June 5, 2008

Belmont Stakes Preview

The final leg of the Triple Crown will be run this weekend at Belmont Park in New York and for the first time since 2004, the race will feature a horse looking to make history.

In 2004, Smarty Jones came into the race with a chance at capturing the Triple Crown but failed to win the last leg. This year's race has been as heavily anticipated as any in recent memory as horse racing may have its first Triple Crown winner in 30 years.

Big Brown, the most dominant horse in some time, is looking to break that streak and join the likes of Affirmed (1978), Seattle Slew (1977) and Secretariat (1973), the last three Triple Crown winners.

Despite hoof issues and being seeded in the first post position, Big Brown opened as a 2-5 betting favorite. He has not lost a race, having gone 5-0 in five starts and winning those starts by a combined 39 lengths.

Without question, this is one impressive horse. He is big, strong, fast and confident. But he does have some issues coming into the race. His health concerns have been well documented over the last few weeks. He has had a problem with a crack in his hoof which has led some to question whether he should be racing at all on Saturday.

But Big Brown's handlers feel the hoof issues are minor and shouldn't hinder his run for the final jewel of the Triple Crown. In defending their decision to enter the race, the handlers made it clear they believe they aren't taking any chances on the Big Brown's long-term health and the lucrative stud fees that are sure to follow.

Even if Big Brown is healthy for the race, he could still have a tough trip. Temperatures are expected to approach 90 degrees for the race, which won't help the favorite since he hasn't been able to practice at full strength over the last few weeks.

Another factor will be his gate position. On Wednesday, positions were drawn and Big Brown drew the first position. That isn't exactly where the favorite wants to be. This position may cause him some trouble getting out of traffic early on as the entire field will look to get to the rail as the race begins.

Also, Belmont Stakes is the longest of the Triple Crown races. It is a mile and a half race and a true test of endurance for the animals. In many instances, winning this race is the most difficult for Derby and Preakness winners because of the length and the fact that some horses entered in the event are bred to run longer races.

Not only will Big Brown be starting from a poor position and running a longer race than he's used to while sporting a hoof problem, he will also be facing some ringers.

Big Brown's top competition in this race should come from Japanese-bred Casino Drive, who will be starting from the fifth post. He is 7-2 to win the race, second on the betting sheet. Casino Drive has some strong bloodlines when it comes to this race. His brother, Jazil, won the Belmont in 2006 and last year, Rags to Riches, his sister, became the first filly to win the Belmont in over 100 years.

Third place Kentucky Derby finisher, Denis of Cork, is the third choice at 12-1. The rest of the 10-horse field fills out with Macho Again, Tale of Ekati and Icabad Crane all at 20-1, Da'Tara, Anak Nakal and Ready Echo are at 30-1 and Guadalcanal opened at 50-1.

Check out our Belmont Preview and Triple Crown results page.