HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Despite South Florida being inundated by rain Sunday morning, Kentucky Derby candidates Tiz the Law and Shivaree – the first- and second-place finishers, respectively, in this year’s Grade 1 Florida Derby – were able to get in five-furlong works in preparation for a potential rematch four weeks down the road in the Belmont Stakes.

Shivaree, runner-up in both the Grade 1 Florida Derby at 1 1/8 miles and the Grade 3 Swale at seven furlongs, will be under consideration for the Belmont Stakes, trainer Ralph Nicks said Wednesday.

“One intriguing factor with it being one turn is what’s the pace scenario going to be like?” Nicks said.

Given how well Shivaree ran at 1 1/8 miles, finishing second to Tiz the Law in the Florida Derby, Nicks said, “I’d sure be interested in doing it again.”

In a world turned upside down, perhaps it is only fitting this year that the Triple Crown will be run out of order.

The Belmont Stakes, traditionally the last and longest leg of Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, will be run June 20 and at the shortened distance of 1 1/8 miles around one turn, the New York Racing Association announced Tuesday. That means the Belmont – typically run at 1 1/2 miles five weeks after the Kentucky Derby – will be run 11 weeks before the Kentucky Derby (Sept. 5) and 15 weeks before the Preakness (Oct. 3).

The New York Racing Association has not yet determined whether it plans to move the Belmont Stakes to the fall in light of the Kentucky Derby being rescheduled for Sept. 5 and the Preakness likely to be run in September as well.

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Gulfstream Park ran the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes on Saturday, Feb. 29, as part of a blockbuster card of 10 stakes, nine of them graded, including the Grade 2 Davona Dale and Gulfstream Park Mile.

When Sir Winston upset last Saturday’s Belmont Stakes at odds of 10-1, beating nine rivals, including stablemate and Preakness winner War of Will, a 7-2 shot, it served as a reminder that sometimes the larger-priced of a trainer’s two entrants in a race is the one you want, particularly in major stakes races.

In “The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes: A Comprehensive History,” author Richard Sowers made good on both the length of the title and the promise it conveyed. From the birth of the Belmont in 1867 to the series of 2013, when Orb, Oxbow, and Palace Malice cut the Triple Crown three ways, Sowers goes granular on just about every piece of historical data imaginable. There are pictures, too.

Sir Winston’s Belmont Stakes victory was an awesome result for his sire . . . again.

Sir Winston became the second American classic winner sired by Awesome Again, a homebred for Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs operation. The stalwart sire was also represented by 2013 Preakness Stakes winner and Belmont runner-up Oxbow. Sir Winston’s victory in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont continued to show off the stamina Awesome Again displayed during both his racing and stallion careers.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Nearly six months in, the race for the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old male is about as wide open as it was on New Year’s Day, setting the stage for a compelling second half of the season, with races like the Travers and Pennsylvania Derby looming large.

For the third time in the last four years, all three Triple Crown races were won by a different horse. In both 2016 and 2017, the Travers proved pivotal, as the winner both those years went on to claim the title.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Mark Casse on Sunday morning was still trying to wrap his head around the conflicted feelings he had following the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, which he won with Sir Winston while seeing War of Will, his Preakness winner, beat one horse.

“It was emotional,” Casse said. “It’s like having two kids, and you’re excited for one son and upset and hurt for the other son.”