American Pharoah’s quest to become racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner and first since 1978 will start from post 5 against seven challengers in the 147th running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, to be contested Saturday at Belmont Park. The Zayat Stables homebred has been installed as the 3-5 morning-line favorite.

Trainer Bob Baffert, who is taking his fourth shot at the elusive Triple Crown, said earlier this week that he wasn’t concerned about drawing a specific post position in the marathon 1 1/2-mile classic. 

Justin Zayat was barely a teenager when his father bought his first two racehorses. Zayat, who was more interested in other sports at the time, was not particularly impressed.

“I was never involved in horse racing. I thought it was the weirdest thing ever,” Justin Zayat said. “I loved watching ESPN. My dad once in a while would have a horse race on TV, and I would be like, ‘Turn this crap off and put on SportsCenter.’ He went to the sale and bought two horses. I said, ‘Good for you, Dad. Enjoy that. I’m going to go and play basketball.’ ”

Nick Zito has a unique perspective on the Belmont Stakes, which will be run for the 147th time Saturday.

He’s won the race twice, both times with longshots who broke up Triple Crown bids. He has finished second an amazing seven times. And, having grown up a stone’s throw from Aqueduct, Zito sees the race through the eyes of a true New Yorker.

Anthony Bonomo, the chairman of the board of the New York Racing Association, is taking a leave of absence, effective immediately, NYRA officials confirmed on Wednesday.

Bonomo informed Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday by letter that he was taking the leave, citing the distraction of “recent events.” In May, prosecutors for the Southern District of New York alleged in a wide-ranging indictment that Adam Skelos, the son of New York state Sen. Dean Skelos, had been given a no-show job at a company that has since been identified as a firm headed by Bonomo.

ELMONT, N.Y. – American Pharoah, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, on Wednesday morning had his first tour of the Belmont Park track over which he will try to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday and seemed to take in his surroundings with the same aplomb with which he's handled just about everything else during his bid to become the 12th Triple Crown winner.

Trainer Bob Baffert was amused by the way American Pharoah first came onto the Belmont track, showing his usual command of the situation even though it was his first time on the track.

Gov. Rick Scott of Florida on Tuesday signed a bill that will put in place a set of medication rules for Thoroughbred racing in the state that is supported by national racing organizations seeking uniform drug policies in U.S. racing.

The bill requires the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering to adopt rules allowing for the regulated use of 26 medications, a list that has been devised and approved by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, an industry-funded group that recommends medication policies. Under the bill, the rules will go into effect July 1.

ELMONT, N.Y. – American Pharoah, who on Saturday will attempt to become the sport's 12th Triple Crown winner when he competes in the Belmont Stakes, arrived at Belmont Park on Tuesday following a flight from Kentucky and then a van ride from the local airport, a trip that took almost five hours from door to door.

Much like the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes puts its competitors on a level playing field in that none of the horses have started at the race’s 1 1/2-mile distance.

The distance of the Belmont Stakes is unique for 3-year-olds in this part of the racing calendar, and it’s likely that most of the horses who run Saturday will never cover that much ground in competition again.

The Maryland Jockey Club is planning to open the Laurel Park meet one month earlier than initially scheduled while paring its weekly racing schedule by one day, racing officials in Maryland said on Tuesday.

Pierre Hernandez-Ortega, the rider whose license was revoked last Thursday by the stewards at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., for allegedly possessing an electrical device, will appeal the decision and seek a stay of the ruling, his attorney said on Tuesday.