The 156th Belmont Stakes (G1) is Saturday, June 8, at Saratoga Race Course. The 1 ¼-mile race, shortened from 1 ½ miles due to the change of venue as the Belmont Park rebuild continues, is the final leg of the Triple Crown. usracing.com is publishing profiles of the contenders.
By US Racing Team
Trainer Kenny McPeek had hinted all last week that he wanted to run Mystik Dan in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, and he confirmed the entry Sunday (June 2), the day before the draw.
McPeek said bloodwork on the Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up came back normal after he breezed 5 furlongs on Saturday over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track. Mystik Dan was timed in 1:01.44, with a final quarter in a solid 24.88 seconds. When the colt ate up all his feed that evening, McPeek decided the Belmont was a go.
“He’s won at a mile and a quarter already,” he said, “and I think he’s capable of doing it again here.”
The son of two-time Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Goldencents is “a very easy horse to train. He’s sort of a quiet type, an old soul. He’s not a very big horse and very efficient. He’s very uneventful.”
Mystik Dan’s laid-back demeanor helps conserve the energy he’ll need for his third Grade 1 race in five weeks. He and Seize the Grey are the first classic winners to compete in the entire series since Justify swept it in 2018.
“The only things Mystik Dan does fast are breeze and race.”
Belmont Stakes Betting advice: Mystik Dan ran well off short rest at Pimlico, where the 2-1 favorite couldn’t catch front-running Seize the Grey. Serious win contender belongs on all your tickets.
Post position: 3
Odds: 5-1
Jockey: Brian Hernandez, Jr.
Trainer: Kenny McPeek
Owner: Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing, Daniel Hamby III, Valley View Farm
Career record: 8-3-2-1
Career earnings: $4,141,360
Most recent race: Preakness, May 18 (2nd)
Top Equibase speed figure: 110
Pedigree: Goldencents-Ma’am, by Colonel John
Color: Bay
Running style: Stalker
Notes: It’s only the second time since 1925 that the Belmont won’t be run at 1½ miles. In the pandemic year of 2020, it was shortened to 1 1/8 miles around one turn … Like Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas, McPeek has a career Triple Crown. Besides this year’s Derby, the 61-year-old won the 2002 Belmont with Sarava and the 2020 Preakness with the filly Swiss Skydiver ... Last month he became only the third trainer to take the Kentucky Oaks (Thorpedo Anna) and Derby in the same year.
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SEIZE THE GREY | Jaime Torres | D. Wayne Lukas | MyRacehorse | 8-1 |
| 2 | RESILIENCE | Junior Alvarado | Bill Mott | Emily Bushnell & Ric Waldman | 10-1 |
| 3 | MYSTIK DAN | Brian Hernandez, Jr. | Kenneth McPeek | Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing LLC & Daniel Hamby III | 5-1 |
| 4 | THE WINE STEWARD | Manny Franco | Mike Maker | Paradise Farms Corp. and Staudacher, David | 15-1 |
| 5 | ANTIQUARIAN | John Velazquez | Todd Pletcher | Centennial Farms | 12-1 |
| 6 | DORNOCH | Luis Saez | Danny Gargan | West Paces Racing LLC, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding LLC, Two Eight Racing LLC & Pine Racing Stable | 15-1 |
| 7 | PROTECTIVE | Tyler Gaffalione | Todd Pletcher | Repole Stable | 20-1 |
| 8 | HONOR MARIE | Florent Geroux | Whit Beckman | Ribble Farms LLC | 12-1 |
| 9 | SIERRA LEONE | Flavien Prat | Chad Brown | Magnier, Mrs. John, Tabor, Michael B., Smith, Derrick, Westerberg, Rocket Ship Racing, LLC and Brant, Peter M. | 9-5 |
| 10 | MINDFRAME | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Todd Pletcher | Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC | 7-2 |
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
