Flavien Prat atop Rombauer, right, looks back as he breaks away from Irad Ortiz Jr. atop Midnight Bourbon moments before crossing the finish line to win the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 15, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A Triple Crown isn't in play as a nine-horse field makes preparations for the 2021 Belmont Stakes on Saturday, but there's still a big purse to be won and history to be made.
Rombauer's win at the Preakness Stakes denied Medina Spirit's Triple Crown bid. The Bob Baffert-trained horse won't be in the field at Belmont Park, and Rombauer isn't even the early favorite to win the third leg of the series.
The result is a race without a clear favorite. Five of the nine horses have early odds that are in the single digits, and the ones considered long shots have some impressive resumes.
If you're looking for a high-stakes race in which the horses will be tested over 1½ miles, this is the Triple Crown race for you.
With no true favorite in the race, this is a good one for those who like to back a relative long shot. Rombauer won the Preakness with 12-1 odds, a sign there's no horse in this field who can be discounted entirely.
In fact, coming in at similar odds to Rombauer at Pimlico Race Course is an interesting contender in Rebel's Romance. The Irish gelding is one of the race's two foreign contenders. He's also its biggest mystery.
He hasn't raced since winning the UAE Derby in March. Still, he's won four of his five career starts and has put in a lot of work at the Belmont track leading into the race and will be guided by a three-time Belmont winner in Mike Smith. British trainer Charlie Appleby has never won one of the American Classics but has trained a few Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winners.
Trainer Todd Pletcher will have the most representation at the Belmont. He's bringing a trio of horses to the race, with Known Agenda highlighting the group. Bourbonic and Overtook come in with much longer odds.
And finally on a busy morning of workouts for @PletcherRacing, BOURBONIC and OVERTOOK went a half-mile in 48.49 seconds in their final Belmont Stakes breezes. pic.twitter.com/7W7AuRLYXr
Bourbonic didn't show well in the Kentucky Derby, coming in 13th, but he showcased his potential in a win at the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. He outran the pack as a 72-1 long shot thanks to a strong closing stretch. That running style could make him an unlikely winner again in New York. The 1½-mile race and sandy racetrack test a horse's endurance like few others, and that seems to be his strength.
Pletcher has another lottery ticket in Overtook. The son of 2007 Preakness winner Curlin has only made two starts as a three-year-old: a second-place finish at the Withers Stakes and a third at the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont. His familiarity with the larger track in New York could lead to a better-than-expected performance.
Again, Overtook's bloodline would indicate he's good for the distance. Curlin was also a second-place finisher at the Belmont Stakes and has already sired another winner in Palace Malice.
Serving as the definitive long shot in the race is the Japan-based France Go de Ina. Trainer Hideyuki Mori entered his horse in the Preakness after he finished sixth in the UAE Derby. He looked good for a while in the Preakness before fading down the stretch and finishing seventh. That's not a great sign given the increase in distance between the final two Triple Crown races.
Belmont Stakes 2021: Post Time, TV Schedule, Post Positions Info
May 31, 2021
John Velazquez riding Medina Spirit, right, leads Florent Geroux on Mandaloun, Flavien Prat riding Hot Rod Charlie and Luis Saez on Essential Quality to win the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
The culmination of another Triple Crown season is set to go down with the 2021 Belmont Stakes on Saturday.
There will be no Triple Crown winner this year. Rombauer's win at the Preakness Stakes ended Medina Spirit's quest to win all three races. While it put a damper on this year's run at history, it also got Bob Baffert's horse out of the spotlight after a failed drug test post-Kentucky Derby.
None of Baffert's horses will make an appearance at Belmont Park. Instead, a nine-horse field that features tight odds and few long shots will serve to put on an intriguing race over the course of 1 ½ miles in New York.
One key piece of information has yet to be decided. Although it isn't as important as it is with a bigger field, the post position draw should have an impact on the odds. We will find out where each horse will break from on Tuesday.
Here's all the info you need to catch the race and Tuesday's post draw.
Although the odds are tight, Essential Quality is entering race week with the joint-shortest odds. The Brad Cox-trained colt was among the favorites in the Kentucky Derby but finished fourth.
Previous to that, he had won five consecutive races going back to the Maiden Special Weight race at Churchill Downs in September. Cox has liked what he has seen from his colt's work since arriving in Belmont.
"It's a real positive sign when you have a work like that leading into the Belmont," he said per BloodHorse. "He's still a pretty lightly raced horse but has faced adversity in his previous races, which is good going into a Triple Crown race. I think the distance will suit him very well, being a son of Tapit."
Tapit has sired three Belmont winners: Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016) and Tapwrit (2017). Essential Quality has the makeup to make it four.
Among the other favorites are Rombauer and Hot Rod Charlie. The two colts also have a connection in experience with jockey Flavien Prat. The 28-year-old was aboard Rombauer for his Preakness win but rode Hot Rod Charlie in the Kentucky Derby.
G1 Preakness winner ROMBAUER, in company with THAT QUALITY, covered a half-mile in 50.08 seconds in his final work for the Belmont Stakes pic.twitter.com/DVX3J2Bu1d
The jockey was already committed to ride Hot Rod Charlie in the Belmont when he agreed to guide Rombauer in the Preakness.
His connections wound up with a good alternative in John Velazquez. The veteran jockey has something that Prat doesn't: two Belmont Stakes wins, having won the race aboard Rags to Riches in 2007 and Union Rags in 2012.
Trainer Michael McCarthy is pleased Velazquez, who was aboard Medina Spirit for his Kentucky Derby win, was available.
