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The third leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown is this Saturday, June 5th. The Belmont Stakes is also called the Test of the Champion and the Run for the Carnations. As the longest track of the Triple Crown races, the 1 ½ miles on a dirt track is where speed and distance can create racing royalty.
For the third year in a row, there is no Triple Crown title on the line. Only eight horses are racing this Saturday and its smallest field since 2008. With all the distance, you would think there is plenty of time for horses to rally from behind, but only two horses since 2010 (Sir Winston and Creator) were able to win by soaring from the back of the pack. After the opening half-mile, the last 13 of 15 Belmont winners were all within 4 ½ lengths of the leader. Basically, the odds are that the winner is going to be in the race the entire mile and a half.
What’s a Triple Crown race without some Bob Baffert drama? The most well recognized trainer with a history of being a serial cheater and a two-time Triple Crown winner was suspended on Wednesday by Churchill Downs for two years for cancel culture, I mean doping. Baffert still believes it is because of cancel culture.
Timeline:
The May 1st 2021 Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, tested positive for the steroid betamethasone in postrace testing. The results came in a week after the $1.8M purse was awarded. Baffert’s defense story changed from an ointment for a skin condition to someone who took cough medicine and peed on the hay that Medina Spirit ate. He demanded independent testing.
On May 15th, the Preakness was two weeks after the Derby and Maryland was in a crabby spot. They did what they had to do and made all three of Baffert-trained horses undergo several rounds of testing before they could run at Pimlico. All three horses were cleared to race (only two were in the main race). Medina Spirit finished third and Concert Tour finished in 9th.
(And in pure New York fashion, with no Triple Crown at stake, they too banned Baffert. If a Triple Crown was on the line, Cuomo himself would have secretly rolled out the red carpet for Baffert and feasted off of the money New York brings in when a Triple Crown is on the line. He may have written a book about it too. Since there is not a Triple Crown on the line, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) said let’s do the right thing and stand up to corruption and cheating.)
On May 17th the NYRA banned Baffert from the Belmont Stakes and any of their tracks. The NYRA runs the Saratoga Race Course and Aqueduct Racetrack. Basically, Baffert is not allowed to enter any of his horses or earn a penny at New York tracks. For how long has not been announced, but it’s a good guess he won’t be racing in New York for the rest of the year.
On June 2nd a second drug test returned positive for betamethasone. The seven-time winner of the Kentucky Derby will not be allowed to enter horses at Churchill Downs including anyone directly or indirectly employed by Bob Baffert Racing Stables for two years.
Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said “Reckless practices and substance violations that jeopardize the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable and as a company we must take measures to demonstrate that they will not be tolerated. Mr. Baffert’s record of testing failures threatens public confidence in thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby.”
The bigger question is will Medina Spirit be disqualified from its Kentucky Derby victory? That decision is still pending to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
But back to Belmont. The Belmont Stakes is like the U.S. Open in golf; it’s the toughest one to win. So as long you’re not betting on a horse named Mickelson, you should do okay. Only 11,000 fans will be allowed to attend, you can guess why. Essential Quality has 2-1 odds and has my pick for best looking horse in the race. I’ll be rooting for whoever I randomly draw in the St.Clair family bet.
Post time for the153rd Belmont Stakes is set for Saturday at 6:49 p.m. with coverage starting at 5:00pm on NBC.