SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Chad Brown is a numbers guy. But he’s also a realist. He knows that just because he has a third of the field entered in Saturday’s $2 million Belmont Stakes at Saratoga doesn’t mean he’s going to be successful. “The math checks out that I have a better chance to win, but that’s about it,” Brown, who is still seeking his first Belmont win, said Monday morning at Saratoga. “I don’t know if I have the right three.” Emerging Market, the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby winner who finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby, heads the Brown trio. Growth Equity, the Grade 3 Peter Pan winner, and Ottinho, the Grade 1 Blue Grass runner-up, would likely have to run the best races of their life to win, but Brown sees upside in those two as well. The field for the Belmont Stakes firmed up at nine over the weekend with the news that Ocelli, third in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Preakness, would skip the Belmont and point to the Grade 3 Ohio Derby on June 20. Post positions were to be drawn later Monday for the 158th Belmont – the third and final one to be held at Saratoga while a reconstruction of Belmont Park is ongoing. :: DRF Belmont Stakes Packages: Save big on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Emerging Market is one of five horses coming out of the Kentucky Derby who are running back in the Belmont after skipping the Preakness. Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, Renegade (second), Chief Wallabee (fourth), and Commandment (seventh) are the others. Thirteen of the 26 Belmont winners this century have followed that same pattern. Emerging Market, who had only made two starts entering the Kentucky Derby, raced relatively close to the pace and lost a shoe in the race. Brown said Emerging Market was sore on the foot for three days but thereafter was fine. The experience Emerging Market gained from that Derby has to bode well for his next classic race try. “You can’t run in the Derby and not gain some experience,” Brown said. “I don’t care what your trip was or what post you had – you’re coming out of there with some experience. What you do with it remains to be seen, but he got some good experience.” Growth Equity earned his way into the Belmont by virtue of his victory in the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes on May 9 at Aqueduct. Arcangelo (2023) and Tonalist (2014) are the two most recent winners of the Peter Pan to come back and win the Belmont. Sir Winston (2019) and Drosselmeyer (2010) – when the Dwyer was run in place of the Peter Pan – also came out of the local prep to win. Brown said the pattern Growth Equity is on from a speed-figure perspective is the main reason he is running him in the 1 1/4-mile Belmont. “The fact he ran a mile and an eighth, wide both turns, and still won; I know the class jump is really big here – he’s facing much better horses – but his numbers came back good,” Brown said. Ottinho has the looks and the pedigree of a classic-type horse. He just doesn’t have the race on his résumé that says he’s capable of beating these types. Ottinho is by Quality Road and is a half-brother to Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year. Ottinho finished a well-beaten second in the Blue Grass and came out of the race with a crack in the sole of his left front foot. He has been training in a bar shoe, but Brown said that will be removed for the race. “You look at him as a prospect,” Brown said. “You sort of look at him as a five-star 6-foot-6 quarterback. He measures out at the combine, his brother’s a Manning. He’s not there yet. But it wouldn’t surprise you looking at that horse physically, the way he looks and the way he’s bred. “Does he have a big classic race in him? Whether it’s now or down the road, that’s what I’m looking at and he trains really good.” All three of Brown’s horses put in their final workouts for the Belmont on Saturday. Emerging Market worked a half-mile in 48.22 seconds over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track. Ottinho and Growth Equity, who worked a half-mile in 48.44 together at Belmont Park, arrived in Saratoga on Sunday and jogged on Saratoga’s main track Monday morning. :: Get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports straight from the morning workouts. Available each race day at Saratoga. Golden Tempo, who worked a half-mile Saturday in 48.20 at Keeneland, arrived in Saratoga about 5 a.m. Monday morning following a van ride from Keeneland and just walked. Commandment, who worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 on Saturday morning at Churchill Downs, also arrived Monday morning. Vitruvian Man, third in the Santa Anita Derby and the likely longest shot in the Belmont field, worked six furlongs in 1:13.80 out of the gate Sunday at Santa Anita. He was scheduled to ship to New York on Tuesday. Powershift is coming off a maiden win May 2 at Churchill Downs. He, like Renegade, the expected Belmont Stakes favorite, is trained by Todd Pletcher, a four-time Belmont Stakes winner. The long-range forecast for Saturday calls for temperatures in low 80s with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms later in the day. Post time for the Belmont is 7:04 p.m. :: Bet the Belmont Stakes with confidence! Betting Strategies by Mike Beer and David Aragona feature exclusive wager recommendations!