Posted on 5/31/2007 3:24:35 PM

Horse Betting - Belmont Stakes by the Numbers

By Greg Melikov

There was more than a dozen thoroughbred camps less than two weeks ago interested in tackling the Belmont Stakes.

But like the old song “They’ll Be Some Changes Made,” you can bet that before the last leg of the $1 million Belmont commences, there will be more.

At a Thursday press conference, trainer Carl Nafzger announced that he and owner James Tafel decided Street Sense would pass on the Belmont. “Mr. Tafel and I said we split the water in the Preakness Stakes and got outrun. That’s behind us right now. We’re going to regroup and go to the Travers.”

Several parties remain undecided about entering the 1 ½-mile contest. One contender that was committed, but won’t be making the cross-country trip is Great Hunter. The Doug O’Neill trainee suffered a bone chip in his right front ankle after a five-furlong workout at Hollywood Park that requires surgery.

Another change concerns jockeys. Marion Pino, regular rider on Hard Spun for all eight outings, is off. Garrett Gomez, who was aboard Any Given Saturday at Louisville and King of the Roxy at Baltimore that finished far back, is on.

Pino, according to owner Rick Porter and trainer Larry Jones, failed to follow orders in the Preakness. The mapped-out plan was for Hard Spun to sit several lengths behind the leaders.

But Pino, fearful that the colt was getting trapped in third on the inside of C P West, fourth after a half-mile, took Hard Spun outside.

The headstrong colt, which likes to be on the front, zipped past Xchanger and Flying First Class to a two-length lead, running the third quarter-mile in a fast 23 1/5. The six furlongs was covered in a swift 1:09 4/5.

 

“Mario knows a little daylight for Hard Spun is all she wrote,” Porter said. “He won’t rate unless he is directly behind horses, in my opinion. Larry and I both came up with the idea of switching to Gomez at the same time.

“I feel badly for Mario, as he is truly a nice guy, but he made a mistake. He didn’t think that by moving him out in the clear, he’d have trouble rating.

“I think Gomez suits him well and is riding with a lot of confidence now. Also, he’s more familiar with those big, sweeping turns at Belmont. Hard Spun came out of the Preakness strong and, if he’s on top of his game in the Belmont, I think he will run big with the right pace.”

Right now the field consists of Curlin, Hard Spun, Slew’s Tizzy, Imawildandcrazyguy, Tiago and Sightseeing.

One horse on the fence is Circular Quay, trained by Todd Pletcher. Even though John Velazquez, who rode Circular Quay in both off the board finishes in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and is committed to guide Slew’s Tizzy, Pletcher says he’ll get a rider if he decides to run his 3-year-old.

The field recently looked liked it might be nine, the number that raced 15 times from 1926, when Crusader defeated Espino by a length, to ’04, when Birdstone whipped Smarty Jones by a length, preventing him from becoming the 12th Triple Crown champion.

During the 21st Century, nine or more horses raced in the Belmont. In ’03, Funny Cide was trying for the Triple Crown in a field of six, but Empire Maker, the Kentucky Derby runner-up that skipped the Preakness, burst that bubble.

The largest field in the oldest Triple Crown jewel is 15 when Caveat defeated Slew o‘ Gold by 3 ½ lengths ’83. The next largest, 14, was in 1875 and ’96 when Editor’s beat Skip Away by a length.

That was also was a year, like ’07, that different horses captured each Triple Crown race. Louis Quatorze, fourth in the Belmont, won the Preakness while Grindstone nosed out Cavonnier in the Kentucky Derby.

Keep checking the Locker Room all through the Triple Crown season, as we will cover the trainers, horses and jockeys in each race. You can get your early Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park bets in now in the BetUS sportsbook in the Future / props section, under Horse Futures: 2007 Belmont Stakes.