I am six months in on blogging now and I must say this is the most excited I have been for a race thus far. It is time for The Test Of The Champion, The Run For The Carnations, The Triple Crown, The Belmont Stakes! I’m literally waiting on pins and needles to see if we finally have a Triple Crown winner.
The field of 8 horses is strong but I really just want to see American Pharoah win. Not since Affirmed won it all in 1978, have we had a new champ to add to the list of only 11 horses to win all three parts of the triple crown; The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes and The Belmont Stakes. The horses who have won it all include Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. Secretariat holds the record at 2:24.
The Belmont Stakes race is the 147th running for 3 year olds of 1 and 1/2 miles on dirt. It is a Grade 1 race with a purse of 1.5 million dollars. The race is named for 19th century banker and 1st president of The Jockey Club, August Belmont Sr. The Belmont was 1st held in 1867 making it the oldest leg of the Triple Crown. The location of the race has varied but there is a 200 year old white pine in the paddock, at Belmont Park, that marks the original location and it is now held annually at this track in Elmont, New York. The race will take place at 6:50 P.M. EST today, June 6, 2015. The event is a to p attended Thoroughbred race in North America and holds high television viewing as well. It can be seen live on NBC.
In terms of traditions this race too has a song, a drink, a blanket, and a trophy. The song has been changed a few times over the years. Some think all the changes have brought on bad luck but currently they play the theme from “New York, New York”.
The drink has changed too. It used to be the White Carnation, then the Belmont Breeze and now it is the Belmont Jewel. Get the recipe here: Belmont Jewel. The blanket is the same. It is made of 700 white carnations glued to 7 yards of green velvet. The flower represents luck and love. It takes 5 hours to construct this blanket. Personally, I think there should be a real crown too. Perhaps, made of carnations, for the horse, if it is a Triple Crown winner. The trophy is the August Belmont Memorial Cup made by Tiffany and Co. The winning owner gets to keep it for a year. It is silver with a representation of 1869 winner Fenian on top. On the bottom are Herod, Eclipse and Matchem, the grandsons of the original Thoroughbreds; The Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Barb. The owner, jockey and trainer of the winner get to each keep a mini version too.
Only 8 horses are racing to win the Belmont Stakes. Just American Pharoah can compete for the Triple Crown based on his past 2 wins. See what we knew about these horses going into each leg here Derby Dreaming and Preakness Planning. This is our field now:
- Mubtaahij
- Tale of Verve
- Madefromlucky
- Frammento
- American Pharoah
- Frosted
- Keen Ice
- Materiality
Mubtaahij won the United Arab Emirates Derby which is huge but then he just ran 8th in the Kentucky Derby and skipped the Preakness altogether. Supposedly, the surface at the Belmont will be more his preference than at Churchill. He has got in 6 workouts at Belmont and had more time to adjust to the environment at that track. His best hope is probably that he has Irad Ortiz for his jockey. Ortiz was 2014 leading New York rider. His odds are right about middle 5th off the best end, 4th off the worst. Tale of Verve did not qualify for the KY Derby but popped into the Preakness as the long shot and fetched 2nd place. He only has one win to his name which he got at Keeneland. It might have been the muddy field that helped him out at the Preakness. His current odds have him tied for 2nd to being the long shot once again. Madefromlucky is one of two Todd Pletcher owned horses in this race. He did not participate in either of the 1st two legs of the crown. He did, however, just win at Belmont in the G2 Peter Pan Stakes less than a month ago. His odds are slightly better than Mubtaahij. Frammento ran 11th in the KY Derby, he did not run in the Preakness. He has not raced since the KY Derby and has not won a race this year. He is the long shot for this race. He has only won one time ever and that was at Keeneland last October. American Pharoah…what needs to be said? He won the KY Derby by a length and the Preakness by 7 lengths. In 6 of 7 races he has ran at speeds of 100 or better. The talk is that he appears to be gaining weight and showed no signs of wearing out in his 2 workouts since his Preakness win. He drew a good post position too. My fingers are crossed that he will be our Triple Crown winner. Frosted is the biggest threat. He has the 2nd best odds and I fear he is the major challenger. He had throat surgery that really seemed to help him out. Competing against American Pharoah is about speed and this guy has it. In the G1 Wood Memorial Frosted came in first with a speed of 103. He came in 4th in the KY Derby, clocked at 100. He did not run the Preakness. He has placed at Belmont before. Keen Ice has only one win in 8 starts. He is tied 2nd for worse odds. He came in 7th at the KY Derby and then skipped the Preakness. One advantage, not to discount, is he does have Curlin for his sire. Last but not least, Materiality is ranked with the 3rd best odds. This is our other big threat. He is another Pletcher horse. He ran 6th in the KY Derby and skipped the Preakness. He is a speed horse. Materiality won all 3 off his other races. 2 at speeds of 102 and the G1 Florida Derby at 110.
So what will it take to stop American Pharoah from winning? 13 horses since Affirmed have come into the Belmont with wins in the first 2 legs to lose in the Belmont. The reasons ranged from a safety pin in the foot, a few losses by a nose, a couple of un-explainables, one didn’t take his Lasix, a couple of leg injuries, tumbling at the start, a sloppy track, too much congestion, fatigue, distance and one jockey flat out stopped a horse whom the vets said had no injuries. Anything can happen!
It is all luck and talent from here. Good luck American Pharoah, I hope you get your crown!
Update: My dreams came true. American Pharoah won the Belmont stakes and thus is our 1st Triple Crown winner in 37 years. Frosted placed 2nd, followed by Keen Ice at 3rd and finally Mubtaahij at 4th.
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