Cindy's Horse Racing Website Index
Latest Articles

 Derby Future Pool 5
 Tampa Bay Derby
 Santa Anita Hcp Day
 Gotham Stakes Day
 Kentucky Derby Contenders


Deputy Glitters works at Belmont Park on Friday.

Belmont 2006 is Wide Open

Date: 06/09/2006

From The Stick Studio, Florida
This Article is being printed by permission of the author to Cindy Pierson-Dulay's Horse-Races.Net Exclusivly.

We have an unusual race this year in the Belmont Stakes. Barbaro the Kentucky Derby Winner is out. Bernadini, the Preakness Winner is out. Now, almost every 3 yr old left standing is scrambling for a chance to shine in the 3 year old spotlight.

Brother Derek and Lawyer Ron are also out of the picture after punishing campaigns that left them out of the money in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. HOWEVER, don't let that discourage you my friends, we have somthing better then a Triple Crown run, we have a wide open race with 12 horses in it ! Expect substantial value and prices galore on horses that have every right to run big and win.

We are NOT giving our Selections in this article. We have a $35 Special Order that gives our Top 5 Horses with Speed Figures and Full Comments for our True Top Five Selections. In this article, we want to point out the value horses in the field and to highlight some angle's you may not have considered and have proven to be historically acurate.

*The True Test of Champions*

The Belmont Stakes is considered the Test of Champions due to this race being the keystone to bring together a Triple Crown of the KY Derby and Preakness Stakes and this race. Only 11 horses in history have been able to accomplish this feat of athletic strength and stamina.

The Belmont Stakes is a long distance race at 1 1/2 miles. This is a 1/4 mile longer then the classic American Horse Racing distance of 1 1/4 Mile, as in the KY Derby and Breeders Cup Classic.

A horse that wins this race will require tactical Speed to stay within striking distance, That same horse must possess the Stamina to pursue his victory after a punishing race around very wide sweeping turns. Belmont Park features an impressive 1 1/2 Mile oval, the largest in North America. Once around at Big Sandy in the big race named for August Belmont immortalizes a horse in the same light had he been victorious in any one of the Triple Crown races or All of them together. It takes a special thoroughbred to win the Belmont Stakes.

*Horses who close in the Kentucky Derby are ALWAYS bet in the Belmont Stakes- The Jazil puzzle*

This is historically true, but take it with a grain of salt. The horse that stands out in my mind as being most highly touted to win the Belmont Stakes was 3rd place KY Derby finisher, Woodchopper. Within 5 minutes of the Derby being made official, TV and news commentators were saying Woodchopper was "THE HORSE" for the Belmont Stakes.

Jazil is being touted in just the same way. Here is a solid stone closer who likes to come on strong from very far back. Thus, a 1 1/2 Mile race should set up perfectly for him and give him more then enough time to make his big late run and come on strong for a smashing victory at the wire, right ? Well, it sounds logical enough, but its just not that simple.

Jazil is a very nice horse, and certain to be a stakes winner in the future. With that said, The Belmont Stakes is all wrong for him. While it looks like Jazil made ahuge close for 4th place in the Kentucky Derby, he actually lost ground through the stretch to the winner. All Jazil actually did was pass tiring horses. He was 17th by 8 3/4 Length and then 7th by 6 lengths, only to be 4th by 9 1/2 lengths at the finish. He made a big late ru, but he TIRED at 1 1/4 Miles.

We can document the fact that Jazil tires after his big late run with the ALLW race he ran on Feb 2nd. Again, he made a big late run through the final stages of that race only to come up 2nd to a dettermined winner. You might say that he ran big anyway, and he just lost. NO NO NO ! If he was running so powerfully that he could gain on Corinthian so quickly, why did he not then blow by Corinthian and win by 10 ? For that matter, what happened in the Fountain of Youth where he ran 7th ? You might retort, fine, he had a bad race and then he flew home late in the Wood Memorial. Again, NO ! His big late kick occured on a very sloppy no dirt/all cushion surface. Plus the Wood field was all tiring late, and he picked up the pieces.

Jazil is a wonderful horse, and he has every right to run big in the Belmont Stakes. However, he will not have a high speed pace to chase this time and looks to be in a very big disadvantage turning for home.

*Uncoupled Entry's always favor the lower priced part of the multiple horses. Pletchers Plan*

Keyed Entry was a Rabbit in the Kentucky Derby this year. Wheither that was by design or by accident can only be found in the mind of trainer Todd Pletcher.

