Gettysburg, whose best races have come when he was on the lead, was added to the Belmont Stakes field Monday, according to Elliott Walden, president/CEO and racing manager for WinStar Farm, which owns Gettysburg. WinStar also owns Creator and holds the breeding rights to Preakness winner Exaggerator, a pair of late-runners who are both running in the Belmont.
After a Triple Crown bid by California Chrome in 2014 and then a Triple Crown sweep by American Pharoah last year, there will not be a horse going for the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes when it is run for the 148th time on Saturday here at Belmont Park. But what is lost in drama will certainly be made up for in numbers.
Keith Desormeaux, the trainer of Preakness winner Exaggerator, said he is proud that his brother Kent, the Hall of Fame jockey, has sought help for an alcohol problem and is hopeful that he will be ready to perform at his best when he rides Exaggerator in Saturday's Belmont Stakes.
Two of this year's most exciting freshman sires will have representatives on a major stage this week, as Belmont cards a pair of juvenile stakes in the Tremont and the Astoria.
Exaggerator lost his left hind shoe while galloping on the Belmont Park main track on Monday morning, but he was due to be shod before the Belmont Stakes on Saturday and it just so happened that his blacksmith was due to arrive on Monday, so new plates were to be affixed prior to his scheduled workout on Tuesday.
Memories of his outstanding turf mare Wonder Again are everywhere for trainer Jimmy Toner at Belmont Park this week.
On Friday, Belmont Park will card the Rags to Riches Invitational, named to honor the 2007 Belmont Stakes winner – who became the first filly in more than a century to win America's oldest and longest classic when she outdueled eventual two-time Horse of the Year Curlin for the victory.
Creator broke off at the half-mile pole for a typically orchestrated Asmussen prep five days prior to the race. With exercise rider Jesus Vinegas aboard, Creator went off slowly, then picked up the pace a bit down the stretch, breezing four furlongs in 50.93 with a 24.87 final quarter.
As far as the ownership team behind Preakness winner and Belmont Stakes favorite Exaggerator is concerned, it's a case of the more, the merrier.
Jockey Kent Desormeaux, who is scheduled to ride Preakness Stakes winner Exaggerator in the Belmont Stakes in New York on June 11, is currently undergoing an alcohol rehabilitation program in Utah, according to a statement released by Santa Anita publicity.
