STRENGTHS: He has more natural speed than a number of his rivals and he could get an ideal trip just off National Treasure and Il Miracolo. Tapit Shoes also brings a great deal of upside to the table. He made his stakes debut last out and was beaten just a head by a much more seasoned Red Route One, who returned in his next start to run fourth in the Preakness Stakes. Tapit Shoes is a son of the top-class sire Tapit and is a half-brother to Cyberknife, a multiple Grade 1 winner at 3. Jockey Jose Ortiz knows Belmont’s expansive oval well and is a longtime leading rider at the track who captured the Belmont Stakes in 2017 with Tapwrit. Trainer Brad Cox won the Belmont in 2021 with champion Essential Quality.

WEAKNESSES: He lacks the experience of most of his rivals. The May foal has made just five career starts and his lone win to date is a maiden special weight route at Fair Grounds. He is making his graded stakes debut, so he’s not yet been tested at this level. This will be his first start over the demanding surface at Belmont Park. If the track were to come up wet, it could be a concern as he did not handle the slop in his career debut last October.

BETTING VALUE: Excellent for those seeking a fresh face. He has a number of variables in his corner – from speed to pedigree to top connections.

SIRE: Perennial leading sire Tapit is coming off a strong 2022 season in which he was represented by unbeaten Horse of the Year Flightline, a dominant winner of the Pacific Classic and Breeders’ Cup Classic at 1 1/4 miles. Tapit’s ability to impart stamina is also in evidence in his four career winners of the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes: Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016), Tapwrit (2017), and Essential Quality (2021), the most for a sire in the modern history of the race. He is also the sire of runners-up Frosted (2015) and Tacitus (2019) and third-place finishers Lani (2016) and Hofburg (2018). Tapit’s six individual Eclipse Award champions all won Grade 1 races around two turns.

DAM: The hard-knocking Awesome Flower earned more than half-million with 11 wins from 33 career starts, with stakes wins on dirt, turf, and synthetic at up to 1 1/16 miles. She is the dam of three winners from four starters, including Cyberknife, who won the 2022 Arkansas Derby and Haskell Invitational, and continued to distinguish himself by finishing second in both the Travers and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Awesome Flower is out of a half-sister to Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed.

OUTLOOK: Tapit Shoes, as a son of Belmont supersire Tapit, merits automatic consideration in this race. He is a half-brother to a prominent two-turn performer.

STRENGTHS: He has fairly steady Beyers that are good enough to make him a threat to win the Belmont Stakes for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who has won this race four times, including last year with Mo Donegal. He has a proven, strong late kick and should have no issue with the extra distance. Daily Racing Form handicapper and clocker Mike Welsch noted that this son of Tapit was “full of run and very strong” in his gallop Tuesday morning, and he has trained steadily since a troubled trip in the Kentucky Derby.

WEAKNESSES: He comes off a seventh-place finish in the Derby, and while he was bumped around some and wide he was unable to make up appreciable ground in a race that set up well for the closers. His running style dictates that he needs pace, and there’s not all that much obvious early speed in this field. He was a close second choice in the wagering in the Derby after four straight wins, but he met the best group he had ever faced in Louisville and disappointed despite a favorable setup.

BETTING VALUE: He’s likely to be the second choice to his uncoupled stablemate Forte, but while he certainly fits there are better propositions in the field, given his last running line and the fact he could be against the race flow.

SIRE: Perennial leading sire Tapit put another feather in his cap in 2022 with unbeaten Horse of the Year Flightline, a dominant winner of the Pacific Classic and Breeders’ Cup Classic at 1 1/4 miles. Tapit’s ability to impart stamina is also in evidence in his four career winners of the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes: Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016), Tapwrit (2017), and Essential Quality (2021), the most for a sire in the modern history of the race. He is also the sire of runner-ups Frosted (2015) and Tacitus (2019) and third-place finishers Lani (2016) and Hofburg (2018). Tapit’s six individual Eclipse Award champions all won Grade 1 races around two turns. 

DAM: Tapit Trice is the second foal out of Danzatrice, a daughter of 2009 Belmont Stakes runner-up Dunkirk from the classic Unbridled sireline. The mare won seven of 15 career starts, including the Parx Oaks and Tiffany Lass, both at a mile and 70 yards, and the Iowa Distaff at 1 1/16 miles. She was third in the Grade 3 Groupie Doll at a mile. Danzatrice is a half-sister, and bred on the same cross, to Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old filly Jaywalk, whose multiple graded wins at 1 1/16 miles were highlighted by the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. They are also half-siblings to Nice Guys Finish, a minor stakes winner at seven furlongs. This is the extended family of 2010 Louisiana Derby winner Mission Impazible, who retired as a multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire.

