With the completion of the Belmont Stakes yesterday afternoon another Triple Crown season comes to a close. Below is a review of yesterday's Belmont, along with a look at another wide-open winter and spring of three-year-old stakes races.

Belmont Stakes Re-Cap

• The final splits for each horse in yesterday's Belmont paint a vivid picture of horses that were able to keep grinding in the final quarter mile compared to those that wanted nothing to do with 12 furlongs in the slop.  Stay Thirsty actually ran the fastest final quarter mile, but the ability of Ruler On Ice to stay closer to the lead in the early stages set up him for Belmont glory.
  
  

  Horse	Final Split
  Ruler On Ice	25.62
  Stay Thirsty	25.49
  Brilliant Speed	25.83
  Nehro	26.30
  Shackleford	27.11
  Animal Kingdom	26.68
  Mucho Macho Man	28.81
  Santiva	28.89
  Monzon	28.22
  Master of Hounds	28.65
  Prime Cut	28.99
  Isn't He Perfect	28.73

  
  
• We can also look at the splits by comparing the opening half mile with the final half mile.  Below are those fractions for each horse in the field
  
  

  Horse	First 4f	Last 4f
  Ruler On Ice	49.34	50.76
  Stay Thirsty	49.51	50.72
  Brilliant Speed	50.03	50.37
  Nehro	49.93	51.30
  Shackleford	49.08	52.25
  Animal Kingdom	51.41	51.82
  Mucho Macho Man	49.95	53.35
  Santiva	49.59	54.54
  Monzon	50.56	54.36
  Master of Hounds	50.55	54.81
  Prime Cut	50.37	54.90
  Isn't He Perfect	50.29	54.45

  
  Horses that finished 1-2-3 at the wire were running 2-3-7 after the opening half mile.  Brilliant Speed ran the fastest final half mile of any horse in the field. 
  
• Aidan O'Brien continues to struggle with graded races on dirt in America.  If the numbers thrown around on TV yesterday were accurate, he is now 1-for-34 in those conditions.
• Speaking of TV, Belmont ratings were up 55% from one year ago (via Paulick Report).  Considering there was no Triple Crown attempt on the line, that is very impressive.
  
  I give NBC a hard time with their race coverage but, overall, I think they do a better job than ESPN does with the Breeders' Cup (despite missing the Dixie on the Preakness undercard, which was probably more a function of their agreement with Pimlico than anything else).  To post such measurable improvements in ratings (for both the Belmont and the undercard) is very impressive.  I hope it continues with their Saratoga coverage this summer. 
• Handle on the entire Belmont card was up 9% from a year ago. (via DRF.com)
• Animal Kingdom made a huge move from a ½ mile to a mile into the race, and clocked that portion in 49.82 seconds (according to Formulator Interactive Charts).  That was the fastest fraction of any horse at that point in the race and was 100% necessitated by his horrendous start. The split was almost a full second faster than any horse in the race, but the fact that he had to make that move at all cost him any chance at victory.
• Shackleford ran his heart out once again, but clearly hit the wall with around a quarter mile to go. Shack ran the opening ½ mile in 49.08, and the last ½ mile in 52.25. That just wasn't going to get it done.
• The last 10 Triple Crown races, beginning with the Belmont Stakes in 2008 (when Big Brown was going for a clean sweep) has seen 10 different winners.  That is the longest streak of that kind in the Triple Crown series since 1924 to 1929, when there were 18 different winners in a row.  Gallant Fox broke that streak in 1930 by sweeping all three and winning the Triple Crown.

Triple Crown Re-Cap

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Ruler On Ice, a longshot at odds of 24/1, spoiled the Animal Kingdom and Shackleford party in New York. After taking the lead at the top of the stretch, Ruler On Ice held off Stay Thirsty at the wire to win the 2011 Belmont Stakes.

Favorite Animal Kingdom had a disastrous start from the gate as he stumbled and almost threw jockey John Velazquez from the irons.  From there he was well too far back to have a chance to win.  He finished sixth

Preakness winner Shackleford set the pace, as everyone knew he would do, but didn't have enough left in the tank to hold off the rest of the field when it came time to roll towards the judge. Shackleford finished fifth.

