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Free Belmont Stakes PPs for Saturday, June 8, 2024atBelmont Park
Belmont Stakes 2024 starters include Mystik Dan winner of the Kentucky Derby and runner-up in the Preakness and the Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey will compete in the 156th running of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday.
Lukas Seeks Fifth Belmont With Seize the Grey
In recent news first reported by The Blood-Horse, trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who at 88, has the experience as a four-time Belmont Stakes winner is confident that Seize the Grey doesn’t necessarily need the lead to win. It’s been twenty-four years since Lukas last led the Belmont Stakes winner Commendable into the winner’s circle in 2000. On Saturday at Saratoga he’ll seek to win it for the fifth time.
Belmont Stakes 2024 Official Post Positions, Morning Line Odds, and Wiz Capper’s Fantasy Finish
156th Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
Grade 1
Distance: 1 1/4 miles
Purse: $1.5 million
| PP | HORSE/Best BRIS | TRAINER | ML ODDS | Fantasy Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seize The Grey – 105 | D Wayne Lukas | 8-1 | 1st |
| Winner of the Pat Day Mile on the Derby undercard and the 2024 Preakness winner took advantage of a fast break and little pressure from the other contenders to go gate to wire on a muddy track to earn a career high 105 BRIS speed figure. Son of Arrogate seeks his third win in a row and has a good chance to make it happen at Saratoga where he broke his maiden in his second career start sprinting to victory on a sloppy track when defeating Fountain of Youth winner Dornoch who finished 10th in the Derby. Combine the shorter distance with light rain and the mild temperatures in the forecast for Saturday at Saratoga could provide the perfect conditions for him to win this in an unusual year for the 156th running of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga. | ||||
| 2 | Resilience – 104 | Mott | 10-1 | 9th |
| Added blinkers to win the G2 Wood Memorial and tried to transfer that effort in the Kentucky Derby but came up short to finish 7th from post position 18 after ranging up six wide going into the far turn but failing to keep on through the stretch. Skipped the Preakness and returns fresh for HOF trainer Mott. Expect much improved effort while saving ground. | ||||
| 3 | Mystik Dan – 102 | Ken McPeek | 5-1 | 2nd |
| 2024 Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up could benefit from an off-track forecasted for Saratoga on Saturday. Got the perfect trip under Hernandez who rode a masterful race to hang on by a nose at the 1 1/4 miles distance of this year’s Belmont. Nearly nabbed for the place spot in the Preakness by Catching Freedom who will sit this one out. Expect that he’ll be forwardly placed regardless of track condition. Win or lose he’ll deserve a break after contesting the grueling Triple Crown series but McPeek has to give him a chance to stake a claim for Horse of the Year. | ||||
| 4 | The Wine Steward – 97 | Mike Maker | 15-1 | 10th |
| New York bred reeled off three wins in a row as a 2YO in his march towards a Run for the Roses for high percentage trainer. Could not crack the top 20 on the Derby leaderboard in points or purse earned having finished 2nd in his last three starts — all graded stakes. 2nd as the favorite in the G3 Peter Pan won by Antiquarian who returns in here. On the plus side, he won the Funny Cide by a head here last summer with Franco in the irons. Distance is the question mark but his sire Vino Rosso won twice at this distance including the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita. | ||||
| 5 | Antiquarian – 95 | Todd Pletcher | 12-1 | 7th |
| Winner of the G3 Peter Pan in his last start; will try to follow last year’s Peter Pan winner Arcangelo into the winner’s circle of Belmont Stakes 2024. The last time the Belmont winner used the Peter Pan to take the Test of the Champion was in 2014 when lightly raced Tonalist broke sharply from the outside post to win the Belmont Stakes race that included the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome who faded to fourth. Still NW3 lifetime eligible but Pletcher is also running a maiden in here. Don’t dismiss. | ||||
| 6 | Dornoch – 98 | Danny Gargan | 15-1 | 6th |
| It’s fair to toss his 10th place Kentucky Derby finish at 23-1 from the dreadful rail post after he had to steady in the first 100 yards and was taken out of his game. Prior to the Derby he was bet down under 3-1 in all six of his previous starts and culminated a three race win-streak with an easy victory in the Fountain of Youth as the heavy favorite. Beat Sierra Leone by a nose in the Remsen but could not repeat that effort over his three-year-old classmate and today’s morning line favorite two back in the Blue Grass. Second in his maiden voyage behind Seize the Grey. Expect that he’ll be pushing the pace from the start but distance will be a challenge. | ||||
| 7 | Protective – 100 | Todd Pletcher | 20-1 | 8th |
| He’s still a maiden but he’s been competitive in all of his starts having finished 2nd in first out effort here last July. 3rd last time out in the G3 Peter Pan and the G2 Wood behind Resilience before that. Pletcher will give the leg up to Gaffalione on this stablemate of Mindframe who both run in the interest of Repole Stable. Very interesting that he’s entered here but his last two graded stakes efforts were huge as a maiden vs. winners. | ||||
| 8 | Honor Marie – 99 | D Whitworth Beckman | 12-1 | 5th |
| Deep closer was jostled HARD at the start of the Kentucky Derby and dropped back to second to last when they crossed the wire for the first time. Incredibly, he managed to finish a distant 8th while getting a very erratic ride through the stretch. He’s still looking for his 3rd lifetime win with new rider Geroux. Expect a solid effort in a race that’s totally up for grabs. | ||||
| 9 | Sierra Leone – 101 | Chad Brown | 9-5 | 4th |
| Son of Gun Runner will get his fourth different rider as trainer Brown chooses to use Flavien Prat after coming up a nose short in the Derby with Gaffalione who won the G2 Risen Star and G1 Blue Grass earlier in the year. Sire was 2 of 3 in G1 at Saratoga as a stalker. This guy comes from far back, and Saratoga, known for slaying the betting favorites, is kind to horses close to the pace. Use caution on this underlay. | ||||
| 10 | Mindframe – 106 | Todd Pletcher | 7-2 | 3rd |
| Did not start at 2. Has won both his 3YO starts by a combined 20 lengths including a $100KOC for NW 1 other than on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill. Picks up 8 pounds. The two horses directly to his inside won’t put up much of a fight for early position so expect him to break sharply and be part of the pace throughout. He’s one of three for Pletcher, and like the other two, he’s still eligible for conditional races. Oddsmaker has him as second choice so he must be considered a beast by the insiders. | ||||
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