Keyed Entry went out andwas hell bent on having the lead regardless of how fast he had to be pushed to get it. He got the lead, but was nowhere at the finish of the Derby. HOWEVER, Bluegrass Cat, the other horse trained by Todd Pletcher, benefited from the race Keyed entry ran and he was a powerful closing 2nd behind Barbaro.

This all sounds very cryptic, and conspiracy theory, but think about it. The trainer and jockey work out what they think will be the best possible strategy for their horse to win in a given race. While different outcomes may result from horses being unable to clear, or jockey's not following instructions, or unable to follow them due to developments in the race, its very interesting to see Keyed Entry running in the 7F Woody Stephans and no coming back for the Belmont Stakes. He's not coming back because he cannot run the distance. He could not run the Derby distance either, but he still managed to run about as fast as a quarter horse for the first 2 furlongs.

Ok, fine, so you think this means Im saying Bluegrass Cat will again have some advantage due the Sunriver being in this race, right ? WRONG ! Sunriver is the horse who has the advantage in the Belmont Stakes, and dont be surprised if Bluegrass Cat is much closer pushing the pace early, and this one is the big closer coming late. Sunriver loves to stalk the pace and pick up the pieces. He may very well be able to do that here. He has enough tacticla speed to stay close, and enough closing power to get up for the victory. Conversly, Bluegrass Cat has much more speed and prefers a shorter distance. Thus Bluegrass Cat may be pushing the lead turning for home only to tire and see Sunriver running by him late.

I am not a conspiracy theorist and Todd Pletcher is the greatest trainer of his decade. I may simply have overhandicapped this race as to se emerging patterns of pace and stamina to develop my theory without any deleberate though on the part of the trainers and jockeys. Im sure Todd Pletcher would like to finish 1-2 in this prestigeous race. Too bad Keyed Entry is not here too. If he were Todd Pletcher would have been able to finish 1-2 with Bluegrass Cat and Sunriver.

*Horses who have "NO CHANCE IN HELL" to win*

Bernadini won the Preakness, and I did say he had "no chance in hell" and I still feel his entry into the race was ill advised. There was no way to forsee that Barbaro would be injured in that race and not finish. Also, they(his connections) loved him so much to enter him in the Preakness, and they win that race only to skip the Belmont Stakes ? Was their only purpose to run in the Preakness to defeat Barbaro ? Is Bernadini ok ? Did he get injured in the Preakness also ? I certainly hop we see him run again in the Travers to prove his Preakness victory was not just a fluke, or a bad race due the injury of Barbaro.

Before I list the horses who have NCIH, I want to say that my mentioning them will greatly enhance their ability to run big and finish in the money or WIN the Belmont Stakes.

First on the list is Double Galore. Double Galore is a recent Maiden winner who is shipping in from California. Where do we start ? No races in stakes company. No races against anyone else in the race. Never ran at Belmont Park, which is no big deal. Never ran beyond 1 1/6 Mile. Adds 10 pounds for extra insult and does not get his regular jockey. IF thats not enough, consider the bullet workouts at shorter distance and the clear enjoyment of going to the lead. Should the Belmont field even concede the lead to Double Galore, there is no chance in hell he can hold on to win this race. In fact, if Double Galore even makes it into 4th place, it would be a miracle.

Next on our list of NCIH horses for the Belmont Stakes is Deputy Glitters. This one actually defeated Bluegrass Cat ! He is the Tampa Bay Derby winner and was a solid second place finish in the Sam Davis. I actually like those races, and think TBD is a great track with some serious horse racing fans running it and producing a top prodcut on Florida's west coast. However, the Belmont Stakes is not being run at Tampa Bay Downs. Its being run at Belmont Park. Are the two tracks really that different ? Well, yes, but even if they were identical tracks, Deputy Glitters HATES Belmont Park. He ran a very disappointing 6th by 32 in the slop of the Champagne as a 2yr old. Belmont can sometimes have rain for the big Stakes race, and if it does turn out sloppy(even if it does not), Deputy Glitters has "No Chance in Hell" for this race.

Hemingway's Key ? NO, please tell me there not running him again. Please tell me they did not enter this one in the Belmont Stakes. Oh man where do I start ? 42 lengths back in 4 stakes races against this level of race horse. A major suck up 3rd place finish in the Preakness that has given way to entering this horse in the Belmont Stakes. While Nick Zito is well known in NY and for his victories in two KY Derby's and many other major stakes races, this has to be the worst horse we have ever seen him train in such a high profile race. Not just No Chance in Hell, but we know of a poodle and a cocker spaniel that can run faster then this horse. Where is Bobby Frankel when you need him ? I wish Bobby Frankel had entered a 3 yr old filly turf horse so I could say she had a better chance then Hemingway's Key. "NO CHANCE IN HELL" for the Key. Now, watch him win at 30-1+ like Birdstone did, and I will be exposed for the loudmouth, uncouth, vulgar, Horse Racing fanatic that I am.

