Triple Crown winner American Pharoah’s days on the racetrack are now a memory growing ever more distant. The champion retired at the end of his smashing 2015 campaign and is now nearing the completion of his first season at stud at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky. But part of the beauty of the Thoroughbred industry is that it never stops moving on, and a number of American Pharoah’s close relatives are preparing to one day make their own names in racing.

DRF sales editor Joe Nevills analyzes the Belmont Stakes field, in post position order, in the form of Haiku, a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

Governor Malibu
Couldn’t seal the deal
In a pair of minor preps
Needs breakthrough effort

Destin
Returns to the scene
Of his debut maiden win
Fresh as a daisy

Paul Reddam will not be at Belmont Park on Saturday with his Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, who was knocked out of the final leg of the Triple Crown after running a minor temperature following his runner-up effort in the Preakness Stakes. But the prominent owner’s purple and white silks are still vying to appear in the Belmont winner’s circle, as he will send out homebred Mrazek in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters on the undercard.

In 2014 and 2015, a newly constructed Belmont Stakes Day was dominated by the suspense of whether a Derby and Preakness winner could complete the first Triple Crown since 1978. This year, with no crown on the line, it may be easier to appreciate the enormity of a card that has turned into the second-richest day on the American racing calendar.

Although some might not want to play DESTIN in the Belmont Stakes due to his preparation – with the race marking just his second start in 13 weeks – it means little to me. The time off was not the result of some publicized setback. Rather, the extensive spacing was made by his connections to have him fresh for the Triple Crown after the horse produced a career-best effort in winning the Tampa Bay Derby on March 12.

CREATOR was my pick in the Kentucky Derby, and he finished 13th. But I’m going back to him in the Belmont because he never really had a chance at Churchill Downs to show what he can do. Creator appeared to have run late on the far turn, only to be blocked, walloped, taken up, and otherwise completely wiped out at the top of the stretch.

There are two ways to approach this year’s Belmont Stakes from a wagering standpoint – concede the race to odds-on favorite Exaggerator and look for some value underneath in the gimmicks, or take a shot to beat the Preakness winner in search of a big payday. Win or lose, the latter seems like the more sensible approach.

Considering what he was up against in the Preakness (a big class rise, sloppy track, and much faster pace), STRADIVARI acquitted himself quite well to land a piece of that race in just his fourth career start, and did so while backing up the 100 Beyer Speed Figure he earned for a facile win against overmatched horses in his 3-year-old debut. He is exposed now, but the pace scenario for the Belmont Stakes should be much more favorable for him, and he is one of the few true contenders in this year’s field who is eligible to improve again.

Preakness winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up EXAGGERATOR figures to start at low odds in the Belmont Stakes. He also figures to win. Exaggerator emerged as one of the country’s top two 3-year-olds – the other being Derby winner Nyquist, whose absence from the Belmont lowers the price on Exaggerator. Of course, low odds might be the best reason to wager against.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Thirteen proved to be a lucky number for the New York Racing Association when it came to this year’s Belmont Stakes card.

Not only did 13 enter the Belmont Stakes, but there were 13 entrants each in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, Grade 1 Just a Game, and Grade 2 Woody Stephens, three of the nine supporting stakes on Saturday’s 13-race program at Belmont Park. The Grade 3 Jaipur Invitational drew 14.