Belmont Stakes preview, odds and more on 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s feat
Forte is the morning line favorite at 5-2 on Saturday. Preakness winner National Treasure is 5-1.
There are humans who aren’t as smart as Secretariat was. The rest of the horse-racing world bows in reverence to Secretariat’s historic speed, but jockey Ron Turcotte shared a glimpse into the horse’s playful personality.
“One time, he pinched me a little and I said, ‘Ouch. You hurt me,’“ Turcotte once told the Associated Press. “He put his head down like he was so sad. I said to him, ‘It’s OK. You didn’t [actually] hurt me.’”
“His head popped up and his ears were pricked. He was a ham.”
Secretariat is generally regarded as the greatest horse in racing history. He won the 1973 Triple Crown, setting track records along the way. This year is the 50th anniversary of his run at the Belmont, a victory that gave the world the iconic photo of the horse and jockey all alone down the stretch, not a competitor in sight.
CBS announcer Chic Anderson summed it up perfectly when he said Secretariat was moving “like a tremendous machine.”
Secretariat won by 31 lengths, a margin that is still hard to fathom. Consider that the next most decisive victory at the Belmont in the last 50 years was when Risen Star won in 1988 by 14 ¾ lengths.
“When you’re alone like that,” Turcotte said, “I could hear the announcer very well.”
They ran the first mile in 1 minute, 34.2 seconds and the full race in an absurd 2:24.
“No animal known to man could run that swiftly,” the late Daily News columnist Stan Hochman once wrote. “Maybe a cheetah, but not for a mile-and-a-half carrying 126 pounds on his back.”
Turcotte is the last survivor of Secretariat’s inner circle. The horse died in 1989. Trainer Lucien Laurin died in 2000 and elegant owner Penny Chenery in 2017.
“I thought I’d be the first to go,” said Turcotte, who has been a paraplegic since being thrown from a horse at Belmont just five years after Secretariat’s historic march.
The timekeeper said it was 144 seconds, but half a century later it still lives on.
“When it came to running, he could fly,” Turcotte said. “He was everything. Those memories never leave you.”
Blown away
Results of the 1973 Belmont Stakes:
1. Secretariat, finished in 2:24
2. Twice a Prince, 31 lengths back
3. My Gallant, 31½ lengths back
4. Private Smiles, 44½ lengths back
5. Sham, 45¼ lengths back
The largest margins of victory at the Belmont over the last 50 years:
Secretariat, 1973 — 31 lengths
Risen Star, 1988 — 14¾ lengths
Conquistador Cielo, 1982 — 14 lengths
Bet Twice, 1987 — 14 lengths
Point Given, 2001 — 12½ lengths
Essentials
What: 155th Belmont Stakes
When: Saturday, 7:02 p.m. Race 12 of 13
Where: Belmont Park, Elmont, N.Y.
Distance: 1½ miles
TV: FS1 (11 a.m.-4 p.m.), Fox29 (4-7:30 p.m.)
Streaming: Fox Sports app
Weather: Temperatures in the 60s by post time, 10% chance of rain. Be wary of smoke conditions from Canadian wildfires.
Purse — Total: $1,500,000. First place: $900,000. Second place: $270,000. Third place: $150,000. Fourth place: $75,000. Fifth place: $45,000. Sixth place: $30,000. Seventh place: $15,000. Eighth place: $15,000
Other notable races: Kentucky Derby (winner: Mage), Preakness Stakes (National Treasure), Haskell Stakes (July 22), Travers Stakes (Aug. 26), Breeders’ Cup (Nov. 3-4)
Horsing around
Saturday is the first Triple Crown appearance for Jena Antonucci, trainer for the No. 3 horse Arcangelo. She’s the 11th woman trainer to bring a horse to the Belmont and the first since Kathy Ritvo’s Mucho Macho Man ran seventh in 2011. Dianne Carpenter’s Kingpost ran a distant second to Risen Star in 1988, the highest finish for a female trainer.
Arcangelo’s win at the Peter Pan Stakes last month at Belmont was Antonucci’s second career stakes victory. Her other was in 2016 with Doctor J Dub in the Turf Monster at Parx.
