All 14 3-year-olds entered for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes were on the grounds Wednesday, with Frac Daddy and Golden Soul the last two to arrive from Churchill Downs the previous day.
Weather was on the minds of several trainers Wednesday morning when final entries were taken and post positions drawn for the Belmont. Fourteen were entered in the 1 1/2-mile race, highlighted by Orb, the Kentucky Derby winner, and Oxbow, who won the Preakness.
Kentucky Derby winner Orb drew post 5 and Preakness winner Oxbow was assigned post 7 when a field of 14 was entered for the 145th Belmont Stakes on Wednesday morning.
Edgar Prado upset the 2002 Belmont on 70-1 shot Sarava and the 2004 Belmont on 34-1 shot Birdstone. Saturday, Prado will make his 11th appearance in the “Test of the Champion” aboard another longshot, Giant Finish.
As he pursues his 15th Triple Crown race victory Saturday in the Belmont Stakes, D. Wayne Lukas has aged well at 77, not just physically but emotionally.
After experiencing a giant failure in the Belmont Stakes five years ago, owner Andy Cohen is hoping for a Giant Finish to this year’s Triple Crown.
Always in a Tiz, who likely would have been the longest shot in the field, will skip Saturday’s $1 million Belmont Stakes and instead run in the $150,000 Easy Goer Stakes on the day’s undercard, said Anthony Bonomo Jr., racing manager for his parents’ stables.
After having their works postponed 24 hours by heavy showers here Monday, Vyjack and Giant Finish became the last two members of this year’s bulky Belmont Stakes field to turn in official trials here following the renovation break Tuesday.
Trainer Todd Pletcher is ready to mount another assault on the final leg of the Triple Crown, with five likely runners in what is shaping up as a 15-horse field for Saturday's Belmont Stakes.
Rain, at times extremely heavy, turned what was already expected to be a quiet morning into an even quieter one at Belmont Park for the 11 prospective Belmont Stakes starters on the grounds here Monday.