OUTLOOK: Anytime a son of Tapit runs in the Belmont Stakes, notice must automatically be taken. It would be no surprise if the long-bodied Tapit Trice, already a Grade 1 winner and with additional stamina on the bottom side of his pedigree, adds to the success.

STRENGTHS: Lightly raced Arcangelo (four starts) enters the Belmont Stakes on a conspicuous upward pattern. Each of his starts earned a higher speed figure than the start before, including a career-high 97 Beyer winning the Peter Pan last out. Since 2008, only five Belmont winners entered with a higher last-out figure than Arcangelo. On numbers, he is fast enough. The ceiling for Arcangelo is undetermined, and his inexperience is a non-factor. Arcangelo enters the Belmont with the same number of starts as Belmont winners Tonalist (2014, also won Peter Pan) and Summer Bird (2009). Arcangelo won a dogfight last out; he and the runner-up dueled the length of the stretch before Arcangelo put away his rival late. It was a game win by Arcangelo, whose owners supplemented him to the Belmont for $50,000.

WEAKNESSES: Arcangelo is uncertain on class. His last-out stakes victory was at the expense of a modest field. Runner-up Bishops Bay is an allowance winner who was making just his third start. Furthermore, Arcangelo has never raced two turns. This is not a weakness, merely acknowledgment of the Belmont conditions – 1 1/2 miles around two turns.

BETTING VALUE: Arcangelo is fast on figs, he won a dingdong stretch battle last out, and his pedigree is fine for the Belmont distance. The main question regarding Arcangelo – is he good enough? Fair value is 8-1, anything higher would be a tempting price on a sharp horse moving up in class. Anything lower would have to be a pass.

SIRE: The late Arrogate won four major Grade/Group 1 routes – the Travers Stakes, Breeders’ Cup Classic, Pegasus World Cup, and Dubai World Cup – to propel himself into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. His first crop is led by Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath and Grade 1 winner Fun to Dream. Peter Pan winner Arcangelo is from his second crop, which also includes Grade 1 winners And Tell Me Nolies and Cave Rock.

Arrogate is a grandson of Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Unbridled, whose sons and grandsons have been classically prominent sires. The Unbridled line is responsible for Triple Crown winner American Pharoah; classic winners Always Dreaming, Birdstone, Empire Maker, Grindstone, Mine That Bird, Red Bullet, and Summer Bird; and champion colts Arrogate and Will Take Charge, both major winners at 10 furlongs.

DAM: Unraced Modeling, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Streaming and stakes winners Cascading and Treasuring, is the latest mare to produce a stakes horse in this prolific family. Modeling’s granddam is Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honour, best known as the dam of a pair of Belmont Stakes winners in 2006 winner Jazil and 2007 winner Rags to Riches, who also won the Kentucky Oaks and earned a championship.

OUTLOOK: There are no better names to find in the pedigree of a Belmont Stakes candidate than Better Than Honour and Tapit. Arrogate, a tremendous loss to the breed as he leaves behind only three crops, does not add any vulnerabilities and brings the classic Unbridled line to this potent mix.                                          – Nicole Russo

STRENGTHS: National Treasure possesses natural speed; he added blinkers and showed increased focus to win the slow-tempo Preakness. A similar scenario is possible in a Belmont Stakes light on pace. National Treasure is tenacious, at least he was in the Preakness when he outdueled runner-up Blazing Sevens, a Grade 1 winner.

National Treasure should be positioned in front of his main rivals, all late-runners. National Treasure is still fresh. He missed the Kentucky Derby; the Preakness was only his second start since January. A strong work this week over the Belmont Park track suggests he could actually improve this weekend.

WEAKNESSES: National Treasure enters the Belmont without a significant flaw. He benefited by a soft trip in the Preakness, but the same is possible in the Belmont. Although the horse he defeated in the Preakness might be distance-challenged, National Treasure and runner-up Blazing Sevens finished more than two lengths clear of Derby winner Mage.

BETTING VALUE: Low-odds runners sometimes offer value, which may or may not be the case with National Treasure. His advantageous style, proven class, high figures, and improving form are not secrets. He is a top contender in a race that favorites have won four of the last five years. At 3-1 odds or higher, National Trea- sure is appealing. But he could go lower, in which case a bet on the most probable Belmont winner would only be for the sake of action.

SIRE: Quality Road had brilliance he could carry two turns. He won a number of one-turn events, including the Metropolitan Handicap, but also set a track record winning the Florida Derby at nine furlongs. He has become one of the nation’s elite sires, with his record including Kentucky Oaks winner and champion Abel Tasman, and additional champions in juveniles Caledonia Road and Corniche. Quality Road’s sire, Elusive Quality, sired 2004 dual classic winner Smarty Jones.

