Field of eight to 10 for Belmont Stakes as of Monday

ELMONT, N.Y. – There was an overflow field of 21 horses entered for the Kentucky Derby. The 13-horse field for the Preakness was the largest for that race since 2011 and one short of capacity. When it comes to running in the Belmont Stakes, enthusiasm is not as high.

As of Monday, eight horses were deemed definite starters for the Belmont Stakes. Two more, Joevia and Owendale, were likely and doubtful, respectively.

The field for the 151st Belmont is led by Preakness winner War of Will – who is expected to be the only horse to compete in all three legs of the Triple Crown – and Tacitus, the Wood Memorial winner who finished fourth and was elevated to third in the Kentucky Derby after the disqualification of Maximum Security.

Others pointing to the race include Everfast, the Preakness runner-up; Intrepid Heart, third in the Peter Pan; Master Fencer, sixth in the Kentucky Derby; Sir Winston, second in the Peter Pan; Spinoff, 18th in the Kentucky Derby; and Tax, 14th in the Kentucky Derby. Joevia is coming off a win in the four-horse Long Branch Stakes, where one of the horses unseated his rider during the running of the race. Trainer Gregg Sacco said Monday he is leaning toward running Joevia.

Entries for the Belmont Stakes will close June 4 with the post-position draw taking place at Citi Field that evening prior to the start of a baseball game between the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants.

On Sunday at Belmont Park, Tacitus, who could vie for favoritism with Preakness winner War of Will, worked a strong five furlongs in 1:00.16 with a strong gallop-out under jockey Jose Ortiz.

Tacitus, who started about three-quarters of a length behind workmate Multiplier, got his final quarter in 23.97 seconds and then proceeded to gallop out six furlongs in 1:12.59, seven furlongs in 1:24.97, and pull up a mile in 1:39.78.

“He looked good. He just looked like he was galloping,” trainer Bill Mott said. “That’s kind of what he worked in at Churchill before the Derby. Maybe this was a little better.”

Tacitus, who won the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 6, crossed the wire fourth as the third betting choice in the Kentucky Derby. He was elevated to third following the controversial disqualification of Maximum Security from first for interfering with several runners, including War of Will. Early in the race, Tacitus was 16th and 10 1/2 lengths back. He was 3 1/4 lengths back at the wire.

“He ran a good race in the Derby,” Mott said. “He didn’t have a horrible trip, he just didn’t have the dream trip. Sometimes you have to have the dream trip to win that race. Country House had a dream trip. He was parked maybe three wide, still he never stopped, he never lost momentum, never had to change or alter course.”

Preakness winner War of Will will do the bulk of his training at Keeneland in preparation for the Belmont Stakes, likely having a workout there Friday or Saturday before shipping to New York by van Monday or Tuesday.

“He’s doing well there,” said trainer Mark Casse, who added that assistant trainer David Carroll “knows him better than anybody.”

“It’s kind of quiet there,” Casse said. “He’s happy there. He spent a lot of time there. The only disadvantage, if there is one, is that he won’t have a breeze over the track. I don’t think that bothers him.”

Master Fencer, who arrived in New York late Friday night, trained at Belmont on Sunday and Monday and is expected to have a proper workout Wednesday morning under jockey Julien Leparoux, who rode him in the Kentucky Derby and will ride him in the Belmont.

On Monday, Master Fencer had a strong gallop over Belmont Park’s main track and went three furlongs from the eighth pole to the 1 3/8-mile pole in 41.90 seconds, according to Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch.

◗ Luis Saez, who rode Maximum Security in the Kentucky Derby, will ride Preakness runner-up Everfast in the Belmont Stakes, trainer Dale Romans confirmed Monday. That mount became open when Joel Rosario, who rode Everfast in the Preakness, opted to retain the mount on Sir Winston, whom he rode to a second-place finish in the Peter Pan.

◗ Trainer Todd Pletcher said he has both John Velazquez and Javier Castellano to ride his horses in the Belmont, though he was waiting on confirmation on which horse Velazquez would ride. Velazquez has ridden Intrepid Heart in all three of his starts and has ridden in Spinoff in three of his five starts.

Riding assignments are pending for both Tax and Joevia.

Potential Belmont Stakes Starters
Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Last Race
Everfast	Dale Romans	Luis Saez	Preakness, 2nd
Intrepid Heart	Todd Pletcher	undecided	Peter Pan, 3rd
Joevia	Greg Sacco	undecided	Long Branch, 1st
Master Fencer (JPN)	Koichi Tsunoda	Julien Leparoux	Ky Derby, 6th
Sir Winston	Mark Casse	Joel Rosario	Peter Pan, 2nd
Spinoff	Todd Pletcher	undecided	Ky. Derby, 18th
Tacitus	Bill Mott	Jose Ortiz	Ky. Derby, 3rd
Tax	Danny Gargan	undecided	Ky. Derby, 14th
War of Will	Mark Casse	Tyler Gaffalione	Preakness, 1st