And we thought Covid were odd times… BEL is under refurbishment, I’m guessing AQU didn’t live up to the challenge, so here we are in up-state NY for the biggest race of the season in the Empire State, The BEL (GI).  Third leg of the TC, but don’t worry, that money is safe (never in doubt).  A bit of everything in this one… horses that ran in the KYD and PRK, horses that didn’t run in either, even a filly… so the intrigue is still here.  At the time of this article, our post time is set for 2:30pm… Make it 7:15     

So, with all the fluff out of the way, where do we go for a winner?  The cast of characters are here, Scotty, Ali, The Green Card, and of course the ol’ Cozman… and despite a field of sixteen, you see our selections are fairly bunched. 

My top selection for this one is Fire Chase… I just like his consistency and they fact that he seems to run with very salty fields, even outside of the KYD (GI) where he was third.  I don’t know where he will be against the pace in this one, but I do think there will be a fierce battle for the lead, and that should set it up for a horse just like him.  The barn is hot… hot… hot and I just have to land on this one.  We know the usual suspects in these TC Races, and Mb is always on the tip of the tongue… in looking at his trio, I’ll take Good Memories in the second spot.  He’s lightly raced, but even his off-the-board finishes were very respectful and he looks like a horse that continues to get better.  Fourth only two back in the PRK (GI), yeah, he deserves a big look.  The barn’s other entrants are also worth a look, as always.  Maybe not as potent as he once was, but Aer Stables has won this race twice… back-to-back, taking the ’20 edition with Brittle and again in ’21 with War Chant, so let’s put Backroad Bounty in the third spot off of that near miss in the Lexington (GIII) back in April.  He’s rested, working well, and could certainly pull this off, if some of the others are paying attention.  Poison Arron, Baffert and Doc Rivers are the others that the “staff” have on their tickets (see below).  

Changes – Late Scratch, #4 Hyakutake has been scratched.  

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, TC 2024, THE TRIPLE CROWN