ELMONT, N.Y. - Kiaran McLaughlin, the trainer of Uptowncharlybrown, on Sunday morning at Belmont Park took the blame for the unusual disqualification of Uptowncharlybrown in Saturday's .
Uptowncharlybrown was disqualified from fifth and placed last by the stewards because he did not carry the correct amount of weight the entire way around the course. All 12 Belmont starters were assigned 126 pounds. The difference between what rider
ELMONT, N.Y. - Drosselmeyer, who scored a 13-1 upset win in the on Saturday, came out of the race well and now will target the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 28, Elliott Walden, the racing manager for Drosselmeyer's owner, WinStar Farm, said Sunday morning at Belmont Park.
WinStar - owned by Bill Casner and Kenny Troutt - also owns Super Saver, winner of the Kentucky Derby. Walden said Super Saver also will be pointed to the Travers. Each colt will have one prep before then.
ELMONT, N.Y. - At 11 a.m., with $660,138 in the win pool, Kentucky Derby runner-up Ice Box was a strong 7-5 favorite for Saturday's 142nd Belmont Stakes.
Fly Down, who like Ice Box is trained by Nick Zito, was the second choice at 6-1. He was followed by First Dude (9-1), Uptwoncharlybrown (10-1), Make Music for Me (11-1), Drosselmeyer (12-1), Stately Victor (13-1), Dave in Dixie (13-1), Game On Dude (18-1), Spangled Star (20-1), Interactif (22-1), and Stay Put (29-1).
ELMONT, N.Y. - Talk about setting the bar high.
When trainer Nick Zito is asked what he likes about jockey Jose Lezcano, the trainer says the 25-year-old rider reminds him of Hall of Fame jockeys Braulio Baeza and Laffit Pincay Jr., who combined to win 12,670 races.
"Braulio knew how to extend a horse and Laffit knew how to finish with one, and to me Jose can do both sometimes," said Zito, a member of the Hall of Fame himself. "So sometimes he reminds me of Baeza and sometimes he reminds me of Pincay."
Thus far, it has been a forgettable Triple Crown series for jockey John Velazquez.
First, he lost arguably his best shot to win a Kentucky Derby when Eskendereya, the leading 3-year-old through the first four months of the year, was withdrawn from consideration for the race - and subsequently retired - with a soft-tissue injury. Velazquez rode the filly Devil May Care in the Derby, but she finished 10th.
Velazquez sat out the Preakness after his scheduled mount, A Little Warm, bled in a workout five days before the race.
ELMONT, N.Y. - There is a scene in the popular movie "Hoosiers" when the players on the underdog Hickory High School basketball team walk into Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indiana for the first time and look in awe at the humongous setting on which they will be playing for the first time.
Gene Hackman, as coach Norman Dale, tells his players to take out a tape measure to prove that the height of the basket is the same as the one they shoot at in their small town.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Considering how well he ran on the front end when finishing second in the Preakness Stakes three weeks ago after drawing post 11, there is little doubt what the strategy will be for First Dude in the 142nd Belmont Stakes on Saturday after he again drew post 11, this time in a field of 12, on Wednesday for the 1 1/2-mile circuit of expansive Belmont Park.
The last thing trainer Dale Romans wants to see happen is for First Dude to get caught behind horses. After all, it might take him a while to get going again.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The color scheme of the tack owned by trainer Alexis Barba is deep purple and white, and much of the tack at her stable back in Southern California still bear the initials "EJG." Every day, Barba sees reminders of her mentor, trainer Eddie Gregson, but in recent weeks, they have been piling up.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Belmont Week dawned Monday with a late addition to bring the field to 12, and several horses who turned in sharp final workouts, one of whom gave no indication that a foot problem he is nursing will compromise his chances come post time Saturday for the 142nd Belmont Stakes.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Stay Put and Fly Down put in different kind of workouts on Sunday morning as they finished their major preparations for Saturday's $1 million Belmont Stakes.
At Belmont Park, Stay Put, working by himself over the main track, went a relatively easy half-mile in 50.70 seconds under exercise rider Loren Diego. Meanwhile, at Saratoga, Fly Down, the Dwyer Stakes winner, worked in company over the Oklahoma training track and went four furlongs in 47.50 seconds under exercise rider Maxine Correa.
