ELMONT, N.Y. – Before the running of the 154th Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park, the familiar tune of “New York, New York” was played as the horses came onto the track. Apropos, is that for years owner Mike Repole, a native New Yorker, has been a part of it, though he had never won it.
This time, though, when Repole awakens Sunday morning in the city that never sleeps, he’ll find he’s king of the hill, top of the heap.
Results and payouts from the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes on June 11, 2022, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., won by Mo Donegal.
6 Mo Donegal – $7.20 / $3.80 / $3.00
3 Nest – $5.30 / $4.10
2 Skippylongstocking – $5.60
1 We the People
5 Creative Minister
4 Rich Strike
8 Barber Road
7 Golden Glider
The demanding 1 1/2 miles of the Belmont Stakes calls on a Thoroughbred to use everything they are built upon – and that includes pedigree. This year’s cast appears particularly well-suited to the task.
Three of the eight entrants have Curlin – second in the Belmont Stakes and already the sire of a Belmont winner – in their immediate pedigree as sire or grandsire. Meanwhile three more count Tapit, the most successful sire in the modern history of the Belmont, as their grandsire.
Sonny Leon was already riding high when he went postward in his first Kentucky Derby last month aboard longshot Rich Strike. The jockey, who was seeking his first graded stakes victory in the classic, was coming off a career-best season in 2021.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Rich Strike wasn’t even on anyone’s radar heading into the Kentucky Derby because his chances of even getting into the race seemed unlikely. Even once in the race, his chances still seemed remote, hence his 80-1 price. But now all eyes are on Rich Strike heading into the Belmont Stakes on Saturday for one simple reason, to see if his Derby win was a fluke, or a preview of coming attractions.
For owner Rick Dawson, winning the Kentucky Derby was an out-of-this-world experience.
“What planet is this?” Dawson said. “I feel like I have been propelled somewhere. I’m not sure. This is unbelievable. I asked my trainer up on the stage, I said, ‘Are you sure this is not a dream? Because it can’t be true.’ He assured me, ‘This is real.’ ”
Eric Reed is a folk hero – and it took an 80-1 winner of the Kentucky Derby to finally bring that fact to light.
Only after Rich Strike became the second-longest-priced winner in race history with his $163.60 mutuel in the May 7 Derby has it become known what Reed overcame to get there as the winning trainer. His perseverance and inner strength away from the racetrack add to what was already an incredible tale.
ELMONT, N.Y. – He didn’t run in the Kentucky Derby. He didn’t run in the Preakness. And in his first stakes try, We the People didn’t do much running, finishing seventh of nine in the Arkansas Derby. The best horses from that race and the other final round of Derby preps all went on to races like the Derby and Preakness, while We the People was rerouted to the Peter Pan.
