Behind the Scenes at Belmont

This year’s Belmont Stakes was the eleventh race of a thirteen race day and didn’t kick off until shortly after 6:30 p.m. In listening to the volumes of conversations I heard talk about the light attendance because there was no hope for a Triple Crown. In fact there were over 50,000 people at the track and anytime you can get that many people together enjoying a horse sport…that’s good news as far as I am concerned. I heard complaints about the raised general admission to $10, which is still significantly lower than what some of the other race tracks charge. I heard rumors that no one was allowed to bring in coolers and some say it was because they wanted people to purchase their food and beverages from the food stands. Well with the rising cost of everything these days it’s hard to be judgmental about what to charge in order to balance anyone’s budget.

Besides the grumbling there were plenty of good vibes as well and there was a lot of betting going on (and not just on the races). In the press box the hum throughout the day was about who you thought would win the Belmont. Many liked the eventual winner Afleet Alex, a bay colt, impressed by the fact that he almost fell in the Preakness but managed to maneuver his way through that near tragedy to a victorious ride.

There were those who were looking at the 50-1 longshots Nolan’s Cat and Watchmon. If Giacomo (with odds of 4-1 for the Belmont) who was running at 50-1 odds in the Kentucky Derby, could surprise the world by his victory there, who’s to say that another underdog couldn’t pull through on Belmont Stakes Day. And the payoff for an underdog is a lot better than for the odds on favorite.

There were 11 horses running in the race and the public was betting across the board, not just on the favorite and when it was all over the results weren’t totally as expected, except for Afleet’s winning performance.

Finish - Post Position - Horse - Jockey - Trainer - Owner - Odds
1 - 9 - Afleet Alex - Bay colt - Jeremy Rose - Tim Ritchey - Cash Is King Stable, 6-5
2 - 7 - Andromeda’s Hero - Chestnut colt - Rafael Bejarano - Nicholas Zito - Robert V. LaPenta (NY), 15-1
3 - 1 - Nolan’s Cat - Chestnut colt - Norberto Arroyo, Jr. - Dale Romans - Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey (KY), 50-1
4 - 10 - Indy Storm- Dark bay colt - Edgar Prado - Nicholas Zito - Tracy Farmer (KY), 20-1
5 - 3 - A.P. Arrow- Chestnut colt -Jerry Bailey - D. Wayne Lukas - The Allen E. Paulson Living Trust, 20-1
6 - 11 - Chekhov - Bay colt - Gary Stevens - Patrick Biancone - Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith, England & Barbados, 12-1
7 - 5 - Giacomo - Gray colt - Mike Smith - John Shirreffs - Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S. Moss, 4-1
8 - 4 - Southern Africa - Dark bay colt - Jon Court - Michael Puhich - Al and Saundra Kirkwood (WA), 12-1
9 - 6 - Watchmon - Gray colt - Javier Castellano - Patrick Reynolds - Paul P. Pompa Jr. (NY), 50-1
10 - 8 - Reverberate - Chestnut colt - Jose Santos - Sal Russo - Centennial Farms (MA), 6-1
11 - 2 - Pinpoint - Dark bay colt - John Velazquez - Nick Zito - Arthur B. Hancock, III (KY), 20-1