Race 6:
St. Louie (#14)
Was running on well last time after being compromised by a slow pace.
Has run better than it seems in each of his last three starts.
Mike Maker is 11 for 43 (26 percent) with a $3.02 ROI in races at 10 furlongs and beyond on turf at NYRA tracks over the past five years.
8-1 on ML

The third leg of the Triple Crown looms as an anticlimax, with the winners of the first two legs declining to participate, the undefeated Peter Pan winner taking a pass (despite having only three career starts behind him), and the news that 2016 juvenile male champ and Preakness runner-up Classic Empire won’t start because of a foot issue.

Where does that leave us? Well, on the positive side, it leaves us with a big field of 12 set to travel one full lap around Belmont’s main track, and with a morning-line favorite pegged at a tepid 7-2.

Right at the top, I must say I am not a fan of overnight wagers like the Belmont Gold Cup-Belmont Stakes double.

Unless you’re so wealthy that the money you’re betting doesn’t matter, I don’t understand why anyone would tie up their betting capital overnight when there are so many other wagering options that do not take your money out of action for such a long period of time. For that reason, I do not play wagers like this.

IRISH WAR CRY seemed to be moving well for most of the Kentucky Derby, right in contention until the top of the stretch, and then jockey Rajiv Maragh went from having plenty of horse to suddenly none, and the colt faded to 10th, beaten 16 lengths. After that race, trainer Graham Motion seemed inclined to skip the rest of the Triple Crown. But after being encouraged by the colt’s training, he changed course and opted for the Belmont.

The withdrawal of standout Classic Empire has turned the Belmont Stakes into a scramble. Perhaps it would have been chaotic anyway. After all, seven of the last nine Belmont winners paid more than $20. Bettors shopping for a price will find plenty of choices, including an improving colt whose form might be better than it appears.

ELMONT, N.Y. – For horseplayers, the unfortunate news Wednesday morning that Classic Empire will miss Saturday’s Belmont Stakes due to a foot abscess cut two ways.

SPICED PERFECTION
Trainer: Brian Koriner
Last race: June 1, 3rd
Finish: 3rd by head
Beyer: 44
Juvenile filly was odds-on first out, broke slowly, bobbled and was away last. Made a middle move while wide, kept grinding and should have won for fun. California-bred by Smiling Tiger can run.

Sometimes it takes a while for a good day to develop. You can put a plan in place but if the horses you like are getting bet more aggressively than anticipated, you need to either figure out a logical exotic wager or pass the race. If you do wager at the borderline of fair odds and the win odds drop, all you can do is slap your forehead in frustration, knowing that you wouldn’t have played the horse at the lower price. If you are lucky, the horse wins and at least you cash. If it doesn’t win, you walk away muttering under your breath. This seems to happen to me every week.

Each week, TimeformUS Chief Figure Maker Craig Milkowski takes a look back at the weekend’s graded stakes and releases the TimeformUS Speed Figures for these races.

Santa Anita

Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile

1/2    136

3/4    135

Fin    123

Top 3: Bal a Bali 123, Farhaan 122, Heart to Heart 126

Note: Bal a Bali has won three graded stakes in U.S., all one-mile turf races at Santa Anita; Heart to Heart is 8 for 12 in Grade 2 and Grade 3 races, 0 for 5 in Grade 1

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
Trainer: Robert Tiller
Last race: June 3, 6^th
Finish: 1^st by neck
Beyer: 90
The once-beaten 3-year-old would have to take his game to another level if he was going to beat older second-level allowance opposition, and he did just that, upsetting Ted W in a gutsy display. The son of Midnight Lute is a stakes winner in the making.