STRENGTHS: Lightly raced colt burst onto the scene by dominating the local prep, the Peter Pan, by the length of the stretch in gate-to-wire fashion. He proved he handles the Belmont surface just fine and has no issues with a wet racetrack. He is a fresh contender that didn’t deal with tough races in either the Derby or Preakness, and the 103 Beyer from the Peter Pan is the fastest number in the field. There doesn’t appear to be a ton of early speed in this year’s Belmont, and We the People might attempt a repeat of his Peter Pan tactics. If he is allowed an easy lead, he could be very tough to catch.

WEAKNESSES: Although We the People ran very fast in the Peter Pan, he did so with a good front-running trip over a wet track. Perhaps he’ll receive that same scenario in the Belmont, but it appears more likely that he’ll face a bit more adversity, especially considering the added distance. We the People did not run very well in the Arkansas Derby, his lone try on the Kentucky Derby trail. That race was over fast going, and he failed to get as close to the pace as normal due to a tough outside post. He had an excuse, but still didn’t fire a great shot that afternoon. He must prove which race – the Peter Pan or Arkansas Derby – is a true indicator of his abilities.

BETTING VALUE: Based on the absence of the one-two Preakness finishers combined with his big win in the Peter Pan, his sharp recent workout, and his potential pace edge, We the People figures to take a good amount of Belmont money. He is certainly a win contender, and odds of 7-2 or so seem like fair value.

SIRE: Multiple Grade 1 winner Constitution is a son of Tapit, who has sired four winners of the Belmont Stakes in Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016), Tapwrit (2017), and Essential Quality (2021). That is a record in the modern era, matched only by the great Lexington, who sired four winners of the classic in the 1800s. Constitution lived up to his sire’s Belmont legacy by siring Belmont winner Tiz the Law in his first crop. However, that race was the first leg of the COVID-shuffled 2020 Triple Crown, and was thus held around one turn at 1 1/8 miles. Tiz the Law did win the Travers and finish second in the Kentucky Derby at 1 1/4 miles. Constitution is the sire of Chilean champion Breakpoint, a Group 1 winner at 1 1/2 miles.

DAM: We the People is the first winner out of unraced Letchworth, who is a half-sister to Grade 3-winning turf sprinter Stratford Hill and stakes-winning turf router Armistice Day. Their dam, Harmony Lodge, won the Grade 1 Ballerina sprinting on dirt at Saratoga. This is the family of Arkansas Derby winners Graeme Hall and Magnum Moon, along with graded stakes winners Win Crafty Lady, Win McCool, Berned, First Passage, and Sparky Ville. Broodmare sire Tiznow, two-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, sired Da’ Tara, upset winner of the 2008 Belmont Stakes.

OUTLOOK: Constitution is a young classic sire, and there are a pair of successful stamina sources close up in this pedigree in Tapit and Tiznow. Although the immediate female family gives cause for pause, We the People has an affinity for this track and plenty of pedigree tools to serve him well.

STRENGTHS: He has some natural speed, and that might give him a tactical advantage on a number of his rivals. Skippylongstocking could sit just off anticipated pacesetter We the People when he breaks right outside of that one from post 2. Skippylongstocking has a nice foundation of races to support him over the 1 1/2 miles of the Belmont Stakes and owns an ascending pattern of Beyer Speed Figures. He also has been in a pair of notable races in his last two starts, as he comes out of the Preakness and before that was third in the Wood Memorial behind Mo Donegal, a top contender in the Belmont Stakes, and Early Voting, the next-out winner of the Preakness. Skippylongstocking has had a chance to work over the track at Belmont and gets the services of the meet’s third-leading rider in Manny Franco.

WEAKNESSES: He’s never raced at Belmont. He’s also never raced on a wet track and there is rain in the AccuWeather forecast for Saturday. In this one’s favor is the fact that sire Exaggerator was 4 for 5 on wet tracks, among his wins the Preakness. Skippylongstocking has not yet won a stakes and has not yet hit triple-digits on the Beyer scale like leading Belmont contenders We the People, Rich Strike, and Creative Minister.

BETTING VALUE: Very good. He will be one of the field’s longer prices, but he’s represented himself well against some of the division’s elite members and his natural speed might put him in a position to do some damage. One to at least use underneath in the exotics.

SIRE: Exaggerator won the 2016 Preakness Stakes and two other Grade 1 routes that year on wet tracks. He also was second in the Kentucky Derby, but 11th in the Belmont Stakes. The young stallion is by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, whose sons have been in the spotlight already this Triple Crown series, as Rich Strike, from the first crop of Belmont third-place finisher Keen Ice, won the Kentucky Derby. Curlin, who himself finished a hard-fought second to champion filly Rags to Riches in the 2007 Belmont, sired a Belmont winner in his first crop in 2013 winner Palace Malice. In addition to Keen Ice, he put an additional horse on the board in this longest American classic in 2017 with runner-up Irish War Cry. Skippylongstocking became the first graded stakes performer for Exaggerator with his third-place finish in the Wood Memorial.

DAM: Twinkling, who was winless in five starts, also is the dam of Moonlite Strike, who was third in last year’s Tampa Bay Derby before cutting back in distance to win the Roar Stakes sprinting on turf and placing in two other sprint stakes. This is the extended family of Eclipse Award champion female sprinter Musical Romance, and Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup winner Collect the Cash, who in turn produced Stately Victor, winner of the Blue Grass on Polytrack.

OUTLOOK: Skippylongstocking is from a stamina-laden sireline, and a wet track on race day would certainly suit him. However, his female family raises questions about distance and surface.