A starless Belmont Stakes field?
From the moment Barbaro crossed the wire ahead of 19 rivals in the Kentucky Derby to the moment he took his last unencumbered step in the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes promised to be a stellar race that would attract 120,000 or more fans and, perhaps, feature racing’s first Triple Crown winner in 28 years.
That will not happen, and neither will the next best thing: an appearance by racing’s freshest star, Bernardini, the winner of the Preakness.
Just four days after Barbaro sustained a career-ending, life-threatening injury in the Preakness, New York Racing Association officials received another dose of bad news when Darley Stable, where Bernardini was bred and which is owned by Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of the roya
l family of Dubai, announced that Bernardini would pass on the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown.
This will be the first Belmont Stakes since 2000 that does not include a Kentucky Derby or a Preakness winner.
Bernardini, who won the Preakness by five and a quarter lengths, has run two other races since March 4. Though that may not seem like a particularly demanding schedule, more and more stables have become worried about the fragile nature of the modern thoroughbred and prefer to wait several weeks between races. Many are also hesitant to run their horses more than five or six times a year.
Bell said that races under consideration for Bernardini were the Jim Dandy on July 29 at Saratoga, the Haskell on Aug. 6 at Monmouth and the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs. By withdrawing Bernardini from the Belmont, Darley avoids an awkward situation. Had Darley decided to run Bernardini, the colt’s trainer, Tom Albertrani, would not have been on hand to supervise his training until days before the race.
Albertrani began serving a 15-day suspension for the use of the banned tranquilizer acepromazine. It is a minor offense, and Albertrani was in Florida at the time of the infraction and was not directly supervising the horse that tested positive, a claimer named Fire Hero. There is no indication that Albertrani’s suspension had anything to do with Darley’s decision to bypass the Belmont.
Albertrani will have one starter in the Belmont, Deputy Glitters, who finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby, his last start.
The Belmont Stakes has attracted large crowds over the last few years, but NYRA officials will have their work cut out for them this year trying to generate interest in a race sure to be considered one of the weakest Triple Crown events ever.
As many as 12 horses are under consideration for the Belmont, but none is considered a star. The trainer Todd Pletcher, who has yet to win a Triple Crown race, may hold the strongest hand. He will run the Peter Pan winner Sunriver and the Kentucky Derby runner-up Bluegrass Cat, and he is also considering starting High Cotton.Another possible starter is the Preakness runner-up Sweetnorthernsaint. His trainer, Michael Trombetta, is trying to nurse the colt through a minor hoof injury sustained in the Preakness and said yesterday that he would not reach a decision until late next week.
Should Trombetta hold Sweetnorthernsaint out of the Belmont, no horse will have run in all three Triple Crown races this year.
Two down, one to go! Bet on the Belmont Stakes, the third and final jewel of the Triple Crown of horse racing, in the Bodog Sportsbook!Â
Loading ...