Other than his undefeated record, ESSENTIAL QUALITY lost little when beaten only a length in the Kentucky Derby. He took a good bump leaving the gate, and that might have cost him a bit of early position. After that, he raced wide around both turns and was still punching on in the stretch. One of his best assets is his tactical speed, and he shouldn’t be too far off the leaders when the real racing begins. Fresh after skipping the Preakness, he’s worked swiftly coming into this race.

At the three-sixteenths pole of the Kentucky Derby, you’d have to have made HOT ROD CHARLIE the favorite. There had been a spot of early trouble going past the stands the first time, but jockey Flavien Prat eased Hot Rod Charlie into decent position and for the race’s last mile gave his mount a perfect trip. He saved ground around the far turn, popped outside for his final charge, and looked like he was going best – until he wasn’t.

The consistent and reliable HOT ROD CHARLIE, one of five legitimate contenders in the 2021 Belmont Stakes, gets the call based on improving form, established class, and the likelihood of a forwardly placed trip among the first three pacesetters/pressers.

Each start by Hot Rod Charlie has been better than the start before, including his perfect-trip third in the Kentucky Derby. He saved ground just off the pace, angled out, and was third across the wire. No excuses, none needed. He ran well and got beat.

HOT ROD CHARLIE was a big surprise in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile when nearly pulling off a 94-1 upset, and he arguably ran as well as eventual winner ESSENTIAL QUALITY in that race while making the first move into a wicked pace. He has since proven that effort was no fluke with a convincing win in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, followed by a close third in the Kentucky Derby – where he finished just ahead of Essential Quality.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Traffic is back. Curfews have been lifted at bars and restaurants. The Belmont Stakes has been restored to its rightful place – and distance – on the calendar.

Everywhere you look in New York these days, there are signs of life returning to normal after 15 months of restrictions and disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Brad Cox woke up May 1, 2021, thinking he’d win his first Kentucky Derby later that day.

Never mind Cox was saddling his first Derby starter. This is a man, chronically optimistic, who says, “I will” and “I can” right up until the point it’s proven he actually hasn’t.

Commendable won just two races in his career, a debut victory against maidens at Del Mar in the summer of 1999, and nearly 10 months later, after six straight races in which he finished out of the money, the Belmont Stakes. He was the fourth Belmont winner for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the third for jockey Pat Day, both already members of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame by then.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Rombauer will go down as trainer Michael McCarthy’s first winner of a Triple Crown race. As a longtime assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher, however, this trail for McCarthy has not been one less traveled.

McCarthy worked for Pletcher from 2002 to early 2014, when Pletcher was a constant presence in the Kentucky Derby, winning it in 2010 with Super Saver, as well as the Belmont Stakes, which the stable won with Rags to Riches (2007) and Palace Malice (2013).

Front and center on John Fradkin’s Twitter profile is a quote: Everyone should make at least one bet every day; otherwise, you might be walking around lucky and not even know it.

Fradkin has gotten plenty lucky with his bets, both as a handicapper, which was his introduction to the sport of racing, and as an owner and breeder with his wife, Diane. Most recently, a series of lucky breaks over the last year led to the Fradkins campaigning homebred Rombauer to a victory in the Preakness Stakes. The colt looks to add another classic in the Belmont Stakes this Saturday.

ELMONT, N.Y. – In addition to the usual fare of ample wagering opportunities, there is a bevy of two-day wagers being offered this week.

There will be a two-day pick six that consists of Friday’s Grade 2 True North, Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup, and Grade 2 New York, and a trio of Grade 1 stakes Saturday, the Jaipur, Metropolitan Handicap, and Belmont Stakes.

That pick six will have a 20-cent base wager with a 15 percent takeout. The regular $1 pick six on Friday will be on the last six races, but the same wager on Saturday is on races 6-11.