoculars on him,” McPeek said. “I told the owner, who was standing next to me, when he hit the quarter pole he’s not going to quit; we have a real chance here. He kept saying, ‘Is that us? Is that us?’ I said, ‘He won’t quit.’ ” :: Bet the Belmont Stakes with confidence! Join DRF Bets and get a $250 deposit match bonus, $10 free bet, and access to FREE DRF Formulator! That Sarava was 70-1 didn’t faze McPeek before or after or even now. “I didn’t think much of it,” McPeek said. “We got him ready and we gave him a chance. Because it was his fourth race of the season, the timing was good, he was ready for it. He handled this racetrack real well, much like this horse has done.” This horse is Creative Minister, who much like Sarava flew under the radar all spring, and rightly so. He didn’t get to the races until March 5 and didn’t win his maiden until April 9. Meanwhile, McPeek already had established Derby contenders in Smile Happy and Tiz the Bomb, both of whom were graded stakes winners as 2-year-olds. At 3, Smile Happy finished second in the Risen Star and Blue Grass, and Tiz the Bomb won the John Battaglia and Jeff Ruby Steaks to earn their way into the Derby. Both were longshots in the race, with Smile Happy finishing eighth at 14-1 and Tiz the Bomb ninth at 31-1. Following Creative Minister’s maiden win on Blue Grass Day at Keeneland, part-owner Greg Back wanted to run in the Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby Day undercard. McPeek pushed to keep him two turns and opted for a first-level allowance, which Creative Minister won by 2 3/4 lengths. “I made him a deal,” McPeek said. “I said I’m going to run him in the allowance on Derby Day and if he wins the allowance race I’ll run him on the moon if they write a race for you.” It might have been cheaper to run on the moon. Because Creative Minister wasn’t Triple Crown nominated, it cost the owners Back, Paul Fireman, and McPeek, who owns 10 percent of the horse, $150,000 to supplement to the Triple Crown. That’s how much Creative Minister earned for finishing third in the Preakness. “I am kicking myself that I didn’t nominate him,” McPeek said. “At least he ran well enough to get the money back and he brought us here.” Though Creative Minister has run three times in five weeks, McPeek said the horse has held up well. On Monday morning, Creative Minister completed preparations for the Belmont by working a half-mile in 50.26 seconds over the main track under local jockey Heman Harkie. “We didn’t need bullet fast,” McPeek said. “You want to leave some energy for the race.” Coming off a third to Early Voting and Epicenter in the Preakness, Creative Minister is a player in the Belmont, McPeek said. “He’s got a real chance,” McPeek said Monday. “I think he fits good. He’s done everything right. Today, he had a nice, solid work, jumped right in the feed tub afterwards. That’s important.”