The 2024 edition of the Belmont Stakes is not your typical third jewel of the Triple Crown. Belmont Park is currently undergoing significant renovations to the racetrack, forcing operations to move to upstate New York at Saratoga Race Course.
Some say Saratoga is the most beautiful place in North America to watch the ponies prance around the track. It will be a delightful change of pace, but the move comes with a significant, controversial change.
What makes the Belmont “The Test of the Champion” is that it’s 1 1/2 miles, the longest of any race on the North American circuit. Rather than keep it at the same distance and start the Belmont Stakes on the final turn, the Belmont at Saratoga will shrink to the Kentucky Derby distance of 1 1/4 miles.
The change in distance puts an asterisk on the race but has attracted a larger field of the best 3-year-olds. Mystik Dan‘s Triple Crown campaign ended with a second-place finish in the Preakness. The Kentucky Derby winner will be back for a rematch with Seize the Grey, the Arrogate colt who’s bred to run the nine furlongs.
Sierra Leone was a nose away from defeating Mystik Dan in the Kentucky Derby. Chad Brown’s horse is back for the Belmont. There are three other Kentucky Derby entries: Honor Marie, Dornoch, and Resilience.
The $2 million Belmont Stakes will be on Saturday at 6:41 pm EST. Coverage on Fox begins at 4 pm EST.
Belmont Stakes Post Positions, Morning Line Odds
Asmussen Sons Suffer Injuries on Same Day
In unrelated, eye-opening news from around the horse racing world, the sons of the winningest trainer in North American horse racing were injured on the same day at different tracks. Erik Asmussen had just finished riding in the first race at Lone Star Park when his horse, Good Heart, suffered a catastrophic injury about 150 yards past the finish line. Asmussen fell from the horse and was transported to a local hospital but cleared of any significant injuries, according to Paulick Report.
His older brother did not get so lucky. Keith Asmussen has been riding for his famous father, Steve, since 2020 and this year he received Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby mounts for D. Wayne Lukas. In the first race of Saturday’s card at Churchill Downs, Keith’s horse clipped heels and Asmussen was thrown from his mount. The horse was unscathed, but Asmussen broke his femur and three ribs.
The health of the horses typically steals headlines. Saturday was a testament to just how dangerous it is for the jockeys that ride them.
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