I must opine on this year’s Belmont Stakes.  It started like a race of champions and it finished like a common claimer…  That’ s my “op”.  I still can’t believe that with fractions of 23.1, 46.66 and 1:10.95 that a horse like ORB, nicely placed way off the silly-fast pace, was unable to pass anyone in the stretch!  I mean I’m speechless!!!  Palace Malice and Oxbow ran as hard as they could — as far as they could — and it was an excellent strategy because nobody could take advantage of the suicidal speed duel;  not ORB, not Vyjack, not Overanalyze, not Golden Soul —not anyone….  The final number for this race is so slow that every horse (other than Palice Malice, Oxbow and Freedom Child and the really silly Frac Daddy) should all be ashamed.

I really wondered if they moved the finish line or if the teletimer was missing a beat….   OH how I miss Affirmed and Alydar and Seattle Slew and the great Secretariat who could run often and run hard…  Think about it, Secretariat tripped the teletimer in 2:24, Affirmed (on very slow going) tripped the teletimer in 2:26+ and Seattle Slew on every slower going tripped the teletimer in 2:28+.  Today’s race track was only off it’s Par by a couple of lengths, not nearly as slow as Seattle Slew or Affirmed race track was.  These guys ran in all three races, ran as hard as can be and were still SECONDS faster than this bunch!   I think the breeders’ and the maybe the trainers should be absolutely ashamed of themselves…  The past several years this race has been won by a group including Commendable, Sarava, Ruler On Ice, Jazil and now Palice Malice who clocked a final quarter in “harness horse time” of 27 3/5 seconds….  SHAMEFUL…