Calumet Farm in Lexington, Ky., had a productive Triple Crown prep season with its 3-year-old crop, putting the storied operation in a position to be represented in this year’s Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes. Patch will close out the Triple Crown run for Calumet on Saturday, when he starts from post 12 in the Belmont Stakes.

NEW YORK – There were 22,905 registered foals in North America among the current crop of 3-year-olds, a small percentage of whom made up the 419 who were nominated to the Triple Crown in January, followed by another six in March. And of those 425, just one will run on Saturday in the Belmont Stakes after also competing in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

Roca Rojo has a chance to make a statement on Saturday as she takes on Dickinson and Celestine in the Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes.

The Irish-born mare won three of her first five starts in the U.S. last year, including the Grade 3 Athenia Stakes on the Belmont turf, and finished second by a nose to Miss Temple City in the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes. Roca Rojo continued her ascent by rallying to win the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard five weeks ago.

Twisted Tom will be the first horse to represent Cobra Farm in the Belmont Stakes. However, the historic property and the people currently behind it have already played a role in some major moments in the history of the last and longest American classic.

The property that became Cobra Farm was originally owned by Ben Castleman, who dubbed it White Horse Acres. Castleman bred and sold 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, the only horse to sweep the series while undefeated, off the property.

ELMONT, N.Y. – There are a number of guaranteed wagering pools at Belmont Park this Friday and Saturday and a pair of two-day daily doubles linking major stakes.

The first daily double is on the Grade 2 New York Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile turf race for fillies and mares that is carded as race 9 on Friday, and the Grade 1 Met Mile, carded as race 9 on Saturday.

The second daily double ties together the Grade 3 Belmont Gold Cup, a two-mile turf race slotted as race 10 on Friday, and the Belmont Stakes, which is race 11 on Saturday.

Belmont Park

Weather: Overcast

Track: Fast

Temp.: 55

ELMONT, N.Y. – The weather here has felt more like April than June over the past few mornings, cold and dreary as trainers put the finishing touches on their contenders for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.

The final two works for this year’s Belmont were turned in here Tuesday, maintenance-type breezes by Senior Investment and Epicharis.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Fresh horses can be dangerous horses.

Epicharis, Hollywood Handsome, Meantime, and Twisted Tom are the new shooters Saturday in the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes. Each is making his first start in a Triple Crown race, against horses who have been battling it out in either the Kentucky Derby or Preakness, or both, as is the case with Lookin At Lee.

“Sometimes a fresh horse is good this time of year going into these sort of races,” said Brian Lynch, who trains Meantime.

ELMONT, N.Y. – When his cellphone rang at 8:15 in the morning May 27 and Chad Brown’s name was displayed on the caller ID, Paul Pompa Jr. didn’t have a good feeling.

“When you get a call from a trainer at a weird time, you just wonder what name they’re going to mention,” Pompa said.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Classic Empire, who would have been the favorite in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, is out of the race owing to an abscess in his right front hoof, trainer Mark Casse said Wednesday at Belmont Park.

Classic Empire flew to New York on Tuesday from Kentucky. On Wednesday morning, "he wouldn't put the foot down," Casse said.

"He'll be better as soon as it busts open,” Casse said. “He'll have instant relief, but he can't run. He's been too good to us."

ELMONT, N.Y. – “The bad boy is here!” the Twitter account of the Belmont Stakes captioned a photo of Classic Empire descending a horse van Tuesday that had just arrived at Belmont Park.

Reputations die hard, and Classic Empire’s exploits will cling to him indefinitely, but the fact of the matter is the bad boy appears to have transformed into a polite, dutiful youngster over the last couple months.