ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Eric Reed walked through the Belmont Park paddock on Monday, shortly after his Kentucky Derby-winning colt, Rich Strike, had a routine gallop of one lap around the track, at the same 1 1/2-mile distance he’ll run in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. He looked at the surroundings in awe. “It’s like heaven,” he said. Reed said things have been heavenly with Rich Strike since his 80-1 upset victory in the Kentucky Derby a little less than five weeks ago, and Rich Strike gave off every indication Monday that he’s coming up to the race in good order. He was alert, eager but not uncontrollable, and his chestnut coat glistened. “I’ve never seen him so relaxed,” Reed said. “He stops and looks, but when he gets on the track he’s all business, and that’s all I care about.” Rich Strike is part of an expected field of eight for the Belmont, the final leg of what has been an historically unusual Triple Crown. This will be the first time since 1954 that the Derby winner missed the Preakness the same year that the Preakness winner missed the Belmont. Rich Strike was purposely kept out of the Preakness, and Reed maintains it was absolutely in the colt’s best interest. :: DRF's Belmont Stakes Headquarters: Get the latest news, info on contenders, past performances, picks, and more  “His energy was good after the Derby. Mentally he needs time. The first work after a race he wants to do too much. The second he’s good, and two to three days after that he’s in the zone,” Reed said. “It seems like it’s always four to five weeks where he’s in the zone for his next race.” Reed said that depending on how Rich Strike trains in coming days, he may blow him out a quarter-mile through the lane on Friday morning. Rich Strike is attempting to become the first horse since Thunder Gulch in 1995 to win the Derby and the Belmont but not the Preakness. Thunder Gulch ran in the 1995 Preakness, finishing third. Early Voting, this year’s Preakness winner, is bypassing the Belmont to await races later this summer. The Belmont field was reduced to just eight on Monday when both Ethereal Road and Howling Time were taken out of the race, 24 hours before entries were due and posts to be drawn. Ethereal Road, winner of the Sir Barton Stakes at Pimlico on the Preakness undercard May 21, developed a quarter crack in his right front hoof, trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. Ethereal Road has been training at Churchill Downs since traveling to Pimlico. :: 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! “He’ll probably be good tomorrow or the next day,” Lukas said Monday when reached by phone. “It’s just bad timing. It probably needs another 48 hours. It’s very fixable. But we enter tomorrow, and I couldn’t put him on a van. He’s a little tender on it. I don’t want to go unless he’s perfect.” Lukas said the crack was laced together with wire, and then an acrylic patch was placed over it. He said assuming Ethereal Road progresses satisfactorily, his next intended target would be the Ohio Derby on June 25 at Thistledown. Howling Time, winner of an allowance race May 21 at Churchill Downs, was withdrawn from Belmont consideration by trainer Dale Romans early Monday, two days after the Not This Time colt breezed a half-mile in 48.80 seconds at Churchill Downs. Romans said he “talked over our options” with Jason Loutsch, racing manager for owner Albaugh Family Stables, before settling on the Matt Winn on Sunday at Churchill. Shipping to run in the Belmont “would’ve been asking a lot,” Romans said. “Hopefully, he’ll run a big one in the Matt Winn and we can join up with the other top 3-year-olds later on this summer,” Romans said. :: Get ready for the Belmont Stakes with DRF Past performances, picks, clocker reports, and betting strategies! In addition to Rich Strike, who will be ridden again by Sonny Leon, those expected for the Belmont were Barber Road (Joel Rosario the rider), Creative Minister (Brian Hernandez Jr.), Golden Glider (Dylan Davis), Mo Donegal (Irad Ortiz Jr.), the filly Nest (Jose Ortiz), Skippylongstocking (Manny Franco), and We the People (Flavien Prat). If that holds, this will be the third time in the last eight years that the Belmont has had just eight runners, mirroring the fields in 2015, when American Pharoah won to sweep the Triple Crown, and last year, when Essential Quality prevailed. The last time the Belmont had as few as seven runners was in 2007, when Rags to Riches beat six males to become the third filly to win the Belmont. – additional reporting by Marty McGee