After several weeks of uncertainty while many aspects of daily life around the world were halted due to a global health pandemic, horse racing re-emerged under a “new normal” – and last month, the 2020 Triple Crown was finalized and rearranged on a timeline that has never existed before in the series’ history and probably won’t again.
Rather than wrapping up the Triple Crown on June 6, the 152ndBelmont Stakes at Belmont Park will kick off the 2020 series on Saturday, June 20. Along the traditional schedule following the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes is traditionally held at a taxing 1 ½ miles, with 3-year-old horses navigating the entirety of Belmont’s vast main track. This year, the aptly named “Test of the Champion” will not occur as the race will be held around one turn at 1 1/8 miles.
NBC is home to the 152nd Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 20, providing comprehensive race coverage and analysis live on TV and NBCSports.com before, during and after the main event. Coverage runs from 2:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. on NBC, just hours after NBC’s coverage of the final day of the Royal Ascot in England. Stream the 2020 Belmont Stakes here.
Still, a different and arguably more difficult assignment awaits the winner of the 2020 Belmont if the horse’s connections still aim to complete the Triple Crown – they must keep their charge in top form over a 15-week period (instead of five weeks) in order to capture the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 and the Preakness Stakes on Oct. 3.
The $1 million, Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, added last month by Churchill Downs as a qualifying prep for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby, offers points to the top four finishers on a scale of 150-60-30-15, guaranteeing Saturday’s winner a spot as one of at least 18 domestic horses in the Kentucky Derby starting gate.
This year’s competitive field is headlined by New York-bred Tiz the Law, who has won both of his starts this year and four of five races overall. The race will be televised nationally on NBC.
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Read on for information on all of the contenders in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.
1. Tap It to Win (6-1)
Jockey: John Velazquez
Trainer: Mark Casse
Owner: Live Oak Plantation
Career record: 6 starts – 3 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds
Career earnings: $124,672
Earnings per start: $20,779
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108
Kentucky Derby points: 0
Pedigree: Tapit – Onepointthreekarats, by Medaglia d’Oro
Color: Bay
Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Delaying the 2020 Triple Crown races has worked to the benefit of several late-blooming 3-year-olds, and Tap It to Win is one of them. This Live Oak Plantation homebred first turned heads with a visually impressive win in his second career start last summer at Saratoga, but he then flopped in two stakes tries during the fall (defeated by a combined 64 ¾ lengths) and disappeared off of the 2020 Triple Crown radar. Patiently handled by Mark Casse, he made his way back on with two sharp wins this year, taking a six-furlong allowance-optional claiming race at Gulfstream Park by 1 ½ lengths in May and then a 1 1/16-mile, one-turn allowance at Belmont Park on June 4 by five lengths over highly regarded Mystic Guide. He comes right back to Belmont’s main track for this first jewel of the Triple Crown and is bred to handle an extra half-furlong as a son of top sire Tapit and from a female family that includes the dam of champion Songbird. Tap It to Win set the pace in his most recent win, and look for him to attempt to do it again, breaking from the rail post, after a three-week break and against a tougher field Saturday. This colt has the look of an eventual graded stakes winner, and while it might not come in the Belmont Stakes, he’s a must-use in exotics. Mark Casse won last year’s Belmont Stakes with Sir Winston, part of his stellar 2019 that also included a Preakness Stakes win with War of Will. Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez has two Belmont Stakes wins, coming in 2007 aboard the filly Rags to Riches and in 2013 on Union Rags. Brilliant Speed finished third in the 2011 Belmont for Live Oak, owned by Charlotte Weber.
