War of Will gallops among the tumult

ELMONT, N.Y. – There was so much excitement over War of Will getting on the track Tuesday morning at Belmont Park that sirens went off.

The sirens, actually, were to warn riders that there were two loose horses, both of whom dislodged their riders not long after War of Will stepped on the track for his morning training. One was caught by an outrider, the other left the gap by the 1 1/4-mile pole, with War of Will biding his time near the outside fence until it was safe to proceed.

“Nothing like a little action right at the beginning,” said his trainer, Mark Casse, who said that while War of Will remained calm, “My heart rate went up.”

War of Will, the Preakness winner, is one of 10 horses who were expected to be entered on Tuesday morning for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. The post draw was to take place early Tuesday evening at Citi Field.

The field, with riders, was expected to be Bourbon War (Mike Smith aboard), Everfast (Luis Saez), Intrepid Heart (John Velazquez), Joevia (Jose Lezcano), Master Fencer (Julien Leparoux), Sir Winston (Joel Rosario), Spinoff (Javier Castellano), Tacitus (Jose Ortiz), Tax (Irad Ortiz Jr.), and War of Will (Tyler Gaffalione).

The Belmont Park racing office late Tuesday morning said it did not expect any last-second, unforeseen entries.

Casse originally had scheduled War of Will for a day of jogging after his arrival on Monday, but War of Will was feeling so frisky on Tuesday that Casse called an audible.

“I was going to jog him, but he tried to jump on three of us,” Casse said at his barn. “Fired up. So much energy.

“He’s gotten to be a bit of a handful,” Casse said. “I keep expecting him to come with a tattoo. He’s a stud horse and he knows it.”

War of Will glided over the track, looking as if he’d been here his whole career instead of a little more than 24 hours. He appears lighter than at the Kentucky Derby, when he was racing for the first time in six weeks, but Casse said “since the Preakness, he has put on 40 or 50 pounds.”

War of Will is the only horse this year who will run in all three legs of the Triple Crown.