Belmont Stakes: Derby winner Rich Strike draws post 4; We the People is 2-1 morning-line favorite
ELMONT, N.Y. – Be it going six furlongs or twice that far, speed, handicappers long have been told, is always dangerous.
So even though the Belmont Stakes is a testing 1 1/2 miles, the likelihood that We the People will be loose on the lead Saturday, over a track at which he just scored a front-running victory in the Peter Pan, propelled We the People to the morning-line favorite over the likes of Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike and six others when the field for the 154th Belmont was drawn Tuesday here at Belmont Park.
We the People is the 2-1 favorite on the line of David Aragona, who makes the morning line for the New York Racing Association, which runs Belmont Park. Rich Strike is the 7-2 third choice, with Mo Donegal, fifth in the Derby but winner of the Wood Memorial prior to that, the second choice at 5-2.
Creative Minister, third in the Preakness Stakes, is next at 6-1, with the filly Nest – like Mo Donegal trained by three-time Belmont winner Todd Pletcher – at 8-1.
Three horses are in double digits – Barber Road is 10-1, and both Golden Glider and Skippylongstocking are the longest prices, at 20-1.
We the People, trained by Rodolphe Brisset, drew the rail, and will have Flavien Prat aboard. Prat rode We the People in the 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan, which he won by 10 1/4 lengths while earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 103, the best figure earned by any horse in this field.
We the People won the Peter Pan over an off track, and there’s a chance of an off track too on Saturday, with Weather.com predicting a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms, and a high of 73 degrees.
From the rail out, the Belmont field is We the People, Skippylongstocking (Manny Franco the rider), Nest (Jose Ortiz), Rich Strike (Sonny Leon), Creative Minister (Brian Hernandez Jr.), Mo Donegal (Irad Ortiz Jr.), Golden Glider (Dylan Davis), and Barber Road (Joel Rosario).
Nest gets a five-pound weight break, so she carries 121 pounds. The seven males carry 126.
The Belmont has a purse of $1.5 million, with $800,000 going to the winner. It is one of eight Grade 1 races on the card, which begins at 11:20 a.m. Eastern. The Belmont is race 11 of 13, with a listed post time of 6:44 p.m.