*Setting the record straight with some high profile exposure*

This is the inclusion of an op-ed piece I was working on, that deserves the attention of our fans at this busy period. It has nothing to do with the Belmont Stakes, and is simply me sounding off to an empty room in the dark.

I am going to tell all my fans and the many new readers who are experienceing us for the first time, The Stick Horse Racing dot Com is DEVOTED to the Sport of Kings and the working people of the Industry and the many fans of the sport.

We are entering into 2006 with an unprecendented loss of attendance and fans, and an expected loss of many large, well known race tracks.

NYRA, Belmont Park-Saratoga-Aqueduct is being placed on an open selling block by the state of NY for bids to have someone manage and run the tracks after they have lost an enourmous market share of live fans. They may have been able to keep up the handle figures through telephone and off track wagering, but the facilities themselves have been mostly untouched since their last major renovations in the 1970's and 80's. As a child I remember gong with my parents to a packed Belmont Park with fans yelling and cheering and the excitement of the horses thundering through the stretch. Last Summer, before we moved our headquarters to Florida, my father and I sat in an almost empty restaurant atop Belmont Parks clubhouse with the working people there telling us they could not make any money in tips because no one was going to the track anymore.

Combine this with the many overtures being made by Los Alamitos owners, Mike Pegram and Dr. Allred that they want Hollywood Parks racing dates for next year indicating that Churchill Downs will not be keeping the Inglewood track in operation beyond this season, and one can see the handwriting on the walls.

Every racetrack in America is activly pursuing Slot Machine's and Poker if they can get them. While many make the argument that this will keep Horse Racing alive and bring in much needed revenue's I would argue to say it is hardly condusive to promoting Horse Racing as a sport when you tell people to come to your venue to play slot machines. The off chance hope that someone playing a mindless slot machine might wander over to view the horses running is there, but the massive decline in racing popularity and attendance will not be solved by Slot Machines.

I hope this article is looked at and laughed at in the future. I would not mind being the butt of jokes or insult if I can bring attention to Horse Racing and help save this great sport. Very few companies work with each other to help promote the sport, they simply wish to corner the market and be the "Authority" of this sport. Why work with others and help them to make money, when you can strangle the market and be the only voice anyone can ever hear ? The reason is to increase the size of the market and increase the size of the fan base. No one group can reach everyone or appeal to everyone in this very diverse sport.

Horse Racing fans are from every ethnic group and age range. we love the sport and the competition, and yes we do like to bet on the races also. However, when our betting becomes the overiding factor to watch the sport, we are being gluttunous in favor of our appetite, and not being true to our sport.

Promote the damn sport. Give us rivalries between the jockey's and trainer's. Give us a reality TV show. Do ANYTHING to help promote HORSE RACING. Thats H - O - R - S - E , R - A - C - I - N - G. Not slot machines, Not poker tables, not new gambling angles. Simply the love of Horses racing and the competition of the sport. Jockeys and trainers battling each other using strategy and cunning. The strength of the horses, the many variations of distance and turf or dirt.

This is 2006, I am Marc Alan Cohen, and the Sport of Horse Racing needs your support and input desperately. In our chat room, we have an open board called, Stick Fans sound off. I encourage all of you to post and respond to each other. The sport exists for you and because of you. Tell all those boneheads that have strangeled the sport into its current sad state. If you dont do something to help this sport, it will not exist in as short as 5 years time. There will be no national structure, just a series of 2 or 3 mega tracks with full casino's and 10-20 "bush" tracks of local racing that can function on the small revenue made in their local market.

You can make a difference ! Tell us you love Horse Racing in the subject line and we will post your emails word for word in our next article/Superstory.

Enjoy the Belmont Stakes and lets make every Saturday and Sunday have that same excitement and joy that we will see on 6/10 in the True Test of Champions, The Belmont Stakes.

We want to Welcome all new fans to visit us at www.TheStickHorseRacing.Com and order our Belmont Stakes Special $35 Instant View Selections .

Marc Cohen is the Owner/Editor/CEO of www.TheStickHorseRacing.Com

Triple Crown quick links:

Triple Crown Index

Back to Horse-Races.Net main page

Want to keep up with what's new on this site?
Sign up for my weekly newsletter here.

On the Forum:



Search Horse-Races.Net:


©1994-2024,  Cindy Pierson Dulay   Privacy Policy   About Us   Search   Site Map   Add a Link   Advertisee   Suggest to a friend   RSS Feed   Follow on Twitter