Ruler On Ice is a son of Roman Ruler by a Saratoga Six mare (Champagne Glow).  He is trained by Kelly Breen and was ridden by Jose Valdivia, Jr.  Congratulations to the connections.

Payouts
WIN: Rule On Ice ($51.50, $26.00, $13.60)
PLACE: Stay Thirsty ($19.40, $10.80)
SHOW: Brilliant Speed ($7.90)

$1 Exacta: $464.00
$1 Trifecta: $4,134.00
$0.10 Superfecta: $3,702.60
$1 Double: $994.00
$1 Pick 3: $10,502.50
$0.50 Pick 4: $35,524.25
$2 Pick 6: $20,530 (5-of-6)

Splits:
1/4: 23.92
1/2: 49.08
3/4: 1:14.51
Mile: 1:39.95
Mile+1/4: 2:05.10
Finish: 2:30.88

Internal Fractions:
1/4: 23.92
1/2: 25.16
3/4: 25.43
Mile: 25.44
Mile+1/4: 25.15
Finish: 25.78

Full Order of Finish:
1 - Ruler On Ice
2 - Stay Thirsty
3 - Brilliant Speed
4 - Nehro
5 - Shackleford
6 - Animal Kingdom
7 - Mucho Macho Man
8 - Santiva
9 - Monzon
10 - Master of Hounds
11 - Prime Cut
12 - Isn't He Perfect

Video replay below the jump.

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Belmont Scratches/Changes
Main Track is rated "GOOD" "MUDDY/SEALED" "SLOPPY"
Turf course is rated "GOOD"

The rail on both the inner and Widener turf is at 0 feet.

Below is a running summary of today's winners and payouts (all times Eastern).  Click on the winner's name to go to the PDF result chart (via DRF.com).

(Note: the chart below appears best on the "wide" viewing setting.  I try to make all of the charts display best on narrow or wide setting, but wasn't able to make that happen for this one.)

TV coverage on Versus runs from 3:00 to 5:00pm Eastern.  NBC's coverage (which will hopefully include the Manhattan) will run from 5:00 to 7:00.

What began back in January with the running of races like the Sham, LeComte and Holy Bull, comes to a close at Belmont Park on Saturday with the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes.  Each Triple Crown season provides an opportunity to usher in a new set of stars to the racing world.  Some step up and assert themselves, as in the case of Animal Kingdom and Shackleford, while others struggle to achieve lofty expectations, such as Uncle Mo. 

While Saturday's Belmont brings to a close another Triple Crown season, it is the jumping off point for the top horses towards races such as the Haskell, Travers and, ultimately, the Breeders' Cup. With a seemingly weak crop of older horses, this year's three-year-olds will have an excellent chance to achieve added glory in the months ahead.

Saturday's Belmont Stakes will go to post at 6:35 Eastern.

The Field

1-Master of Hounds (10/1): Ran fifth in the Kentucky Derby after sitting in 15^th position in the early stages. The Derby pace turned out to be more like a turf race than the traditional Derby free-for-all, something that certainly aided this colt considering he is primarily a grass runner. The pace should be slow again in the Belmont which should allow him to stick relatively close to the lead through the soft early splits. The rail draw shouldn't be a problem at all, especially when you considering that many European horses are trained to run "covered up" on the inside. If Master of Hounds can find a strong late kick inside the final quarter mile, he should have a shot to hit the board.

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Below is a summary of race conditions and post times for Saturday's card at Belmont Park (all times Eastern).  The Belmont Stakes is the 11th race on the card and will go to post at 6:35pm Eastern time (TV: NBC).

Versus will have coverage at Belmont Park from 3:00 to 5:00 Eastern, which will include the G2-True North, G2-Woody Stephens, and G1-Just A Game.  NBC's coverage will begin at 5:00 Eastern.

The rest of the undercard can be seen on either HRTV or TVG, as both have the rights to NYRA races.

Races 10, 12 and 13 will run over the inner turf.  Races 1, 5 and 9 will be on the Widener turf.

