The Belmont Stakes and the debate of time between Triple Crown races
Sovereignty trains on Friday before Saturday's running of the Belmont Stakes in Saratoga Springs. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
The three weeks between the Preakness and Saturday’s 157th running of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course has left time for debate over keeping a horse fresh versus running all three legs of the Triple Crown. Naturally, some renewed discourse was included as to whether more time between thoroughbred horse racing’s marquee events was warranted.
Those topics will no doubt persist. But once the gates swing open a little after 7 p.m. and eight horses break for a 1 1/4-mile trip around the main track, this year’s crop will answer how they’ve handled the schedule.
Journalism, the 8-5 morning-line favorite trained by Michael McCarthy and with Umberto Rispoli up, will be the only horse to run in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. He won the Preakness by a half-length over Gosger on May 17 after finishing 1 1/2 lengths behind Sovereignty in the Derby on May 3.
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and the connections for Sovereignty, the 2-1 second choice in the Belmont, quickly opted to skip the Preakness and point to the Belmont, eschewing the chance for the first Triple Crown since Justify in 2018.
“I think it’s great for the game,” McCarthy said of Journalism having another shot to race against Sovereignty, ridden by Garden City resident Junior Alvarado. “The Triple Crown season, America, rightfully so, is probably more tuned into that than anything else we do in the game. So to have a horse that’s run in all three legs to come back and be able to face the Kentucky Derby winner, it’s a big deal.”
If either Journalism or Sovereignty wins, he becomes a leading contender for Horse of the Year honors.
“I think he did what he thought was right by his horse,” McCarthy said of Mott. “He mentioned this week he thought a horse like his could handle something like the Triple Crown. They chose to go ahead and bypass the middle leg. It’s hard for me to go ahead and question the guy.”
Sovereignty won the Derby after a hard rain and Saturday’s forecast for Saratoga Springs calls for a chance of showers into the afternoon following a downpour midday Friday that turned the track sloppy. So it’s very possible the conditions will be similar to Churchill Downs five weeks ago.
The 6-1 Rodriguez, trained by three-time Belmont winner Bob Baffert and ridden by fellow three-time Belmont winner Mike Smith and the Todd Pletcher-trained Crudo, a 15-1 shot, are expected to jump to the front out of the gate and set the pace.
The John Shirreffs-trained Baeza, a 4-1 shot, was third in the Derby, 1 3/4 lengths behind Sovereignty before skipping the Preakness. Rodriguez was scratched from the Derby because of a bone bruise and also did not run in the Preakness.
The Chad Brown-trained Hill Road, who will break from the inside post at 10-1, did not run in either of the first two legs of the Triple Crown. Neither did Pletcher’s second entry, the 30-1 Uncaged.
The 30-1 Heart of Honor, trained by Jamie Osborne and ridden by his daughter, Saffie, was fifth in the Preakness.
Brown said on a National Thoroughbred Racing Association teleconference this week that he was against lengthening the time between races.
“I answer that, ‘not,’ in a super firm way,” Brown said. “I’m like adamant about it. Just my opinion, I can see both sides of it.
“I'm a traditionalist when I look at horse racing, I mean it in the sense of preserving the historical races, preserving the overall structural sort of series and events and going through all of the famous horses and connections to the years that are in the fabric of our sport.”
Brown also added, practically, spreading out the Triple Crown would risk losing the fans’ attention.
“That's a long time for everyone to be invested in watching how this turns out,” Brown said.
Realistically, most people watching Saturday will focus on how the Derby winner fares against the Preakness winner.
“I don’t have to expect more [of Sovereignty] than what he gave me at the Derby,” Alvarado said. “If he shows up like he did in the Derby, that should be enough. He beat every single horse in the race fair and square. I know a lot of people still like Journalism but we’re 1-0 so far.”
Both Alvarado and Rispoli will be wearing “Hildebrandt’s Ice Cream” logos through sponsorships from the Williston Park eatery.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