Arcangelo is being ridden by Javier Castellano, who rode Mage (15-1) to a surprising win at the Kentucky Derby. Castellano is winless in 14 Belmont trips, but he finished second three times — most recently with Destin, who lost to Creator by a nose in 2016.
This also is the first Triple Crown race televised by Fox, which has the rights to the Belmont through 2030. NBC had covered all three races since 2011.
Legendary announcer Tom Durkin, 72, is coming out of retirement to call the race for Fox. He said the 1998 Belmont, when Real Quiet was denied the Triple Crown in a stunning loss to Victory Gallop, holds a special place in his heart. “Those are the kinds of races and individual moments that stay with us forever,” said Durkin, who retired in 2014 after calling some 80,000 races.
Mike Smith, the last jockey to win the Triple Crown (2018, Justify), and trainer Tom Amoss will join anchor Curt Menefee in the Fox booth. Smith also won the Belmont aboard Drosselmeyer (2010) and Palace Malice (2013). Handicapper Chris Fallica, known as “The Bear” to ESPN college football fans, will make his Fox debut.
Trainer Bob Baffert told the Louisville Courier-Journal that he was pleased with how National Treasure has responded following his Preakness Stakes win: “It wasn’t a taxing race. … The mile and a half [distance] will be right up his alley.”
Irad Ortiz won last year’s Belmont aboard Mo Donegal, trained by Todd Pletcher. Ortiz and Pletcher have Forte, the morning line favorite at 5-2, this year.
Ortiz leads all North American jockeys this with 188 wins (in 717 starts). Of the 28 riders with at least 400 mounts, his .262 winning percentage is No. 1, as is his number of top-three finishes: .592.
Tapit, the winner of the 2004 Wood Memorial, sired or grand-sired six of the nine horses in this field: 1-Tapit Shoes, 2-Tapit Trice, 3-Arcangelo, 5-Il Miracolo, 7-Hit Show, 9-Red Route One. Tapit ran just six times in his career, including ninth in the 2004 Kentucky Derby when Smarty Jones rollicked to victory. Tapit’s final race was at Parx in the 2004 Pennsylvania Derby, when he also finished ninth.
Gary and Mary West, owners of Hit Show, are still looking for their first Triple Crown win. The closest they’ve gotten was Maximum Security’s DQ at the 2019 Kentucky Derby.
Last time out
The most recent results for the horses in the Belmont field listed by program number:
1) Tapit Shoes, April 22: Bath House Row Stakes, 2nd
2) Tapit Trice, May 6: Kentucky Derby, 7th
3) Arcangelo, May 13: Peter Pan Stakes, 1st
4) National Treasure, May 20: Preakness Stakes, 1st
5) Il Miracolo, May 11, Claiming/Gulfstream, 1st
6) Forte, April 1: Florida Derby, 1st
7) Hit Show, May 6, Kentucky Derby, 5th
8) Angel of Empire, May 6: Kentucky Derby, 3rd
9) Red Route One, May 20: Preakness Stakes, 4th
Born to be wild
A look at when this year’s Belmont field was born in 2020. Program number in parentheses.
Feb. 3: Forte (6)
Feb. 7: Il Miracolo (5)
Feb. 17: Tapit Trice (2)
March 12: Red Route One (9)
March 17: National Treasure (4)
April 9: Angel of Empire (8)
May 9: Hit Show (7)
May 11: Arcangelo (3)
May 17: Tapit Shoes (1)
Pay up
The last five Belmont winners and some of their payouts based on $2 wagers:
2022: Mo Donegal, $7.20 to win. Exacta 6-3, $27.60. Trifecta 6-3-2, $187.50
2021: Essential Quality, $4.60 to win. Exacta 2-4, $15.00. Trifecta 2-4-3, $21.70
2020: Tiz the Law, $3.60 to win. Exacta 8-9, $19.60. Trifecta 8-9-3, $99.50
2019: Sir Winston, $22.40 to win. Exacta 7-10, $96.00. Trifecta 7-10-1, $1,244.00
2018: Justify, $3.60 to win. Exacta 1-6, $89.00. Trifecta 1-6-4, $229.74
Also
2005: Afleet Alex, $4.30 to win. Exacta 9-7, $44.00. Trifecta, 9-7-1, $1,249.00
2004: Birdstone, $74.00 to win. Exacta 4-9 (Birdstone-Smarty Jones), $139.00. Trifecta 4-9-6, $1,589.00
1973: Secretariat, $2.60 to win. Exacta 2-5, $23.50. No trifecta wagering.
