ELMONT, N.Y. - With very little money in the win pool, Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Revolutionary was a slight favorite over Kentucky Derby winner Orb following Friday's early wagering on Saturday's 145th Belmont Stakes. Both horses were listed at 5-2.
[BELMONT STAKES: Live updates and video from Belmont Park]
There was only $39,552 in the win pool, encompassing money bet ontrack at Belmont, at Aqueduct, and through NYRA Rewards as well as at Fort Erie in Canada and through Twin Spires.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Tom Albertrani was praying for rain this weekend at Belmont Park – not only for Freedom Child in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes but to force Friday’s $150,000 Jaipur Stakes from the turf to the main track, a switch in venue that would give him two big opportunities to win the Grade 3 fixture with Big Screen and Souper Speedy.
ELMONT, N.Y. - There was $755,681 wagered into the Brooklyn-Belmont Stakes daily double wager. The $2 will pays, combining Brooklyn winner No. 4 Calidoscopio ($17) with the Belmont runners are:
1. Frac Daddy $799
2. Freedom Child $129
3. Overanalyze $182
4. Giant Finish $800
5. Orb $44
6. Incognito $342
7. Oxbow $241
8. Midnight Taboo $828
9. Revolutionary $102
10. Will Take Charge $430
11. Vyjack $403
12. Palace Malice $242
13. Unlimited Budget $235
14. Golden Soul $171
Jockey Fabio Arguello Jr., on Friday was traveling from his home in Louisville, Ky., to Texas to make something of a fresh career start. In a major circuit move, he plans to ride the remainder of the Lone Star Park meet that runs into July and continue to remain in the region for the Remington Park meet in Oklahoma City and the Oaklawn Park season in Arkansas.
AUBURN, Wash. – Tom Wenzel has reached a delicious sweet spot in his training career. While Wenzel, 47, probably won’t threaten for the training title at Emerald Downs this summer, he boasts at least one bona-fide stakes runner in every division and could run away with the more important earnings title. Beyond that, Wenzel could threaten Doris Harwood’s track record of 12 stakes victories in a single meeting.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Royal Lahaina, the longest shot on the board, came from just off the pace and then out-battled Sure Route down the stretch to win the $100,000 Mariensky Stakes on a sloppy, sealed track on Friday at Belmont Park.
ELMONT, N.Y. - After 3 1/2 inches of rain pelted Belmont Park over a 24-hour period, the main track was to begin as muddy and sealed, but track officials are hopeful the surface could be fast by post time for the 145th Belmont Stakes.
“I’m pretty confident that we’ll be wet fast by then,” said Glen Kozak, the New York Racing Association’s vice president of facilities and racing surfaces. “If we get real lucky, we’ll be fast.”
First post for Saturday’s 13-race card is 11:35 a.m. Eastern. Post time for the Belmont is 6:36 p.m.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The first running of the Redondo Beach Stakes in 2006 was won by Singalong, a Paddy Gallagher-trained European moving up from an allowance win.
When the eighth and final Redondo Beach at Betfair Hollywood Park is run Sunday, the one-mile turf race will have a familiar ring. Here again comes Gallagher, with another European import moving up in class at the top of her game.
Appealing seeks her third straight win in a surprisingly large field in the $70,000 Redondo Beach during the final spring meet at Hollywood.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Trainer Peter Miller is contesting the voided claim of Include the Cat here on June 2. Miller filed a complaint with the California Horse Racing Board on Thursday, alleging that state veterinarian Tim Grande had a “conflict of interest” when he placed the filly on the veterinarian’s list.
Dr. Diamonds Prize won the prep for the $100,000 Satin and Lace on May 12, and trainer Mark Hubley is confident she will win the stakes itself Sunday at Presque Isle Downs.
“She is back to 100 percent now, and I feel great about how she will do Sunday,” Hubley said.