DAM: Treasure is the dam of three winners from four starters. Joining Preakness winner National Treasure are Ultimate, who won at up to six furlongs, and Treasury, who won at up to 1 1/16 miles. Both those runners are by Speightstown, a son of Gone West – the grandsire of Quality Road. Treasure is a half-sister to four stakes winners, and this is the extended family of Grade 1 winners Leofric, Telling, and Well Chosen.

Belmont runner-up Medaglia d’Oro, long known as an outstand- ing filly sire, is beginning to make his mark as a broodmare sire. He is represented in that regard by Grade 1 winners Competitiono- fideas, Olympiad, Rachel’s Valentina, Rock Fall, and Santin.

OUTLOOK: National Treasure’s extremely classy pedigree seems best geared to middle distances, and the Preakness is the shortest of the three Triple Crown races. While his running style suits the Belmont, he will face an additional challenge at 12 furlongs.

STRENGTHS: He is entering the Belmont off a win at Gulf- stream for which he earned a slight new Beyer top. His two career wins thus far both came when able to make the early lead and there is a chance that this race will not be run at a rapid early pace. He is by Gun Runner and out of a Tapit mare, which suggests he can get a distance of ground.

WEAKNESSES: He still hasn’t had a Beyer out of the 70s after 10 starts and he has made five prior starts vs. stakes company without coming close. The reality is, he is likely in way over his head once again, even if he winds up appreciating more distance.

BETTING VALUE: He will be a very big price at post time and is still likely to be an underlay.

SIRE: Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year, has been a white- hot early success at stud, including a first-crop classic winner in 2022 Preakness victor Early Voting. Gun Runner, who is producing both speed and stamina, also is the sire of Eclipse Award cham- pion Echo Zulu; Grade 1 winners Cyberknife, Gunite, Society, and Taiba; and graded stakes winners Pappacap, Runninsonofagun, Sixtythreecaliber, and Wicked Halo.

DAM: Tapit’s World, Grade 3-placed at a mile on dirt, is the dam of three winners from four starters, including Steinar, stakes-placed in Sweden. She is out of Grade 2 winner Higher World, whose son Conquest Curlinate was second in the 2015 Illinois Derby, Peter Pan, and Plate Trial.

Tapit, the sire of a modern-record four Belmont Stakes winners, is represented as a broodmare sire several times in this year’s field. The top runners produced by his daughters include this year’s Kentucky Oaks winner Pretty Mischievous, Grade 1 winners Cody’s Wish, Halladay, Harvey’s Lil Goil, Lexitonian, Society, and Tripoli, and classic-placed Creative Minister and Tenfold.

OUTLOOK: Crossing Gun Runner over a Tapit mare has already, in a handful of years, proven a successful nick, and one represented in this race a few times. For example, Society and Wicked Halo are both out of Tapit mares. Gun Runner brings both outstanding tactical speed and the ability to carry it a distance to the mix, and Belmont supersire Tapit adds additional stamina to the equation.

STRENGTHS: A winner of five straight races, he has shown the tactical speed to stay close to the lead when needed as well as the ability to come from well off the pace. He was flattered when Mage, a colt he beat in the Florida Derby, returned to win the Kentucky Derby fairly convincingly. His work on June 3 was strong, and he’s a fresh horse for this 1 1/2-mile test as he comes into it off a 10-week break in racing after being scratched from the Derby.

WEAKNESSES: The bruised right front foot that necessitated a scratch from the Kentucky Derby is healed, but there has to be some concern about his ability to handle this extended distance without having raced since April 1. He was aided by race flow in two of his last three wins, and while he has the ability to stalk the pace, he is clearly going to be looking to win it from off the pace. That means he will spot position to the pacesetters.

BETTING VALUE: He figures to be the favorite here. He does deserve to be a fairly short price given his résumé, speed figures, and consistency, but it’s also tough to take a short price on a horse who has never been the distance and who has no real figure edge on his main rivals.

SIRE: Violence, by 2002 Belmont runner-up and classic sire Medaglia d’Oro, won his first three starts, including the Grade 2 Nashua and Grade 1 CashCall Futurity. He finished second by a half-length to Orb – the eventual Kentucky Derby winner – in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth before injury ended his career.