The field
1 — Tapit Shoes (20-1)
Trainer: Brad Cox. Jockey: Jose Ortiz.
Career earnings: $82,878
2023 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 3-0-1-1
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 5-1-1-1
Last three: Bath House Row Stakes (2nd), Claiming/Fair Grounds (3rd), Claiming/Fair Grounds (4th).
Notable: One of six direct descendants of Tapit in this race (also the Nos. 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 horses). Gave his handlers hope after losing by just a head to Red Route One his last time out.
2 — Tapit Trice (3-1)
Trainer: Todd Pletcher. Jockey: Luis Saez.
Career earnings: $883,650
2023 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 4-3-0-0
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 6-3-0-1
Last three: Kentucky Derby (7th), Blue Grass Stakes (1st), Tampa Bay Derby (1st).
Notable: Had won four in a row until a sluggish start ruined his run in the Kentucky Derby. Pletcher has three Belmont wins and seven seconds, including last year when Mo Donegal ran first and Nest took second.
3 — Arcangelo (8-1)
Trainer: Jena Antonucci. Jockey: Javier Castellano.
Career earnings: $167,400
2023 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 3-2-0-0
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 4-2-1-0
Last three: Peter Pan Stakes (1st), Maiden/Gulfstream (1st), Maiden/Gulfstream (4th).
Notable: Didn’t break his maiden until mid-March, then followed it up with a win at the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park on May 13. Antonucci is the first female trainer at the Belmont in 12 years.
4 — National Treasure (5-1)
Trainer: Bob Baffert. Jockey: John Velazquez.
Career earnings: $1,335,000
2023 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 3-1-0-1
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 6-2-1-2
Last three: Preakness Stakes (1st), Santa Anita Derby (4th), Sham Stakes (3rd).
Notable: Adding blinkers made a huge difference in the Preakness, according to Baffert, who returns after a one-year suspension.
5 — Il Miracolo (30-1)
Trainer: Antonio Sano. Jockey: Marcos Meneses.
Career earnings: $103,125
2023 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 5-1-0-0
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 10-2-3-0
Last three: Allowance/Gulfstream (1st), Florida Derby (6th), Fountain of Youth Stakes (6th).
Notable: Lots of experience, but not a lot to show for it. Name means “The Miracle” in Italian, which would be helpful on Saturday.
6 — Forte (5-2)
Trainer: Todd Pletcher. Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Career earnings: $2,409,830
2023 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 2-2-0-0
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 7-6-0-0
Last three: Florida Derby (1st), Fountain of Youth Stakes (1st), Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (1st).
Notable: Hasn’t raced since April 1. Was going to be among the favorites at the Kentucky Derby, but was scratched the morning of the race.
7 — Hit Show (10-1)
Trainer: Brad Cox. Jockey: Manuel Franco.
Career earnings: $494,375
2023 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 3-1-1-0
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 6-3-1-0
Last three: Kentucky Derby (5th), Wood Memorial (2nd), Withers Stakes (1st).
Notable: One of three running for trainer Brad Cox, whose only other Belmont entry was with 2021 winner Essential Quality.
8 — Angel of Empire (7-2)
Trainer: Brad Cox. Jockey: Flavien Prat.
Career earnings: $1,369,375
2023 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 4-2-1-1
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 7-4-1-1
Last three: Kentucky Derby (3rd), Arkansas Derby (1st), Risen Star Stakes (1st).
Notable: Bred at Blackstone Farm in Schuylkill County, Pa. Jockey Flavien Prat felt blinkers would have helped at the Derby, so Brad Cox is adding them here.
9 — Red Route One (15-1)
Trainer: Steve Asmussen. Jockey: Joel Rosario.
Career earnings: $735,525
2023 starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 5-1-2-0
Career starts-1st-2nd-3rd: 10-2-2-1
Last three: Preakness Stakes (4th), Bath House Row Stakes (1st), Arkansas Derby (6th).
Notable: Both the trainer and jockey have won here, but Red Route One would do well just to hit the board. Distance could be an issue.
Sources: Inquirer research, Equibase.com.