The judges have called for a photo finish in attempting to determine which Arlington entity is hotter right now: The air, or trainer Larry Rivelli.

At noon on Wednesday, the thermometer read about 93 degrees near Arlington, the temperature expected to climb a few more degrees through the afternoon. Meanwhile, Rivelli’s barn entered Wednesday’s racing action just as scorching, with 14 wins from just 33 starters, a strike rate of 42 percent. Eight more Rivelli starters have finished second or third, giving him an in-the-money percentage of 67.

Though nominated to Saturday’s $250,000 Woody Stephens Stakes, J.P.’s Gusto will instead run in the $400,000 Red Legend Stakes on June 18 at Charles Town. Both races are at seven furlongs.

Trainer Doodnauth Shivmangal had seriously considered running recent allowance winner Harlan’s Hello in the Belmont, but ultimately passed in part because he didn’t want to run two horses in the race. Shivmangal entered Isn’t He Perfect instead.

BELMONT STAKES: Contender profiles, Watchmaker's odds »

Shivmangal said that Harlan’s Hello is nominated to a pair of Grade 2 stakes, including the Pegasus at Monmouth Park next Saturday.
 

For the first time since 1993, the Belmont Stakes will be run without a horse from the barn of trainers Bob Baffert, D. Wayne Lukas, or Nick Zito.

That trio of Hall of Fame trainers has combined to win seven of the 17 Belmonts run since 1994, with Lukas winning four, Zito two, and Baffert one.

BELMONT STAKES: Contender profiles, Watchmaker's odds »

Entering Wednesday, trainer Todd Pletcher had won 2,833 races in his career, but there’s one victory that stands out above the rest – Rags to Riches’s head victory over Curlin in the 2007 Belmont Stakes.

With a 13-race card Saturday at Belmont Park, there will be plenty of wagering opportunities, including a trio of pick-four wagers.

The pick-fours will begin on races 2, 8, and 10. The all stakes pick-four that begins with race 8 will have a guaranteed pool of $1 million and consist of the Just a Game, Woody Stephens, Manhattan, and conclude with the Belmont Stakes.

BELMONT STAKES: Contender profiles, Watchmaker's odds »

ELMONT, N.Y. – Despite the fact there is no Triple Crown on the line, New York Racing Association officials are hopeful Saturday’s Belmont Stakes can draw a crowd of between 60,000 and 65,000 fans to Belmont Park.

OPELOUSAS, LA. – Four weeks to the day after being severely injured in a spill at Evangeline Downs, jockey Tracy Hebert will resume riding in Saturday’s third race at Evangeline Downs.

It’s Good to Be Me is a dangerous horse coming off of a layoff, and he will be making his first start of the year in a $22,000 claiming race that headlines Northland Park’s Friday evening card.

The six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up drew eight well-matched horses, but if It’s Good to Be Me runs as well as he did in his seasonal debut in 2009 and 2010, he will be tough to handle.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Master of Hounds arrived just days before the Kentucky Derby, then left town the day after his fifth-place finish in the race, bound for his home in Ireland, where he has been out of sight in the weeks leading to the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.