I'm in a Belmont State of Mind

Billy Joel can draw a crowd while driving down the block and wrapping a sports car around a telephone poll, divorcing a hot 20-something, but this Saturday racing will make under-developed 3yo's run a mile and a half at Belmont Park and hope people show up to watch. "Big Sandy" as it's known to degenerate gamblers is the third (tarnished) jewel of the Triple Crown. The race is an anachronism in today's racing that values speed and sprinting. The Belmont Stakes mile and a half will be the longest distance these horses will ever have to run. This year's running puts the NYRA (owners of the Belmont) in a tough spot. The Belmont, being the 3rd jewel, is dependant upon 1 of 2 things happening to get a big crowd. First, if a horse has won the first 2 legs (Kentucky Derby & Preakness) then all hell breaks loose. Journalists proclaim said winner to be the next Secretariat. As per course these journalists then spend a week removing foot from mouth as recent renditions of this media circus have been summarily rained upon: Bob Baffert has been the Triple Crown gods favorite whipping boy. He trained Silver Charm, who looked all the part in the Derby and Preakness, only to be beaten 3/4 of length by Touch Gold in 1997's Belmont. In 1998 Bob showed up with Real Quiet. After winning the Derby and Preakness over deep closer Victory Gallop, Real Quiet had the Triple Crown locked up...until the last 1 foot of the Belmont. Do yourself a favor and watch this. The race has one of the greatest stretch calls of all time, announcer Tom Durkin is at his best. Again, the following year (1999 for those keeping score) Charismatic (not trained by Baffert) had things cooking down the back stretch of the Belmont but injured himself turning for home. This Belmont will be remembered for Chris Antley's pulling up Charismatic and letting the horse lean on him while doctors raced to the scene. Somehow, Friends of Charismatic didn't quite capture the country's attention. (FYI for all you FoB, Charismatic is fine doing his thing in Japan). 2002 Bob Baffert came back for some more abuse with War Emblem who did this (pictured right, he's in the Green and White) coming out of the gate and the race ended right there pretty much. Funny Cide, the NY bred gutsy gelding, in 2003 got up ended by New York native Bobby Frankel with his charge Empire Maker. Finally, most recently, Smarty Jones got roughed up like a stripper on A-rod's lap, and he was run down in the stretch by Birdstone. The other thing that can help get people in seats at the Belmont is if you have different winners of the Derby and Preakness face off for a rubber match. That should have been the case this year. Everybody with a media credential tried to shame Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense into running, as Curlin the Preakness winner was confirmed early. But SS's connections decided not to come. Trainer Carl Nafzger said it the best right after the Preakness, "What's the Point?". Whether or not the fact that Sheikh Mohammed now owns the breeding rights to both Street Sense and Hard Spun and might not want them to face each and doesn't mind screwing Americans is not known. So the good people at the NYRA are left searching for an angle to get people excited. Let's see if we can help them out. The first ever Eddie Gaedel award goes to Digger, totally outclassed, outnumbered, should be put out to guard the outhouse. In baseball the kid got a walk, in horse racing there's no free pass, and the only chance his jockey has of crossing the finish line first is getting off Digger and running the mile and a half himself, and right now they don't even have a jockey (update - At the last moment the owner has thankfully scratched this horse, new winner C P West). Other nominees for this award include Slew's Tizzy & C P West. The Kirsten Dunst Award (for those that are intriguing, but not worth taking all the way home) goes to... Tiago. You might remember him from the Derby as much was made that he is the half brother to a prior Derby winner Giacomo. This colt should be able to run a mile and a half, the question is: Should they put a carriage behind him before he goes out? Imawildandcrazyguy actually closed strongly to finish 4th in the Kentucky Derby, far out running his 29-1 odds (13th choice), but it's hard to get excited about a horse when his exercise rider doesn't even wake up to work him out. Although the Brooklyn connection for the trainer is nice. The horse I'm most excited about is Rags to Riches, a girl. This filly has won 3 Gr I's this year, and trainers have said she is the best horse in Pletcher's barn, male or female. Oh, yeah the one downside is that she is trained by the perfectly coiffed & also perfectly 0'fer in Triple Crown events, Todd Pletcher. Todd has never lost his cool in front of the cameras but an "up the track" performance by her and you might see a grown man cry on TV. The horses everyone will be buzzing about are Curlin and Hard Spun. Hard Spun finished 2nd to Curlin's 3rd in the Derby, but Curlin won the Preakness to Hard Spun's awful trip 3rd. "Awful trip" because Mario Pino, Hard Spun's jockey, treated the horse like a newly bought Benz for Lindsay Lohan; gunning it to the lead way too early only to run out of gas, luckily no trees were in turn 4. Mario will not be back for this Saturday, replaced by the best jockey of 2007 so far Garret Gomez. My money will probably be on the favorite Curlin who looks to be the real deal. Every trainer leading up to the race has said the right things: "My horse is training well," "He's a distance specialist," "The wide turns can only help my horse." But all that will change two and half minutes after the gates open when most of the horses will be exhausted and beaten a street by the winner. If only trainers were as up front as Homer Simpson: Jockey 1: You really think that horse can run a mile and a half? Homer: He ran all the way here.