SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Baeza was all the buzz in the weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby. A potential victim of the tweaking of qualifying rules by Churchill Downs left Baeza on the Derby fence even through entry day, when he was relegated to the also-eligible list. Two days before the race, when Rodriguez was scratched from the Kentucky Derby due to a bruised foot, Baeza, the Santa Anita Derby runner-up, drew into the field. Baeza validated all the angst of his potential exclusion with a solid third-place finish behind Sovereignty and Journalism in the Kentucky Derby. “I don’t think anybody that picked him said that was a mistake after the race,” said John Shirreffs, the trainer of Baeza. Those who picked Baeza in the Derby get another chance to bet on him in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes at Saratoga when he will again meet Sovereignty and Journalism. While the buzz around him may be less evident than Derby week, there is still plenty to like about Baeza, the half-brother to 2024 Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch and 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage. Baeza’s trip in the Kentucky Derby was far from ideal. Breaking from the outside post in the 19-horse field, he was four wide going into the first turn while 15th. Jockey Flavien Prat, riding Baeza for the first time, said he had Derby favorite Journalism in his sights down the backside. :: DRF Belmont Stakes Packages: Save up to 52% on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. In an attempt to save ground, Prat guided Baeza to the inside where he ultimately encountered some traffic, while Sovereignty, in the back of the pack, had moved ahead of Baeza in a race run over a sloppy track. “Down the backside I got myself behind Journalism but when we hit the turn I couldn’t keep up and follow him,” Prat said. “I saved ground and I got held up a little bit. We turned for home, they were a few lengths in front of me at that point.” When Prat got Baeza into the clear in upper stretch, he came with a late run that fell 1 3/4 lengths short of Sovereignty and a neck behind Journalism. A few strides past the wire, Baeza was in front of everybody. “Once he got going, he really got going ,” Prat said. “It was just [trying] to get out of where I was. Once I went after them he really gave me a good run.” Baeza, like Sovereignty, skipped the Preakness – a race won by Journalism – and he returned to his base in Southern California. After two weeks at Santa Anita, Baeza shipped to Saratoga. On Monday, Baeza completed his preparations for the Belmont by working a half-mile in 48.96 seconds over the Oklahoma training track under Prat. Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch caught Baeza’s last quarter in 24.03 seconds and had him galloping out five furlongs in 1:02.43. Baeza worked in the blinkers he wears when he races. “He likes to look around, but I thought the breeze itself was good,” Prat said. “He was [looking around] a bit, especially down the lane. He’s so much better when he goes in company.” Still, Prat said he thought Baeza’s work Monday was better than the one before the Kentucky Derby. “I thought he was moving better,” Prat said. “Before the Derby, I probably went slower than what I did today.” Shirreffs, known for his patience in developing horses, said Baeza, a May foal, has made significant strides in the two months since he ran second to Journalism in the Santa Anita Derby on April 5. :: DRF's Belmont Stakes Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, and more “I think what he’s doing better is he’s training better,” Shirreffs said. “He’s training like a serious racehorse. The baby stuff is all gone now. He has his stride and he uses and utilizes his stride in his training where in the beginning he didn’t have a stride.” Shirreffs said the physical changes in Baeza since early spring are obvious. “He’s taller, he’s lengthier, you see his body changing a little bit,” Shirreffs said. “He’s holding his weight fairly well and you can see the muscles on his shoulder and his hind end are still developing. So I just think his development is on a little bit of an incline and it continues that way.” And if that continues, it could lead him all the way to the Saratoga winner’s circle come Saturday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.