Sierra Leone, trained by Chad Brown and with , Flavien Prat aboard, is the morning-line favorite in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. File Photo by John Sommers II/UPI | License Photo
June 6 (UPI) — Saturday’s Belmont Stakes will be run this year at Saratoga Racecourse in upstate New York while Belmont Park is being rebuilt — and with the distance shortened from to 1 1/4 miles from 1 1/2 miles.
The race is the third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown, following the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Since Mystik Dan won the Derby and then finished second to Seize the Grey in the Preakness, there is no Triple Crown chance.
Both of those colts are in the Belmont field, but neither is the favorite — or even the second-favorite — on the morning line.
Post time for the Belmont is 6:41 p.m. EDT. The race will be telecast live on Fox and finishes off on FS2 from 7 to 8 p.m.
The lineup, by post position, with sire, trainer, jockey and morning-line odds:
Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI
1. Seize the Grey (Arrogate). D. Wayne Lukas, Jaime Torres, 8-1
The Preakness winner, this colt was coming off a victory in the Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs when he tackled the 1 3/16 miles of the Preakness Stakes three weeks ago. He got right to the lead, running comfortably enough on a muddy track, and Derby winner Mystik Dan couldn’t make up any ground in the stretch, finishing 2 1/4 lengths back in second. If the Belmont were at its normal distance, he might not even have been entered. As it is, it’s hard to count him out, but he may have more competition for the lead this time.
Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk, courtesy of New York Racing Association
2. Resilience (Into Mischief). Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, 10-1.
He qualified for the Kentucky Derby by winning the Grade II Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, and then reported a flat seventh at Churchill Downs. Other than the Wood, which was not a particularly talent-filled affair, he’s really done little to recommend him against horses at this level. Those looking for a reason to like him can stop at the trainer column. Mott has been doing this at the highest level for a long time and can be overlooked.
Photo courtesy of Pimlico Race Course
3. Mystik Dan (Goldencents). Kenny McPeek, Brian Hernandez Jr., 5-1.
He’s the Kentucky Derby winner, who was second in the Preakness. He earned the roses fair and square, albeit by just two noses over horses who had rougher trips than he did. Hernandez gave him the chance to win by shooting through a narrow gap along the rail at the top of the stretch while the two main rivals were bumping and grinding to his outside. So what happened in the Preakness? It can’t be put down to the muddy track because he won the Grade III Southwest on a muddy Oaklawn Park surface by 8 lengths. Looking at some of the newcomers lining up for the Belmont, one could conclude a repeat of the Derby performance won’t be good enough here.
Photo courtesy of Keeneland
4. The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso). Mike Maker, Manny Franco, 15-1.
He’s had an attack of “second-itis,” finishing runner-up in three straight races without showing meaningful improvement in speed figures. In his last outing, he held a brief lead in the stretch in the Grade III Peter Pan at Aqueduct, but surrendered it to Antiquarian, who lines up just to his outside in the Belmont gate. It’s hard to see how he can prevail against these rivals.
Photo by Janet Napolitano/Coglianese Photography, courtesy of NYRA
5. Antiquarian (Preservationist). Todd Pletcher, John Velazquez, 12-1.
He won a maiden race on a sloppy track at Fair Grounds in his second career start, finished sixth in the Louisiana Derby and then just did beat The Wine Steward in the Peter Pan. Pletcher and Velazquez are masters of their trade, but the record seems to indicate they need more to work with to win this race. Check out Pletcher’s other runners.
Photo by John Sommers II/UPI
6. Dornoch (Good Magic). Danny Gargan, Luis Saez, 15-1.
This colt took a good bit of action in futures bets after closing out his 2-year-old season with a win in the Grade II Remsen in December and starting 2024 with a victory in the Grade II Fountain of Youth in Florida. Since then, things haven’t gone his way. His fourth-place finish in the Grade I Blue Grass at Keeneland wasn’t terrible, and he never got a chance to run in the Derby after being shuffled around in traffic. A better trip might give him a chance to show more, but his numbers so far don’t stack up with these rivals even on his best days.
Photo by Susie Raisher/Coglianese Photography, courtesy of NYRA)
7. Protective (Medaglia d’Oro). Todd Pletcher, Tyler Gaffalione, 20-1.
If The Wine Steward has contracted “second-itis,” this colt must have “third-place syndrome.” He’s finished third in his last three starts, including the Wood and the Peter Pan. Given three of the four horses who finished in front of him in those two stakes races are back again for the Belmont, he would seem to need significant improvement to make an impression.
Photo by John Sommers II/UPI
8. Honor Marie (Honor Code). Whit Beckman, Florent Geroux, 12-1.
He won the Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club in November, and then returned to start his 3-year-old campaign with a fifth-place finish in the Grade II Risen Star at Fair Grounds. He bounced back from that to finish a fast-closing second in the Louisiana Derby, but his running style caught up with him in Louisville, where he was bounced around early and never got untracked, finishing eighth. A smaller field, cleaner trip and a little improvement on the Louisiana Derby performance could put him in the picture for a placing in the Belmont, if not the win.
Photo by John Sommers II/UPI
9. Sierra Leone (Gun Runner). Chad Brown, Flavien Prat, 9-5 (favorite)
Sierra Leone might have given Brown his long-awaited Kentucky Derby win had it not been for the bumping with Japanese runner Forever Young down the stretch, which opened the door for Mystik Dan. Still, the second-place effort in that dramatic, three-horse photo was good enough to make him favorite in the Belmont after swerving the Preakness. It’s worth noting, with no disrespect to any of those involved, that Prat replaces Tyler Gaffalione, who had ridden Sierra Leone to victory in the Risen Star and the Blue Grass before the Run for the Roses. There’s a good chance that when the 2024 Eclipse Awards are handed out next January, Sierra Leone will be the 3-year-old champ. But he’ll have to start here.
Coglianese Photography, courtesy of New York Racing Association
10. Mindframe (Constitution). Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr., 7-2.
OK, he’s undefeated. He has highest Beyer Speed Figure in any of these 10 colts’ past performances. Pletcher is a master trainer, Ortiz is king of the jockeys, and his owners, Mike Repole and St. Elias Stables, win big races with regularity. But c’mon! He’s only had two races. The field-topping 101 Beyer came in his first start, a 7-furlong maiden race at Gulfstream Park that he won by 13 3/4 lengths. He “regressed” to a 97 figure in his next race, which he won by “only” 7 1/4 lengths. He’s a front-runner and probably will have to fight for the lead, especially from the outside gate. Could he win? Sure. But will he really be bet down to 7-2, ahead of the Derby and Preakness winners?
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