News and Notes: 2009 Belmont Stakes June 6, 2009

June 7, 2009:

Summer Bird won the Belmont stakes under jockey Kent Desormaux. Desormaux finally won the Belmont, something that has been missing from the hall fo fame jockey's resume. Dunkirk ran second fairly impressively and Mine that Bird rounded out the trifecta. After seeing Summer Bird's third place finish in the Arkansas Derby we thought he was one to watch for the Belmont stakes and he was. In retrospect it seems even more obvious. He fits the profile of most recent Belmont winners who have skipped the Preakness after the Derby. He had blinkers added and he had a jockey with enough experience riding in the Belmont when to make the move in the crueling 1-1/2 mile marathon. Mine that Bird still showed he's the real deal and it should be an exciting summer of racing.

June 4, 2009:

New York is in for a lot of rain on Friday, so it will be interesting to see what state the track is in on Saturday. By post time on Saturday evening things will have dried out a lot but there will definitely be moisture in the track.

It seems that all the entrants are working well leading up to the race. Everyone seems to be talking pretty confidently.

June 3, 2009:

2009 Belmont Stakes Post Positions Jockeys M/L Odds

1 - Chocolate Candy - Garret Gomez - 10/1
2 - Dunkirk - John Velazquez - 4/1
3 - Mr. Hot Stuff - Edgar Prado - 15/1
4 - Summer Bird - Kent Desormaux - 12/1
5 - Luv Guv - Miguel Mena -20/1
6 - Charitable Man - Alan Garcia - 3/1
7 - Mine That Bird - Calvin Borel - 2/1
8 - Flying Private - Julien Leparoux - 12/1
9 - Miners Escape - Jose Lezcano - 15/1
10 - Brave Victory - Rajiv Maragh - 15/1

May 29, 2009:

Rachel Alexandra will not be running in the Belmont Stakes. Her owner, Jess Jackson, made the announcement Friday afternoon. Calvin Borel will now ride Mine that Bird and go for his own Triple Crown. It certainly changes the complexion of the race but it should be an interesting race nonethe less. There will be some fresh horses coming into chalenge Mine that Bird.

May 25, 2009:

Bloodhorse reports Rachel Alexandra worked this morning on a sloppy track at Churchill, 4 furlongs in :50 1/5. No decision has been made whether she will run or not. It appears Rachel's trainers have differing ideas. Wiggins, her former trainer, thinks she's perfect for the Belmont Stakes. Asmussen claims he wants no part of it.

May 24, 2009:

Works at Belmont:

Charitable Man 4 furlongs in :47.88

Summer Bird 7 furlongs in 1:26:47

Dunkirk 5 furlongs in 1:0077

May 20, 2009:

Belmont Stakes Taking Nice Shape

The Belmont Stakes is shaping up to be another very exiting and very anticipated event.
Some of the contenders headed into the race are:

Charitable Man - Looked very good winning The Peter Pan a few weeks ago
Dunkirk - Troubled trip in the derby has had 5 weeks to recover
Summer Bird - Figures to improve off his derby effort
Chocolate Candy - Was squeezed early in the derby but did make a run and has had 5 weeks to recover
Mr Hot Stuff - Finished striong in California before getting a rough trip in the derby
Flying Private - Made a nice late run to finish within 4-lengths of the winner in Maryland
Mine That Bird - Figures to be flying late once again
Rachel Alexandra - If she goes it will be her toughest test yet