Kentucky Derby winner Orb galloped a strong mile Thursday morning at Belmont Park, pleasing trainer Shug McGaughey, who said that if things continue to go well, he would like to run Orb in the Belmont Stakes on June 8.
Trainer Tony Dutrow confirmed that Giant Finish would run in the $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 8 and said he is definitely on board with this move.
Horses competing in the June 8 Belmont Stakes will be subject to out-of-competition blood testing and 24-hour security beginning three days before the race but will be allowed to remain in their own barn as part of security measures announced Tuesday by racing authorities.
After running five horses in the Kentucky Derby and none in the Preakness, trainer Todd Pletcher is preparing another small army for the $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 8.
The upset victory by Oxbow in the Preakness on Saturday at Pimlico extinguished the Triple Crown chances of Orb, the Kentucky Derby winner. Yet while the Belmont Stakes on June 8 at Belmont Park won’t have the drama of a Triple Crown bid, it could very well match up Oxbow and Orb, as well as prominent runners from the Derby who skipped the Preakness, and a filly.
Oxbow, the winner of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, left Pimlico Race Course early Sunday morning, and a couple of hours later, so too did Orb, who won the Kentucky Derby and was fourth in the Preakness. But there is a good chance they could meet again June 8 in the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown.
Despite an awkward start, Freedom Child quickly shot to the front under Luis Saez and romped to a 13 1/4-length victory in the Peter Panover a sloppy Belmont Park main track on Saturday.
Absent from the Kentucky Derby for the first time in three years, Team Valor International holds out some hope for making the Belmont Stakes with recent acquisition Infinite Magic, who runs in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park.
Trainer Chad Brown sends out Saint Vigeur in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes, a wide-open race that could yield a starter or two for the $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 8.
I like Freedom Child for the upset in Saturday's Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park.
