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The 139th Belmont Stakes

by Thomas Jensen on Friday, June 8th, 2007

Without a shot at the Triple Crown winner, this year’s running of the 139th Belmont Stakes has lost some of its luster. However, there are still a few a few intriguing storylines to watch for in the 2007 Belmont Stakes this weekend. Post time is 6:25 pm EDT on Saturday June 9th, 2007.

After losing the Preakness Stakes by a nose to Curlin, Street Sense’s team decided to pass on the Belmont Stakes in order to prepare for a few other races later this year. With Street Sense out of the picture, the odds on favorite to win the race becomes Preakness winner Curlin.

The fiery colt showed he has late-race speed after running down Street Sense to win the Preakness, and he’ll likely be the horse to beat coming out of the No. 3 post position at Belmont Park. If Curlin is able to win the Belmont he’ll be the first horse since Afleet Alex in 2005 to capture the last two legs of the Triple Crown.

Curlin’s biggest threat on Saturday looks like it might be Kentucky Derby runner-up Hard Spun. After getting overtaken by Street Sense late in the Derby, Hard Spun ended up finishing third in the Preakness. Due to a disappointing Preakness, Hard Spun’s owner and trainer decided to replace jockeys in the Belmont, replacing Mario Pino with Garrett Gomez. It’s hard to say whether or not this change will be what Hard Spun needs to break through and win at Belmont.

The horse that is receiving increasingly more attention as the buzz heats up leading to the Belmont is Rags to Riches. Todd Pletcher decided to throw Rags to Riches into the Belmont mix after the field came out so thin. What makes Rags to Riches a noteworthy addition to the field is that she is a filly.

She has been the fastest against other fillies this year, including a win in the Kentucky Oaks, but now she’ll have to prove her worth against the boys. Rags To Riches will be the first filly to race in the Belmont since Silverbulletday came seventh in 1999. Only two fillies have ever won the Belmont and it’s been quite awhile – Tanya won in 1905 and Ruthless won it way, way back in 1867.

The horse race came up a little short on participants with seven horses expected to make the 1 Â½-mile run at Belmont Park. The rest of the Belmont field currently includes Imawildandcrazyguy, Tiago, Slew’s Tizzy and CP West.