• $0.50 Pick 4s start with races 2, 8 and 10.  The Pick Six starts with race 6.
• Anybody want to take bets on whether or not we get to see the Manhattan tomorrow?  The odds have got to be something like 1/5 that NBC won't show the race.
  
  4-Gio Ponti (6/5) is the favorite for the Manhattan, but the U.K. shipper, 6-Viscount Nelson (4/1), should provide a stern test.
• 3-Trappe Shot (5/2) continues his return to sprint distances in the G2-True North Handicap after to failing to do much when stretched out last year in the Haskell and the Travers.  He began the year with a win in the listed Waldoboro Stakes at Belmont on May 11th and finds himself in a decent spot for a graded stakes win.
  
  I don't care much for 1-D'Funnybone (2/1) in this spot; his previous races where he's drawn the rail haven't exactly been the highlights of his career (G3-Withers and Sunshine Millions Sprint). He also just lost to Trappe Shot in the Waldoboro last time out (as did 4-Rule By Night)
  
• 2-Turbulent Descent (3/5) is the heavy morning line favorite for the G1-Acorn but will she be as effective in a one-turn mile as she is routing?
  
  The WinStar owned and Todd Pletcher trained 3-Savvy Supreme (5/1) should be the clear lone speed in this spot.  Two for three in her career after a wins at Gulfstream and Belmont, Savvy Supreme will stretch out to a mile for the first time.  She is by Distorted Humor out of a Storm Bird mare (Outsource).
  
  Savvy Supreme is a full-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Commentator.
• 3-Amen Hallelujah (6/1) will try the grass for the first time in her career in the G1-Just A Game in an attempt to snap an eight-race losing streak.  She finished 3rd in the G1-Humana Distaff on Derby day and 2nd, beaten a head, in the G1-Madison at Keeneland in mid-April.  If she were to win the Just A Game, she would become a graded stakes winner on dirt, turf and synthetic (she won the G2-Davona Dale on dirt and the G2-Satan Ynez on Santa Anita's former synthetic surface.
  
  2-Aviate (GB) (5/2) looks to be tough to beat in the Just A Game, just as she was in the G2-Distaff Turf Mile on Derby day.  She's been nothing but solid since shipping over from Europe this winter.

ORIGINAL POST: The post position draw for the 2011 Belmont Stakes will take place at 11am Eastern on Wednesday, June 8th.  The draw will be televised live on the MSG Network and streamed live on BelmontStakes.com. (The draw is also scheduled to air on HRTV.)  If you are unable to follow along on either of those mediums, I'll also have a live blog of the events.

UPDATED: The results of the draw, along with the morning line odds, are summarized below.

Thoughts on the draw:

• With a mile and a half race, a field of 12, and an expected slow pace, the draw isn't really bad for anybody.  Shackleford drew the widest and will most likely be on the lead, as Dale Romans stated after the draw, There's not a ton of distance between the starting gate and the first turn, so it's possible he could get hung a tad wide early, but I doubt that will have a major impact on the race.
• Master of Hounds on the rail is of no consequence as he doesn't have any early speed and the gate at the Belmont, unlike the Derby and Preakness, is right next to the rail (and does not require a "run-up" to the rail).  He should only be in tight if someone to his outside breaks into him, but that's a concern for any horse, not just one on the rail.
• Animal Kingdom sits in a good spot and I wonder if they might try to keep him a bit wider in the Belmont than in the Preakness.  He didn't appear to love the dirt kicked into his face early on in the Preakness and if Johnny V. can keep him a little wider in this race, perhaps he'll settle better in the early stages. 
  
• Nehro grabs second favorite status on the morning line, 4/1, over the Preakness winner.  We'll have to wait and see how that plays out on race day.
• I would think that Shaun Bridgmohan will hustle Santiva towards the front right from the gate as he's run much more effectively when up near the lead.  The chief question is, will the frontrunners stretch out the field, or will we see a tightly bunched pack for the first mile? 
• The rest of Saturday's Belmont card will be drawn later on today.  The entries for Friday are out, and both the G3-Poker Stakes and G2-Brooklyn Handicap came up with short fields (six and five horses, respectively).  It seems doubtful that the Brooklyn/Belmont Double will pay well this year given the five-horse field of the Brooklyn.