2. Sole Volante (9-2)
Jockey: Luca Panici
Trainer: Patrick Biancone
Owners: Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Andie Biancone
Career record: 6 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 1 third
Career earnings: $293,310
Earnings per start: $48,885
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109
Kentucky Derby points: 30
Pedigree: Karakontie – Light Blow, by Kingmambo
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Coming in off of a quick turnaround, Sole Volante is a bit of a question mark in the Belmont, but one could make an argument that aside from Tiz the Law this is the most accomplished and talented horse in the field. After beginning his career last fall on turf, he burst upon the 3-year-old scene earlier this spring with an eye-catching win in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs before running second in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby to King Guillermo (that colt validated his upset win with a good second behind Nadal in the second leg of the Arkansas Derby). Sole Volante returned after a three-month break with a rallying win in a tough one-mile allowance-optional claiming race at Gulfstream Park on June 10, defeating Curlin Florida Derby runner-up Shivaree (who finished third) and Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes winner and stablemate Ete Indien (fourth). He gets right back in the starting gate after only nine days against an even tougher field, and he’ll have to improve his top Equibase Speed Figures to topple Tiz the Law unless that horse regresses, which would be a surprise. Still, this son of Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Karakontie is a logical choice to pair in exactas with that foe, and stands an upset chance in the 152nd Belmont if the early pace is fast enough to set up his late kick. Trainer Patrick Biancone finished third in the 1989 Belmont with Le Voyageur.
3. Max Player (15-1)
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Trainer: Linda Rice
Owner: George Hall and Sport BLX Thoroughbreds
Career record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds
Career earnings: $173,500
Earnings per start: $57,833
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 103
Kentucky Derby points: 10
Pedigree: Honor Code – Fools in Love, by Not For Love
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Stalker/closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Max Player enters the Belmont Stakes as a wild card, having not raced since Feb. 1. He showed a lot of promise in that start when made his 3-year-old debut in the 1 1/8-mile Withers Stakes at Aqueduct, and closed strongly to win going away by 3 ½ lengths. He’s been training steadily at Belmont Park since then for Linda Rice and already has winning experience at the Belmont Stakes’ shortened distance. Still, no other horses from the Withers have gone on to make an impact in 3-year-old stakes, and this colt’s other two starts came last year at Parx Racing. Max Player faces a tough class hike coming off of a long break and overall, running second or third in the Belmont should be considered a successful comeback, setting him up for marquee 3-year-old races later this summer and into the fall. George Hall co-owned 2011 Belmont winner Ruler On Ice. Jockey Joel Rosario has won the Belmont twice, aboard Tonalist in 2014 and Sir Winston last year. He also finished second with Frosted in 2015 third in 2011 and 2013.
4. Modernist (15-1)
Jockey: Junior Alvarado
Trainer: Bill Mott
Owners: Pam and Marty Wygod
Career record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $388,800
Earnings per start: $77,760
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 94
Kentucky Derby points: 70
Pedigree: Uncle Mo – Symbolic Gesture, by Bernardini
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Press the pace/stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Modernist stands an outside chance of posting an upset win in the 2020 Belmont Stakes if leading contenders Tiz the Law and Sole Volante aren’t at their best Saturday. The reason? Modernist is one of four horses (along with Tap It to Win, Fore Left and possibly Pneumatic) that project to be vying for the early lead, and among that group, he has the best résumé to handle the Belmont’s mile and an eighth, having won two of his three starts this year at the distance. Those came when he broke his maiden at Aqueduct back in January going 1 1/8 miles around two turns and then when he took his next start against tougher company, winning the second division of the Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford at Fair Grounds on Feb. 15. In his most recent start, he endured a subpar trip breaking from outside 14 post position in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby, yet still managed to finish third in a race won by a runaway pacesetter in Wells Bayou. Modernist’s Equibase Speed Figures are a cut below the top contenders in the Belmont Stakes – especially Tiz the Law – but Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott should have him prepared for this race and he’s eligible to improve. Mott won the 2010 Belmont Stakes with Drosselmeyer, and recently he finished third in 2018 with Hofburg and second last year with Tacitus.