Before Forte’s emergence last year, Violence had been repre- sented by three Grade 1 winners in the United States, all sprinters – Dr. Schivel, No Parole, and Volatile. Forte’s initial Grade 1 victory came in the Hopeful at seven furlongs, but he successfully moved on to two turns to add another four consecutive graded stakes scores, most recently the Florida Derby at 1 1/8 miles. Violence is the sire of a handful of other graded stakes winners beyond a mile in Cosmic Burst, Newgrange, Raise Cain, and Talk Veuve to Me.

DAM: Forte is the first foal for Queen Caroline, a multiple stakes winner at 1 1/16 miles on turf. A daughter of Breeders’ Cup Clas- sic winner and emerging broodmare sire Blame, Queen Caroline is out of Queens Plaza, a stakes-winning sprinter as a juvenile. She also produced Grade 3-placed juvenile sprinter Queen Teurta and Sunland Oaks runner-up K P Slickem.

This is the family of champion Folklore, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies around one turn at Belmont. Folklore is the granddam of Japanese Triple Crown winner Contrail, who won at up to 1 7/8 miles. Folklore also is a half-sister to Delightful Qual- ity, dam of two-time Eclipse Award champion and Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality.

OUTLOOK: Champion Forte’s pedigree combines speed with a globally prominent classic family, and the 10 furlongs of the Kentucky Derby, which he was forced to bypass, did seem well within his wheelhouse. He’ll have to call on every bit of the stamina on the bottom side of his page to add another quarter-mile in the Belmont.

STRENGTHS: He’s one of just three in the Belmont Stakes exit- ing the Kentucky Derby, and he finished a respectable fifth after breaking from the rail in the field of 18. He’s long been well-regarded as he was the favorite in each of his five starts prior to the Derby. He delivered three times, among his wins the Withers at Aqueduct. Hit Show has produced a new career-high Beyer Speed Figure with each passing start, and the 98 he put up in the Derby ranks as the second-best last-race number in the Belmont in a distinction shared with Preakness winner National Treasure. Jockey Manny Franco knows Belmont’s expansive oval well as one of the meet’s current leading riders. He won the Belmont Stakes in 2020. Trainer Brad Cox captured the race in 2021.

WEAKNESSES: He’s never raced at Belmont Park, but to his credit his three career wins have come at three different tracks. He bids from off the pace, and there is some concern whether he will get the fractions he needs up front as there’s a chance National Treasure could control the pace. Hit Show is not yet proven at the Grade 1 level. He’s also an unknown over a wet track, as all of his races have come over fast surfaces.

BETTING VALUE: Excellent. He could go off fourth or fifth choice and is one who can win this race as a well-bred, consistent sort with a nice foundation of route races for the 1 1/2-mile test Saturday.

SIRE: Candy Ride, who set Del Mar’s 1 1/4-mile track record while winning the 2003 Pacific Classic, has not yet sired the winner of a Triple Crown race, but it seems only a matter of time, with the vast majority of his top-flight progeny succeeding around two turns. Gun Runner finished third in the 2016 Kentucky Derby and went on to win the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Classic to earn Horse of the Year honors; he is now a classic sire in his own right.

Candy Ride’s other two Eclipse Award winners are Shared Belief, whose five Grade 1 wins include a pair at 1 1/4 miles, and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Game Winner. He also is the sire of Sovereign Award champion Desert Ride, who won the Woodbine Oaks at 1 1/8 miles and Wonder Where Stakes at 1 1/4 miles.

DAM: Actress was a successful runner around two turns, winning the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and Grade 3 Comely Stakes, both at 1 1/8 miles. She also recorded four stakes placings. As a broodmare, she is now the dam of two winners from as many starters. Hot Rumor, her first foal, was a maiden winner at a mile at Horseshoe Indianapolis last summer.

Actress sports a classic pedigree, being by Tapit, a powerful stamina influence, and out of Canadian champion and classic winner Milwaukee Appeal. The latter won the Woodbine Oaks before finishing third in the Queen’s Plate, beaten a neck, and second in the Prince of Wales, beaten a nose. The millionaire went on to finish second in both the Grade 1 Alabama and Grade 1 Spin- ster Stakes.

STRENGTHS: Grade 1 winner has been pointed for distance races right from the start and has improved his Beyer Speed Figure with each successive start on dirt to this point. He is a two-time graded stakes winner going nine furlongs and his Arkansas Derby was a particularly impressive win. That effort ultimately led to his being favored in the Kentucky Derby, where he rallied to finish a gaining third with a figure of 104, which makes him the fastest 3-year-old entering the Belmont Stakes. Skipping the Preakness leaves him fresh for the attempt to get this longer distance.

