ELMONT, N.Y. – The decision by Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens to remain in Florida this spring has left a void on the Belmont Park backstretch. Though he personally will not be attending Saturday’s Belmont Stakes card, the 85-year-old Jerkens will have the chance to make his presence felt.

The wondering will continue right up to the moment the gates pop open for the 146th running of the Belmont Stakes late Saturday afternoon.

Why is California Chrome this good? How does he defy the basic principles of trying to breed the best to the best and hope for the best? Where does it say in his trainer’s resume that he’s ever handled anything anywhere near the ability of this particular colt? And where is Los Alamitos, anyway?

The Belmont Stakes has historically been billed as “the Test of the Champion,” and it may live up to that description when California Chrome bids to sweep the Triple Crown. But in the last decade or so the 147-year-old event has been marked by freakish results and diminished prestige. Its 1 ½-mile distance has made it an anachronism in American racing. Its recent history sheds light on the special challenges that California Chrome will face on Saturday.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Art Sherman, the trainer of California Chrome, hadn’t seen the horse in person in two weeks, since the Preakness win at Pimlico, but he certainly liked what he saw after flying to New York on Monday to begin final preparations for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.

“He looks like he has more weight than the last time I saw him,” Sherman said Tuesday at Belmont Park. “He looks bigger.”

ELMONT, N.Y. - Social Inclusion came out to gallop over the Belmont Park main track without the special Belmont Stakes saddle towel he’d worn since his arrival here last week, raising speculation that owner Ron Sanchez and trainer Manny Azpurua had already made the decision to bypass the Belmont Stakes for the seven-furlong Woody Stephens earlier on Saturday’s card.

But that is not the case, according to Sanchez, who said that as of Tuesday Social Inclusion is still being considered for the Belmont.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Kid Cruz on Tuesday was ruled out of the Belmont Stakes by trainer Linda Rice, who said she was looking “for an easier spot to get him back on track.”

Kid Cruz finished eighth in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in his most recent start after winning his prior two starts, the Private Terms Stakes at Laurel Park and the Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico. He would have been a longshot in the Belmont on Saturday. Entries were to be taken Wednesday.

“His last effort was a non-effort,” Rice said outside her Belmont Park barn Tuesday. “He didn’t perform at Pimlico.”

ELMONT, N.Y. – For a horse who already has made 12 starts, has been in steady racing and training for more than a year, has won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, and will be racing at his fourth track in four states in his last four starts Saturday, California Chrome looks like he’s held up remarkably well as he prepares for a Triple Crown bid in the Belmont Stakes.

California Chrome will be sponsored by the footwear company Skechers in the Belmont Stakes, according to the company and officials who participated in the deal, with the company’s brand being featured on clothing worn by his owners and stable team.

The deal is “probably the largest ever reached in horse racing,” according to Ben Sturner, the president of the Leverage Agency, a sports marketing firm hired by California Chrome’s owners to represent the horse. Sturner would not provide details about the deal but said his agency expects to announce other deals this week.

Before the Kentucky Derby, the owners of California Chrome turned down an offer to sell 51 percent of their colt for $6 million. The offer pegged his value at about $12 million. After California Chrome proceeded to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, trainer Art Sherman declared: “Now the horse is worth $30 million.” The owners surely expect that his value as a prospective stallion will soar further if he wins the Belmont Stakes and completes a sweep of the Triple Crown.

Belmont Park: Main track/training track – Fast; Weather – Sunny; Temp – 50

ELMONT, N.Y. – What started out a relatively chilly morning heated up steadily as the day went on, both weather- and activity-wise for Belmont Stakes-bound 3-year-olds, six of whom worked during the course of a long morning, which began before 6:30 a.m. on the main track with Commanding Curve and ended more than three hours later over at the training track with an eye-catching drill by Wicked Strong.