The Belmont Stakes, unlike the Preakness the precedes it by three weeks, is a race where favorites have performed relatively poorly over the last eleven years.  Since 2000, only three favorites have won the Belmont Stakes  - Afleet Alex, Empire Maker and Point Given. (A 27% success rate for favorites isn't a horrible number; it's a bit less than average when you look at the success of favorites nationwide, but it's much less than the Preakness.)  While that doesn't help us to find the winner in the race during a specific year, it does give us clues as to whether the betting public is able to figure this race out year-after-year.

Once you get by the three favorites to win the Belmont in the last eleven years, the race has featured a mix of bombs (Da'Tara and Bridstone), mid-shots (Summer Bird and Rags To Riches), and complete unknowns (Sarava). Because big priced horses can really sway the average payouts over a period of time, it's probably a bit more informative to look at median payouts over a period of time, rather than averages.  Below is a chart summarizing the median payouts of each wager since 2000.

Belmont Stakes - Median Payouts

Bullet points regarding the above chart:

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D-Day

Memorial Day was a week ago, but today carries extra significance due to the anniversary of the D-Day landings at Normandy in 1944.  Current estimates indicate that there are about 45,000 D-Day veterans still alive today, one of which is my grandfather who was part of the invasion at Utah Beach. A special remembrance today to all the Allied soldiers - American, Canadian and British - who took part in that historic event 67 years ago.

Belmont Stakes

It must be June if we into the week leading to the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes. Below is a look at some of the current news around this Saturday's Belmont.

Animal Kingdom Zips Over Belmont Surface - BloodHorse.com
Animal Kingdom zipped a half-mile in :47.76 on the Belmont Park surface June 6 as the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner showed his readiness for the June 11 Belmont Stakes (gr. I).

Belmont Stakes: Nehro gets in his final drill - Daily Racing Form
Nehro, the second-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, completed his preparation for Saturday\'s Belmont Stakes with a four-furlong drill in 50.85 seconds early Monday morning at Belmont Park. Nehro remained well off the rail through fractions of 13.18 seconds for the opening furlong and 25.74 seconds for a quarter-mile. He went out five furlongs in 1:03.97.

Belmont Stakes: Mucho Macho Man works over Belmont main track - Daily Racing Form
Jockey Ramon Dominguez on Sunday morning got acquainted with his mount for next Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, working Mucho Macho Man a solid five furlongs in 59.57 seconds over the Belmont main track.

Belmont Stakes Programming on TVG - BloodHorse.com
TVG has released its schedule of special Belmont Stakes (gr. I) programming, much of it from New York's Belmont Park on June 10-11.

Dominguez Rides Six Winners at Belmont Park - BloodHorse.com
Ramon Dominguez joined Jorge Velasquez as one of only two jockeys to win six races in a single day at Belmont Park, aided by a sweep of the June 5 New York Stallion Series races aboard Darrin's Dilemma and Hessonite.

Richard Dutrow License Hearing

Controversial trainer Richard Dutrow, Jr. is in the midst of a hearing in New York to determine whether he will be allowed to continue to train in the state after his most recent suspension. 

Dutrow's fate remains up in the air as hearing before board begins - ESPN
On a mostly bright, sun-splashed, and pleasant Wednesday morning in Saratoga, some horsemen couldn't help but wonder about the storm clouds hanging over trainer Richard Dutrow Jr.

Dutrow’s attorney says license elimination would be too severe - Thoroughbred Times
The attorney for controversial Thoroughbred trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. will ask authorities to eliminate license revocation as a punitive option his client might face.

Dutrow: 'I Think I'm Good for Racing Game' - BloodHorse.com
Embattled trainer Rick Dutrow made a plea for his career June 3, when he told a New York hearing officer considering a license revocation case against him that he has been good for the Thoroughbred industry.

Michael Baze

Autopsy concludes Baze died of accidental overdose - Thoroughbred Times
A report from Jefferson County (Kentucky) Deputy Corner Jim Wesley concluded that jockey Michael Baze, 24, died of an accidental overdose.