WEAKNESSES: He improved again in Kentucky but he did so while getting the setup he needed with a fast pace to close into, and he was still only third best on the day. While his Grade 1 win at Oaklawn was visually impressive, that was a weak field for that kind of race. He is going to take money again as he takes on even more distance and his late-running style is not always beneficial in the Belmont Stakes.

BETTING VALUE: He has earned his spot near the top of this division and he is going to be one of the shorter prices in this race, though he is unlikely to be the favorite this time. He has to be viewed as a major contender and would offer value as the second or third choice at post time, which seems possible.

SIRE: Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and Eclipse Award cham- pion Classic Empire went on to win the 2017 Arkansas Derby and finish second in the Preakness Stakes. He is the sire of four graded stakes winners from his first two crops, with Arkansas Derby winner and Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Angel of Empire joining Classy Edition, Interstatedaydream, and Morello. All scored their signature wins at a mile or beyond.

Classic Empire is by Pioneerof the Nile, best known as the sire of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. Pioneerof the Nile is a grandson of Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled, whose sons and grandsons have been classically prominent sires. The Unbridled line is responsible for American classic winners Always Dreaming, Birdstone, Empire Maker, Grindstone, Mine That Bird, Red Bullet, and Summer Bird, as well as champions Arrogate and Will Take Charge, both major winners at 10 furlongs.

DAM: Angel of Empire is the first foal out of Armony’s Angel, who went winless in eight starts. The mare is a half-sister to Grade 2 Gulfstream Mile winner Conquest Big E and to Aquapazza, a stakes winner at a mile on turf. Another runner from this imme- diate family, Victory Formation, won this year’s Smarty Jones Stakes early in the season at Oaklawn.

OUTLOOK: Pennsylvania-bred Angel of Empire comes from one of the strongest classic sirelines of modern times, which has proven it should never be overlooked in the classic series regard- less of odds.

STRENGTHS: He’s a seasoned graded stakes horse with seven starts at the level. His latest came in the Preakness, and he’s one of just two in the Belmont field to have run in the second leg of the Triple Crown. Red Route One did well to close for fourth behind wire-to-wire winner National Treasure and might get a little better setup this time as National Treasure could face pressure from new sources of speed in Il Miracolo and Tapit Shoes. Red Route One has paired up some of his best Beyer Speed Figures in his last two starts, and the numbers coincide with the recent addition of blinkers. Jockey Joel Rosario is a two-time winner of the Belmont Stakes, and trainer Steve Asmussen captured the race in 2016. As a team, Asmussen and Rosario have won 92 graded stakes together.

WEAKNESSES: He’s dependent on pace as a closer, and there’s still concern as to whether he will get the right setup in the Belmont. He also needs clear sailing when he launches his bid and will have a few more rivals to negotiate than he did in the Preakness. Red Route One has never raced at Belmont, but he has had the chance to work over the demanding surface. He’s yet to win a graded stakes race, although he is Grade 1-placed.

BETTING VALUE: Excellent. There are reasons to believe he will appreciate the 1 1/2 miles of the Belmont, and he could go off at double-digit odds for the first time since the Southwest, when he was second at 15-1.

SIRE: Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year, has been a white-hot early success at stud, including a first-crop classic winner in 2022 Preakness victor Early Voting. Gun Runner, who is producing both speed and stamina, is also the sire of Eclipse Award champion Echo Zulu, Grade 1 winners Cyberknife, Gunite, Society, and Taiba and graded stakes winners Pappacap, Runninsonofagun, Sixtythreecaliber, and Wicked Halo.

DAM: Unraced Red House is the dam of Red Run, a full brother to Red Route One. He is a stakes winner at a mile on turf, and is stakes-placed at 1 1/2 miles on dirt. Red House is out of Grade 2 winner and Broodmare of the Year Fun House, making her a full sister to Eclipse champion Untapable, winner of the 2014 Kentucky Oaks, Breeders’ Cup Distaff, and more. Red House is also a half-sister to Paddy O’Prado, third in the 2010 Kentucky Derby before going on to become a Grade 1 winner on turf at 10 furlongs, and Grade 1-placed at 12 furlongs on that surface. Tapit, the sire of a modern-record four Belmont winners, is represented as a broodmare sire several times in this year’s field. The top runners produced by his daughters include this year’s Kentucky oaks winner Pretty Mischievous, Grade 1 winners Cody’s Wish, Halladay, Harvey’s Lil Goil, and Society.

OUTLOOK: Crossing Gun Runner over a Tapit mare has already, in a handful of years, proven a successful nick. For example, Society and Wicked Halo are both out of Tapit mares. Gun Runner brings both outstanding tactical speed and the ability to carry it a distance to the mix, and Belmont supersire Tapit adds additional stamina to the equation.