"Belmont is his home track for umpteen years," McCarthy said, per David Grening of Daily Racing Form. "It's not often you win a classic and you need to find a jockey afterward, but I'm happy with where we're at. I hope everybody else is happy with their decision."
Rounding out those among the favorites are Rock Your World and Known Agenda. Both are looking for redemption after disappointing performances at the Kentucky Derby.
KNOWN AGENDA, in company with 2020 Belmont runner up DR POST, putting together his final preparations for the 2021 G1 Belmont Stakes. The Florida Derby winner completed 5 furlongs in 1:01.00. pic.twitter.com/KeyCOHnndt
Rock Your World finished 17th at Churchill Downs. The Kentucky-bred horse wasn't able to navigate the large field in the Derby and didn't get to show off the top-end speed that made him the winner of the Santa Anita Derby in April.
With a much smaller field and a longer race to make up for any potential bad breaks, he could be one to watch.
Known Agenda is the best of a trio of horses Todd Pletcher will have in the race. He also struggled with the big field in Louisville but has a Grade I stakes win to his name from March as the Florida Derby winner.
The fact that those two are joint-fourth when it comes to the odds is indicative of just how close and unpredictable this race is shaping up to be.
Bob Baffert Suspended from Belmont Stakes After Medina Spirit's Failed Drug Test
May 17, 2021
Trainer Bob Baffert at a press conference after Medina Spirit won the 147th Running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. on Saturday, May 1, 2021. Medina Spirit won the 147th Kentucky Derby on Saturday evening, awarding a seventh Kentucky Derby win to Baffert and a fourth to jockey John Velazquez. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
There will be no Triple Crown winner in 2021, but even if Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit came away with the win at the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, he wouldn't be able to complete the trio at the Belmont Stakes.
The New York Racing Association suspended legendary trainer Bob Baffert, and neither he nor his horses will be allowed on New York racetracks this summer amid the investigation into Medina Spirit's failed drug test.
Medina Spirit tested positive for an illegal amount of the steroid betamethasone in a post-Kentucky Derby screening. The horse's victory could be revoked, pending the results of a split sample test.
Mandaloun, the runner-up, would be declared the winner if Medina Spirit also fails the secondary test. Baffert has denied any cheating, calling the developments "the biggest gut punch in racing." Churchill Downs suspended the trainer from the facility on Sunday.
The New York Racing Authority's decision also cited Baffert's previous history with "failed drug tests in the recent past." Medina Spirit is Baffert's fifth horse to have failed a drug test in a little over a year, per ESPN.
"In order to maintain a successful thoroughbred racing industry in New York, NYRA must protect the integrity of the sport for our fans, the betting public and racing participants," New York Racing Association chief executive David O’Rourke said in a statement (h/t Joe Drape of the New York Times). "That responsibility demands the action taken today in the best interests of thoroughbred racing."
In addition to staying away from Belmont Park, the trainer cannot race at Aqueduct or Saratoga Race Track or have stalls at the three tracks.
Baffert, a two-time Triple Crown winner who won his record seventh Kentucky Derby with Medina Spirit, didn't travel to Pimlico Race Course for the Preakness Stakes, where his champion finished in third place and passed all drug tests.
Rombauer stormed into the history books with a win at the 2021 Preakness Stakes disrupting a Triple Crown bid for Medina Spirit...
2021 Belmont Stakes: Early Odds and Predictions Following Preakness
May 16, 2021
Tiz the Law (8), with jockey Manny Franco up, crosses the finish line in front of an empty grandstand to win the152nd running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 20, 2020, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
In front of a crowd of 10,000, Rombauer emerged victorious in the 146th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Midnight Bourbon came in second, while the controversial Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, came in third.
Not to take anything away from Rombauer's victory, but naturally, horse racing fans and bettors alike have already begun thinking about what Saturday's results mean for the final jewel of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York.
— Preakness Stakes (@PreaknessStakes) May 15, 2021
2021 Belmont Stakes Early Odds
Essential Quality 3-1 Rombauer 4-1 Hot Rod Charlie 5-1 Midnight Bourbon 7-1 Caddo River 8-1 Rock Your World 10-1 Concert Tour 12-1 Keepmeinmind 16-1 Known Agenda 20-1 Risk Taking 25-1
Trainer Michael W. McCarthy held Rombauer out of the Kentucky Derby, and while that decision may have contributed to the horse's surprise win Saturday, it officially means there is no possible Triple Crown winner this season.
In fact, many of the Derby horses were held out of the Preakness Stakes to focus on the more lucrative Belmont Stakes. Mandaloun, Hot Rod Charlie, Essential Quality and O Besos, who finished two through five respectively in the Derby, would presumably be favorites heading into the Belmont Stakes.
The Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit was allowed to run in the Preakness Stakes despite testing positive for an excessive amount of the substance betamethasone after winning the Derby. Kentucky officials are awaiting the results of a second sample.
Those results could come back in the time between now and the running of the Belmont Stakes, which not only could affect Medina Spirit's ability to run the final jewel of the Triple Crown but also would vacate his Derby victory.
Expect Mandaloun, who could still earn a Derby victory if Medina Spirit's test results do not come back cleared, to be the front-runner in the Belmont Stakes.
The 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes will be held on its usual timeline, a Saturday in June three weeks after the Preakness Stakes—this year, that's June 5.
The Belmont Stakes will have the second-highest purse of the three Triple Crown races this season, at $1.5 million. The Kentucky Derby had the highest, at $3 million. The Preakness Stakes had the lowest, at $1 million.
