Belmont Preview: Clear Skies, Post at 5:42

By Jim Freer

One solid bet for Saturday’s $1 million Belmont Stakes (Grade 1) is that the winner will be  a horse that raced in Florida  this year.

But will it  be the heavily favored Florida Derby winner Tiz  the Law, the late-running Sole Volante or the speedy Tap it to Win?  

Dr Post  will need all things to go right to win, but looks like a horse to include underneath in tris  and superfectas.

Farmington Road will probably pass some tiring horses, and could be a good long shot to hit the board.

Those are the five Belmont Stakes horses that  raced at Gulfstream Park and-or at Tampa Bay Downs this year.  They are listed in bold in the entries below. If any of the other five horses win it will be a surprise to us.

Belmont Stakes FieldThe field is listed below in order of posts and program numbers,  with jockeys and trainers. Morning line odds are in parentheses. All horses will carry 126 pounds.
We will have previews and other coverage later this morning and this afternoon.

1. Tap It To Win (6-1)                 John Velazquez–Mark Casse.  

2. Sole Volante (9-2)                   Luca Panici–Patrick Biancone
3. Max Player (15-1)                   Joel Rosario–Linda Rice
4. Modernist (15-1)                     Junior Alvarado–Bill Mott
5. Farmington Road (15-1)      Javier Castellano–Todd Pletcher
6. Fore Left (30-1)                      Jose Ortiz-Doug O’Neill
7. Jungle Runner (50-1)           Reylu Gutierrez-Steve Asmussen
8. Tiz  the Law (6-5)                 Manuel Franco-Barclay Tagg
9. Dr Post (5-1)                    Irad  Ortiz Jr.–Todd Pletcher
10. Pneumatic (6-1)              Ricardo Santana–Steve Asmussen

The Weather Channel  forecast for Saturday afternoon is for temperatures in  the high 70s with  the chance of rain ranging between 5 percent and 15  percent.

The Belmont Stakes is 1 1/8 miles this year and is the tenth race on Saturday’s card at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Scheduled post is 5:42 p.m. Eastern. NBC’s over-the-air stations will have a live telecast from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00  p.m. Eastern.

Schedule Changes

The Belmont Stakes is 1 1/8 miles, rather than its standard 1 1/2 miles.  That change was made several  weeks ago. It was expected that numerous Belmont runners would come in never having raced longer than 1 1/16 miles.
 That is because several 1 1/8 mile Triple Crown prep races have been postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

The race is traditionally one lap around Belmont’s 1 1/2 mile track known to many as “Big Sandy.”  Saturday’s shorter race will start in a chute on the backstretch. 
Like most other U.S. thoroughbred tracks, Belmont Park is racing without spectators. Fans can watch and wager on Belmont Park’s Saturday races using Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) phone and Internet accounts.
Amid schedule changes, the Belmont was moved  from June 6 to June 20.
The Belmont this year is the first race, rather than the final race, in thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown.

The Kentucky Derby was moved fom May 2 to Sept. 5. It is keeping its 1 1/4  mile distance and remains at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
The Preakness has been moved  from May 16 to Oct. 3.  It remains at Pimlico in Baltimore and is keeping its 1 3/16 mile distance.