5. Farmington Road (15-1)
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owners: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Chrysalis Stables, and Robert LaPenta
Career record: 6 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 0 thirds
Career earnings: $110,000
Earnings per start: $18,333
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100
Kentucky Derby points: 15
Pedigree: Quality Road – Silver La Belle, by Langfuhr
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: After breaking his maiden in his second start as a 3-year-old back in January at Tampa Bay Downs, Farmington Road has raced in three consecutive stakes races and has been a proverbial “late on the scene” horse each time. He rallied belatedly to nab fourth in the first division of the Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford in March, nearly got up to win the Oaklawn Stakes in April, and then ran on to get fourth again in the second division of the Arkansas Derby on May 2. This horse is a one-run type who needs a swift early pace to close into, and this year’s shortened Belmont Stakes did not draw a lot of speed horses. Unlike several other starters, Farmington Road is a horse that would actually benefit from two turns based on his recent races. He’s an outsider as a win candidate, but definitely one to consider using in trifecta and/or superfecta tickets. Todd Pletcher’s three Belmont wins came in 2007 (Rags to Riches); 2013 (Palace Malice); and 2017 (Tapwrit). Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Robert LaPenta co-owned Tapwrit with Bridlewood Farm, and LaPenta was the sole owner of 2008 upset Belmont winner Da’ Tara. Hall of Famer Javier Castellano has yet to win the Belmont Stakes; he’s finished second three times, most recently a near-miss aboard Destin in 2016.
6. Fore Left (30-1)
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Owner: Reddam Racing
Career record: 9 starts – 4 wins – 0 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $355,902
Earnings per start: $39,545
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100
Kentucky Derby points: 0
Pedigree: Twirling Candy – Simply Sunny, by Unbridled’s Song
Color: Bay
Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: A late addition to the Belmont Stakes field, Fore Left has some appeal since all four of his wins have come on dirt and he handled traveling across the world with aplomb earlier this year, winning the UAE Two Thousand Guineas Sponsored by Masdar at Meydan Racecourse back in February. On the other hand, he has not started since that victory and originally was being pointed to the seven-furlong Woody Stephens Stakes Presented by Claiborne Farm on the Belmont Stakes undercard. He was very active – and successful – racing last year as a juvenile, making eight of his nine career starts. With this colt, the main question comes down to: Has he developed enough to compete with U.S. graded stakes winners such as Sole Volante, Modernist, and Max Player – to say nothing of Tiz the Law? His worst three races prior to the UAE Two Thousand Guineas all came at seven furlongs or longer, but he did win the Two Thousand Guineas at just under a mile rather easily. His addition to the Belmont field does add some more speed to the field, and it would not be a surprise to see Fore Left challenge Tap It to Win for the lead from the outset. Picking up Jose Ortiz to ride is a big plus: The 2017 Eclipse Award winner took that year’s Belmont aboard Tapwrit and finished second in 2018 and 2019 with Gronkowski and Tacitus, respectively. Doug O’Neill and J. Paul Reddam campaigned 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I’ll Have Another, who was scratched the day before that year’s Belmont due to an injury. Reddam co-owned 2003 Belmont runner-up Ten Most Wanted.
7. Jungle Runner (50-1)
Jockey: Reylu Gutierrez
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Owner: Calumet Farm
Career record: 8 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
Career earnings: $110,415
Earnings per start: $13,802
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 85
Kentucky Derby point: 1
Pedigree: Candy Ride – Minx, by Tapit
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Jungle Runner was added to the list of Belmont Stakes probables over the weekend of June 12-13, immediately claiming designation of the horse most likely to carry the highest odds in the field when the gates open Saturday. He enters off of a start in the first division of the Arkansas Derby on May 2, where he finished eighth, 22 ½ lengths behind Charlatan. Overall, in his three 2020 starts Jungle Runner has been defeated by a combined 63 ¼ lengths. Both of his wins came last fall at Remington Park – one of them in a listed stakes – and preceded his final start of the year, also at Remington, where he faced tougher competition in the Springboard Mile and finished fourth by 14 lengths. This son of top sire Candy Ride appears completely overmatched in the Belmont Stakes and will hopefully be pointed to an allowance or listed stakes later this summer against lesser company in an attempt to regain his fall 2019 form. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen won the 2015 Belmont Stakes with Creator. Calumet Farm’s two Belmont Stakes wins came when Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948) closed out Triple Crown triumphs with wins in New York, adding to the farm’s legacy of excellence when owned by the Wright family. Under Brad Kelley’s ownership, Calumet has continued to send horses to the Belmont, and recently his Preakness Stakes runners-up from 2018 (Bravazo) and 2019 (Everfast) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
