Belmont S.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher gave a "thumbs up" following a Saturday morning breeze from Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's reigning champion 2-Year-Old Forte (Violence), who worked five-eighths over the Belmont Park main track in preparation for the GI Belmont S. NYRA clockers caught Forte through three-eighths in :35 before completing five furlongs in 1:00.44 and galloping out six furlongs in 1:13 over the fast main track. "I was really, really happy. I thought he was moving great. He got into a good rhythm, finished up great and...

Sunday morning's work tab at Churchill Downs featured a trio of trainer Brad Cox's GI Kentucky Derby runners who recorded their first breezes since running on the first Saturday in May. At 5:30 a.m., third-place finisher Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) recorded a half-mile move in :49. The colt, owned by Albaugh Family Stables, is possible to run in the GI Belmont S. June 10. Shortly after, Verifying (Justify), who finished 16th in the Derby, worked a half-mile in :49.60. At 7:45 a.m., Gary and Mary West's Hit Show (Candy...

Following his win the in GI Preakness S. Saturday, trainer Bob Baffert said that National Treasure (Quality Road) and Sir Barton S. winner Arabian Lion (Justify) would stay at Pimlico for a few more days this week and may go on to New York for races on the Belmont S. program June 10. Though he did not rule out Arabian Lion, he said National Treasure was a more likely candidate for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont S. Baffert said he did not want to send the colts back to his base...

Eclipse Award winner Forte (Violence) worked a half-mile in :50.31 breezing Sunday morning at Belmont Park, which has him back on a path to make it to the GI Belmont S. It was his first work since he was scratched the morning of the GI Kentucky Derby by a state veterinarian due to a foot bruise. After the scratch, Forte was placed on the vet's list in Kentucky for 14 days, which meant he could not run in the GI Preakness S. "He looked very good in this work and...

Lord Miles (Curlin), who was ordered scratched from the GI Kentucky Derby by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) because he is part of the Saffie Joseph, Jr. stable, will bypass the GI Preakness S. and is unlikely to run in the GI Belmont S., Joseph said Friday. A day earlier owner Peter Vegso had told the TDN that both the Preakness and Belmont were under consideration. The decision came after Lord Miles worked four furlongs in :49.50 Friday morning at Palm Meadows. "He had a good work but the...

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's Triple Crown performance in the 1973 Belmont, the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will offer a special $50 ticket package, including General Admission for the June 10 Belmont, two Day Chaser cocktails and a custom, limited-edition, Day Chaser koozie featuring the event's official logo. The commemorative offering amounts to a nearly 25% savings on the bundled admissions and drink package. The "Chase the Day" GA+ package includes: Belmont Day admission with access to the trackside apron bench seating, backyard and grandstand...

Grammy Award-winning artist Diplo will headline the 2023 Belmont Racing Festival with a special performance prior to the Belmont S. The New York Racing Association, Inc. announced Friday. Highlighted by the 155th running of the GI Belmont S.--the final leg of horse racing's Triple Crown--the Belmont Racing Festival is a three-day celebration of racing and entertainment beginning Thurs., June 8 and culminating Sat., June 10.

Donegal Racing and Repole Stable's Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo--Callingmissbrown, by Pulpit), last seen validating favoritism with a three-length victory in the GI Belmont S. presented by NYRA Bets June 11, has been retired from racing and will enter stud for the 2023 breeding season at Spendthrift Farm. He will command a fee of $20,000, stands and nurses terms. Bred in Kentucky by the Lyster family's Ashview Stud in partnership with Richard Santulli's Colts Neck Stables--also the breeders of Belmont S. runner-up and leading 3-year-old filly Nest (Curlin)--Mo Donegal was purchased...

Edited Press Release Saturday's Belmont S. Day card, highlighted by Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo)'s victory in the 154th running of the $1.5 million GI Belmont S. presented by NYRA Bets, generated all-sources handle of $98,766,906. On-track handle for the 13-race program, which included eight top-level races among nine total stakes, was $9,530,303. All-sources handle for the Belmont S. presented by NYRA Bets alone was $50,248,624. The three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which featured 17 stakes and 33 races in total from Thursday through Saturday, June 9-11, generated all-sources handle of...

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay has acquired an interest in recent GIII Peter Pan S. romper and 'TDN Rising Star' We the People (Constitution), who figures to be one of the top betting choices in Saturday's GI Belmont S. on Long Island. The famed restaurateur also bought into Creator (Tapit) ahead of his Belmont victory in 2016. Flay joins an ownership group that consists of WinStar Farm, CMNWLTH and Siena Farm on the Rodolphe Brisset trainee. "I'm thrilled to join the We the People team," said Flay. "I have been an...

The New York State Gaming Commission has articulated the security protocols it has established for this weekend's Belmont Stakes Festival. Horses running in the GI Belmont S. will be subject to continuous, 72-hour 'dedicated watch' by experienced security personnel. One guard will be stationed full-time for every Belmont S. entrant. Horses running in the GI Metropolitan H. will be under 'intensified watch,' by six to eight security personnel conducting mobile surveillance and direct horse checks at least three times a shift from 72 hours up to 30 hours prior to...

The D. Wayne Lukas-trained Ethereal Road (Quality Road) has a quarter crack and will not ship to New York for Saturday's GI Belmont S., the New York Racing Association announced Monday. A maiden winner in his second start around two turns this past January, the $90,000 Keeneland September graduate ran a monster race to be second in the GII Rebel S. before finishing off the board in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. and GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. on consecutive weekends in April. Nevertheless, Ethereal Road was entered for the...