ELMONT, N.Y. – Welcome to the *** Crown.

In the era of COVID-19 where everyday life everywhere has been impacted, Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown series certainly has a different look. Two weeks after the Triple Crown would have concluded with the Belmont Stakes at 1 1/2 miles, the series kicks off Saturday with the $1 million Belmont now at a shortened 1 1/8 miles. Instead of being the last leg of a five-week sprint, it’s the first leg of a 15-week marathon with the Kentucky Derby rescheduled for Sept. 5 and the Preakness four weeks later on Oct. 3.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer John Servis hopes the public won’t have to wait until late Saturday afternoon to see a legitimate Kentucky Derby prospect at Belmont Park.

Though Mischevious Alex still has to prove his ability to get a distance of ground, his road to a potential start in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby begins in Saturday’s Grade 1, $250,000 Woody Stephens at seven furlongs. With only a five-horse field, the Woody Stephens is carded as race 2 (12:25 p.m. Eastern) on the 12-race program.

When it comes to the Triple Crown, trainer Todd Pletcher usually saves the best for last. For this year’s Belmont Stakes on Saturday, he’ll try to break on top.

Pletcher has won the Belmont three times, in each case with a horse who followed the same plan – a gap of five weeks into the 1 1/2-mile race after competing the first weekend of May at Churchill Downs.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Tiz the Law will have nine challengers and a potential pace duel ahead of him when he starts as the heavy favorite in Saturday’s $1 million Belmont Stakes.

Tiz the Law drew post 8 and was installed as the 6-5 morning-line favorite by New York Racing Association linemaker David Aragona in a 10-horse field.

“Probably keeps him out of trouble,” trainer Barclay Tagg said of Tiz the Law’s draw.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Belmont Stakes will be the first leg of the Triple Crown and has been shortened from 1 1/2 miles to 1 1/8 miles.

ELMONT, N.Y. – The owners of Max Player will have to pay a double jockey’s fee for the Belmont Stakes after making a late switch from Dylan Davis to Joel Rosario, according to the stewards. Thus, whatever Rosario earns, Davis will also get.

The stewards said that Davis had a call with trainer Linda Rice to ride Max Player in the Belmont. On Sunday, Rice said Rosario would ride Max Player, leaving Davis without a mount for the race.

ELMONT, N.Y. – For the past five years, Larry Collmus and John Imbriale have shared the announcer’s booth on Belmont Stakes Day. Collmus would call the majority of the races, including the Belmont, while Imbriale would call the races following the Belmont.

Tapit, the most successful sire in the modern history of the Belmont Stakes, is an imposing specimen whose coat has gone snow white with age. His white-hot son Constitution, who has this year’s Belmont favorite from his first crop, is a racy contrast in bright bay. Bernardini’s dark coat is unmarked as he strides by like a panther. The sturdy Honor Code is a darker shade, nearly black, but his dark coat is splashed with chrome.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Fore Left, winner of the Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas in Dubai in his last start, will be re-routed from Saturday’s Grade 1, $250,000 Woody Stephens to the $1 million Belmont Stakes, trainer Doug O’Neill said Tuesday.

Fore Left, a son of Twirling Candy owned by Paul Reddam, adds some pace to the Belmont, which this year will be run at 1 1/8 miles around one turn. He will be ridden by Jose Ortiz, who won the 2017 Belmont aboard Tapwrit.

:: Belmont Stakes news, contenders, and more

Owners will not be permitted to attend Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, the New York Racing Association said Monday afternoon.

There were discussions held between the New York Racing Association and the New York State Gaming Commission about allowing a limited number of owners connected with each Belmont Stakes horse on the grounds Saturday, but it was ultimately determined that there would not be enough time to implement additional health and safety protocols for that to happen.

ELMONT, N.Y. – In the days following Max Player’s victory in the Grade 3 Withers Stakes on Feb. 1 at Aqueduct, while many were starting to talk Kentucky Derby, trainer Linda Rice seemed more excited about the Belmont Stakes.

She believed Max Player could be one of the rare individuals that would relish the 1 1/2 miles of the Belmont. Moreover, she believed with racing and time, Max Player could improve to the point where he’d be better prepared to tackle the upper echelon of the 3-year-old division, or at least those who were left following the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.