Post time for the Belmont Stakes is 6:44 pm ET. NBC will broadcast the race.<\/p>\n
The morning-line favorite is a horse that didn\u2019t make any waves on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.<\/p>\n
After winning his first two races, We the People finished seventh in April\u2019s Arkansas Derby. That kept him from going to Louisville. But trainer Rodolphe Brisset shipped the 3-year-old sired by Constitution to Belmont. In the May 14 Peter Pan Stakes, We the People routed the field. He won going wire-to-wire and pulling away down the stretch to a 10-1\/4-length win.<\/p>\n
That type of running style is more conducive to success in the Belmont Stakes. That’s likely why oddsmakers made We the People the 2-1 favorite.<\/p>\n
Brisset said he likes his colt’s performance in the month since that emphatic win.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe way he has been acting is what you want to see,\u201d said Brisset, who is racing in his first Belmont Stakes. \u201cThe way he has changed is really good. When you let him breeze and he breezes that good, it\u2019s all a good sign.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
We the People will break from the inside gate.<\/p>\n
Pletcher Fielding Two Graded Stakes Winners<\/h2>\n Trainer Todd Pletcher has won the Belmont three times and entered two in this year\u2019s field. That includes Mo Donegal, who won the Wood Memorial in April at nearby Aqueduct by chasing down Preakness winner Early Voting down the stretch.<\/p>\n
Mo Donegal runs similarly to Rich Strike, and Pletcher\u2019s colt was 19th a quarter-mile into the Derby and 18 lengths off a blistering pace before rallying to finish fifth. Pletcher said Saturday\u2019s race likely won\u2019t feature a similar pace.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, if they go :49 (in the opening half-mile), then he needs to be a little closer, as does anyone else that is going to have a shot,\u201d<\/strong> Pletcher said.<\/p>\nMo Donegal will break from the sixth gate and is the 5-2 second choice on the morning line. Pletcher\u2019s other entry is Nest, a graded-stakes winning filly who finished second her last time out in the Kentucky Oaks. She will break third as she tries to become the fourth filly ever to win the Belmont and has 8-1 odds.<\/p>\n
Circa Also Likes We the People<\/h2>\n Out in Las Vegas, oddsmakers at Circa Sports also made We the People their early favorite at +220 in their fixed-odds market as of Tuesday afternoon. Mo Donegal is right behind at +235.<\/p>\n
Rich Strike is also the third choice at Circa, but the colt\u2019s odds are a little longer at +515. Creative Minister (6-1 ML), a Kenny McPeek-trained colt who won an allowance race on the Kentucky Derby undercard and came back two weeks later to finish third in the Preakness, is the fourth choice at +700. Nest is +900.<\/p>\n
Others in the Belmont field include Barber Road (10-1 ML\/+1000 Circa), Golden Glider (20-1\/+2440), and Skippylongstocking (20-1\/+2000).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rich Strike won\u2019t have to wait until Friday to see if he\u2019s eligible to run in Saturday\u2019s Belmont Stakes. On Tuesday, the Kentucky Derby winner was the first horse pulled in the post position draw for the final leg of the Triple Crown. The colt trained by Eric Reed drew the fourth gate in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":216306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14577,16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Rich Strike Draws Seven Challengers in Belmont, 7-2 on the Morning Line<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n