Field of ten set for 2008 Belmont Stakes

Big Brown drew the rail post and has been listed at 2-5 on the morning line in his quest to become the 12th Triple Crown winner. He was out for a leisurely walk on Wednesday, one day after working a bullet five furlongs in 1:00.03. A patch will be applied to his quarter crack (left front hoof) on Friday afternoon, and he should be good to go on June 7th.

Second choice Casino Drive did not have his final Belmont work on June 4th, as his Japanese connections were not pleased with the sloppy conditions. He merely walked, galloped, and jogged with his two stablemates. Watch for some sort of work on Thursday.

Denis of Cork is on the upswing, and the Derby show finisher continues to train forwardly for quality conditioner David Carroll, the regular exercise rider for 1989 Belmont winner Easy Goer.

Surprise late entrant Guadalcanal, an 0-5 maiden exiting a nose defeat in a Churchill turf marathon, landed right next to the Derby-Preakness winner. The late runner figures to break slow and not cause any problems at all.

Here are the 2008 Belmont Stakes participants with riders and odds. From the rail out…Big Brown (Kent Desormeaux, 2-5), Guadalcanal (Javier Castellano, 50-1), Macho Again (Garrett Gomez, 20-1), Denis of Cork (Robby Albarado,12-1), Casino Drive (Edgar Prado, 7-2), Da’ Tara (Alan Garcia, 30-1), Tale of Ekati (Eibar Coa, 20-1), Anak Nakal (Julien Leparoux, 30-1), Ready’s Echo (John Velasquez, 30-1), and Icabad Crane (Jeremy Rose, 20-1).

Photo Credit: Newscom