ELMONT, N.Y. – Javier Castellano may not be coming to the June 10 Belmont Stakes with his Kentucky Derby winner Mage, but the Hall of Fame rider is still coming to the race with a live chance to win. Castellano will ride Arcangelo in the Belmont, the final leg of the Triple Crown. Three weeks ago, Castellano guided Arcangelo to a head victory over race favorite Bishops Bay in the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes. A week before the Peter Pan, Castellano rode Mage to a one-length victory in the Kentucky Derby. A week after the Peter Pan, Castellano was aboard Mage in the Preakness, but had to settle for third behind National Treasure. Mage has left the Triple Crown trail for a rest, which afforded Castellano the opportunity to get back on Arcangelo for the Belmont. On Wednesday, Castellano guided Arcangelo through a five-furlong workout in 1:03.13 over the main track that was followed by a visually impressive gallop-out that Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch timed in 1:15.86 for six furlongs, 1:28.88 for seven furlongs, and 1:41.38 for a mile. It was a much different work than the 59.78-second, five-furlong drill Arcangelo put in before the Peter Pan, but it was intended to be different. “You can go in 59 if you want to, but the key today is let him do what he wants to do, keep him happy, keep him fresh for the race,” Castellano said. “We all know it’s a mile-and-a-half [race], and you don’t want to go crazy with a foolish work.” :: Bet the Belmont Stakes with confidence! Join DRF Bets and get a $250 deposit match bonus, $10 free bet, and FREE DRF Formulator! For Castellano and trainer Jena Antonnuci, the best part of Arcangelo’s work Wednesday is what came after the wire. “He’s a big horse, long, beautiful stride, he likes more ground,” Castellano said. “The farther he can go, the more he’s comfortable.” Antonucci was happy to see how well Arcangelo relaxed in the breeze. “Before the Peter Pan [Castellano] had his feet in the dashboard coming to the wire in 59-and-change,” Antonnuci said. Today, “we wanted him to build and get lower coming down the stretch on his own and after the wire just keep going and get him around that second turn. Javier was concerned to smooch at him too much, he just asked a tick and he went again.” Wednesday’s work was important in regards to making the decision to run because owner Jon Ebbert will have to pay a $50,000 supplemental fee to run Arcangelo in the Belmont. Arcangelo, a son of the late Arrogate, was not Triple Crown nominated by either of the first two deadlines. Antonucci said as long as the horse comes out of the work in good order, he’ll run. As Castellano was 0 for 15 in the Kentucky Derby before winning on Mage, he is 0 for 14 in the Belmont Stakes. Unlike the Derby, where his previous best finish was seventh, Castellano has three runner-up finishes in the Belmont, including an excruciating nose loss in 2016 aboard Destin, who got nailed in the final jump by Creator. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  “That one was very painful, trust me,” Castellano said. “It was a very, very dirty nose when he got beat. I thought it was a dead heat actually. Right on the wire he beat me. That’s the race we always target because basically my family grew up here.” Castellano and his family live in nearby Garden City. In Arcangelo, whose pedigree includes Belmont winners Rags to Riches and Jazil, Castellano believes he has a horse who can get the job done. “He’s got the potential, the ability, and the skill to do the mile and a half,” Castellano said. ◗ On Tuesday, Preakness winner National Treasure worked a half-mile in 50.85 seconds, but in an unusual way. After going his first quarter in 23.63, jockey John Velazquez took a strong hold of the horse and went from the quarter pole to the wire in 27.22. Nearing the wire, Velazquez asked his horse to go again, and National Treasure galloped out five furlongs in 1:03.19. “He picked it up way too fast around the [far] turn, I just kind of held him there, held him, held him, and slowed him down the best I could,” Velazquez said. “I didn’t want to let him do too much, then I let him gallop out and he galloped out very good. I overcompensated a little bit down the stretch.” As of Wednesday, the Belmont field held steady with nine probables – Angel of Empire, Arcangelo, Forte, Hit Show, Il Miracolo, National Treasure, Raise Cain, Red Route One, and Tapit Trice – and one possible in Tapit Shoes. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.