While Preakness Stakes winner War of Will had another relaxed morning on Wednesday at Keeneland, Japanese-bred Master Fencer, who also is pointing to the Belmont after finishing sixth in the Kentucky Derby, was credited with a half-mile work in 52 seconds at Keeneland.
Trainer Todd Pletcher is throwing out Spinoff's 18th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby and plans to run him in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 8.
While the focus of the racing world was on Baltimore on Saturday, trainer Bill Mott was on Long Island, and his Kentucky Derby winner was in Louisville. Mott seemed perfectly content with that. Mott was at Belmont to oversee the workouts for several of his horses, most notably Wood Memorial winner Tacitus, who breezed a half-mile in 48.41 seconds as he prepares for the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 8.
Tacitus, the winner of the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and the eventual third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, returned to New York on Wednesday and is based at Belmont Park, where on June 8 he will run in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, potentially as the favorite.
While Peter Pan winner Global Campaign is unlikely to run in the Belmont Stakes, two horses who finished behind him on Saturday are being pointed to the third leg of the Triple Crown.
Though Intrepid Heart won his debut by 7 3/4 lengths on Feb. 18, his connections did not opt for the fast track to the Kentucky Derby ala Justify, who had won his debut by 9 1/2 lengths on the same date one year prior.
Voters overwhelmingly chose the Belmont Stakes win by undefeated Justify as the 2018 Moment of the Year, according to the administrator of the contest, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
The Belmont Park stewards on Thursday talked to jockey Florent Geroux regarding his ride on Restoring Hope in Saturday's Belmont Stakes.
Lying in a hospital bed in Iowa, Marlon St. Julien had just finished watching Justify take the Belmont Stakes last Saturday to become the 13th winner of the Triple Crown. He was tired, emotionally drained, and the meds were kicking in. As he began to drift, St. Julien heard the familiar voice of his pal, Mike Smith, and he smiled, at peace with the fact that despite his own situation something very good in racing had just happened.
Justify's Beyer Speed Figures from the Triple Crown were a 103 in the Kentucky Derby, a 97 in the Preakness, and a 101 in the Belmont Stakes. Before we get into historical comparisons, including the 2015 Triple Crown run by American Pharoah, let's discuss how figures are made in general and how Justify's figures were made specifically.
