3 minute read

One thing that there will not be at Belmont is any runners trained by Bob Baffert.

He had already been banned by the NYRA following the first positive of Medina Spirit and now the split sample has also come back positive.  Churchill Downs has now banned the trainer for 2 years and it remains to be seen what other jurisdictions will do.  There are appeals going on but it looks more than likely that Medina Spirit will lose his Kentucky Derby win. 

Back at Belmont on Friday there are two good races on the turf.  The New York Stakes is Gr 2 for f&m over 2000m and has a field of 12.  Bill Mott's Harvey's Lil Goil heads the call on 3/1 from Mean Mary 9/2 (she can't really be mean can she?) and then on 6/1 you find Magic Attitude and Always Shopping.

The Belmont Gold Cup is a very rare race in the US as it is over 3,200m.  It has 9 starters, and is headed by Joseph O'Brien's Baron Samedi who since he was gelded has put all his energy into his racing and won his last 6 starts, including the Prix Conseil de Paris.  He's on 8/5 and the jockey will be John Velazquez.  Tide of the Sea is on 7/2 and Ziyad 5/1.