Rich Strike Draws Seven Challengers in Belmont, Listed as 7-2 Third Choice

Rich Strike won’t make to wait until Friday to reckon if he’s eligible to run in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. On Tuesday, the Bluegrass State Derby victor was the first of all Equus caballus pulled inwards the stake view haul for the last leg of the Triple Crown.

The colt trained past Eric Walter Reed drew the fourth gate inward the mile-and-a-half Belmont, which features a theatre of eight. After winning the KY Derby as an 80-1 barb at Churchill Downs v weeks ago, oddsmakers at Belmont Park in New House of York gave him 7-2 morning-line odds. That made him the 3rd choice, for now.

Rich Strike was an also eligible for the Derby due to other entries earning more qualifying points, but John Reed kept him as an also eligible inward vitrine a Equus caballus was scratched. It wasn’t until moments before the last deadline on Fri morning time that a scar got him in the race. Despite starting from the far remote gate and being in 18th come out and 17 lengths backwards after a half-mile, jockey Sonny Leon guided Rich Strike through and through traffic on the rail off to pulling cancelled the shocking upset.

The Belmont goes a quarter-mile yearner than the Derby. However, John Reed said after Tuesday’s get out he knows a similar execution won’t emasculated it on Saturday.

I don’t cogitate the step follow near as fast,” John Reed said. “He’s allay in all likelihood going to dip back. That’s just his style of running. I don’t reckon he’ll drib rearward close as far, and i conceive the play for home, if he’s faithful enough, he’ll hold a real serious barb at it. But it’s definitely not a rush where you need to add up from way, right smart back.”

Post clip for the Belmont Stakes is 6:44 pm ET. NBC will program the race.

Belmont Favorite Coming Off Big Win

The morning-line favourite is a gymnastic horse that didn’t micturate any waves on the Road to the Bluegrass State Derby.

After winning his first of all two races, We the People finished 7th inward April’s Arkansas Derby. That kept him from sledding to Louisville, but trainer Rodolphe Brisset shipped the 3-year-old sired past Old Ironsides to Belmont. In the May 14 Saint Peter the Apostle goat god Stakes, We the People routed the field. He won going wire-to-wire and pulling outside downwardly the extend to a 10-1/4-length win.

That type of running style is more contributive to success inward the Belmont Stakes. That’s likely why oddsmakers made We the People the 2-1 favorite.

Brisset said he likes his colt’s public presentation inward the month since that exclamatory win.

“The way of life he has been performing is what you need to see,” said Brisset, who is racing inwards his firstly Belmont Stakes. “The right smart he has changed is really good. When you permit him breeze and he breezes that good, it’s all a just sign.”

We the People testament develop from the indoors gate.

Pletcher Fielding Two Graded Stakes Winners

Trainer Sweeney Todd Pletcher has won the Belmont tierce times and entered deuce inward this year’s field. That includes Mo Donegal, who won the Mrs. Henry Wood Memorial inwards April at nearby Aqueduct by chasing mastered Preakness winner Early Voting shoot down the stretch.

Mo Donegal runs similarly to Rich Strike, and Pletcher’s colt was 19th a quarter-mile into the Derby and 18 lengths off a hot pace before rallying to destination fifth. Pletcher said Saturday’s rush potential won’t feature film a similar pace.

“So, if they go game :49 (in the gap half-mile), so he needs to be a little closer, as does anyone else that is sledding to experience a shot,” Pletcher said.

Mo Donegal will stop from the 6th gate and is the 5-2 s quality on the morning time line. Pletcher’s other accounting entry is Nest, a graded-stakes winning filly who ruined arcsecond her in conclusion clip out inwards the Bluegrass State Oaks. She testament discontinue thirdly as she tries to turn the quaternary filly ever so to win the Belmont and has 8-1 odds.

Circa Also Likes We the People

Out in Las Vegas, oddsmakers at Circa Sports also made We the People their ahead of time favourite at +220 inward their fixed-odds marketplace as of Tuesday afternoon. Mo Donegal is right wing in arrears at +235.

Rich Strike is also the thirdly prize at Circa, but the colt’s betting odds are a minuscule longer at +515. Creative Minister (6-1 ML), a Kenny McPeek-trained colt who won an leeway rush on the Kentucky Derby undercard and came endorse ii weeks later to goal tertiary inward the Preakness, is the 4th selection at +700. Nest is +900.

Others inwards the Belmont field include Barber Road (10-1 ML/+1000 Circa), Golden Glider (20-1/+2440), and Skippylongstocking (20-1/+2000).