8. Tiz the Law (6-5)
Jockey: Manny Franco
Trainer: Barclay Tagg
Owner: Sackatoga Stable
Career record: 5 starts – 4 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
Career earnings: $945,300
Earnings per start: $189,060
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 117
Kentucky Derby points: 122
Pedigree: Constitution – Tizfiz, by Tiznow
Color: Bay
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Despite the delay of the Triple Crown season in this unprecedented year, Tiz the Law has kept his status as a leading classic contender while several other top horses have been sidelined or retired. He enters the Belmont Stakes as the deserved favorite, and checks all of the boxes of a prospective Belmont winner – pedigree, past performances, connections, and success over the track. Tiz the Law jumped on the 2020 Triple Crown bandwagon immediately last summer, dominating in his career debut at Saratoga and then taking the one-turn mile Champagne Stakes at Belmont in October by four lengths. His only misstep came next, on a sloppy track in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs to close out 2019, and even then he finished a close third. Tiz the Law’s two wins this year at Gulfstream Park – a three-length score in the Holy Bull Stakes and a 4 ¼-length romp in the Curlin Florida Derby – have been even more impressive. Now, he cuts back to one turn at a track he’s already won a Grade 1 stakes on, and all signs are pointing to a top-level performance. Trainer Barclay Tagg, who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and finished third in the Belmont in 2003 with Sackatoga Stable’s Funny Cide, has suggested that this colt could map out a campaign that includes the Belmont, Travers Stakes, Kentucky Derby and the Preakness over the coming months (although he made that forecast before the Belmont was rescheduled as the first race of the series). Capturing the 2020 “Quadruple Crown” would be quite an accomplishment indeed, and the journey starts Saturday.
9. Dr Post (5-1)
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owner: St. Elias Stable
Career record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
Career earnings: $76,635
Earnings per start: $25,545
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 101
Kentucky Derby points: 0
Pedigree: Quality Road – Mary Delaney, by Hennessy
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Lightly raced Dr Post arrives at Belmont on a definite upswing, having won both of his starts as a 3-year-old. He returned to the track after a nearly nine-month break in late March at Gulfstream Park and won a seven-furlong maiden race, and then overcame some bumping in early stretch to take the 1 1/16-mile Unbridled Stakes around two turns at Gulfstream on April 25. He’ll face a far tougher field Saturday in Belmont 152, but clearly Dr Post has talent and the 1 1/8-mile distance should be right in his wheelhouse. While stablemate Farmington Road is a closer dependent on a fast pace, this fellow son of promising young sire Quality Road has shown a more versatile running style this year, and could spice up exotic tickets if he takes the next step in development on Saturday. Todd Pletcher has won the Belmont three times: with the great filly Rags to Riches in 2007; with Palace Malice in 2013; and with Tapwrit in 2017. Reigning Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. won the 2015 Belmont on Creator; his recent mounts finished third in 2018 and fourth last year.
10. Pneumatic (10-1)
Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Owner: Winchell Thoroughbreds
Career record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
Career earnings: $101,850
Earnings per start: $33,950
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 98
Kentucky Derby points: 10
Pedigree: Uncle Mo – Teardrop, by Tapit
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Press the pace/stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Tiz the Law towers above the 2020 Belmont Stakes field in terms of accomplishments and speed figures, but there are several entrants who appear to have plenty of untapped potential ready to be realized, and perhaps none more so than Pneumatic. He stepped up in class following two impressive wins at Oaklawn Park when he ran in the Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 23, and competed well into deep stretch before settling for third behind Maxfield and Ny Traffic. Pneumatic should be among the horses situated in the front rank early on in the Belmont, perhaps sitting just behind Tap It to Win and Fore Left, and this well-bred son of top sire Tapit should easily be able to handle the additional half-furlong Saturday and make some noise in the stretch, even if his best Equibase Speed Figures place him behind several other contenders. He’s worth considering for exacta and trifecta tickets with Tiz the Law, and nabbing 60 or 30 Kentucky Derby qualifying points should put him in a good position for bigger and better achievements later this summer and into the fall. Steve Asmussen won the 2015 Belmont Stakes with Creator.
Watch the 2020 Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 20 from 2:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET on NBC, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
