The Belmont Stakes could be the best of these Triple Crown races

History in horse racing of all kinds is made Saturday in the final Triple Crown race of the year.

The Belmont Stakes will be held at the venerable Saratoga Race Course for the first time in its vaunted 161-year history. And while there’s no chance of a 14th Triple Crown champion, Stage Three features the winners of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes for the first time since 2013.

Five weeks since Mystik Dan finished a nose ahead of Sierra Leone in the Derby and three weeks since he finished second to Seize the Gray in the Preakness, all three are in the 10-horse field at the Belmont for a showdown rematch in front of a sold-out 50,000 spectators.

“Fans can relate to Mystik Dan, they can take a look at Seize the Gray and we get to see them both and probably figure out which one is better of the two,” said D. Wayne Lukas, 88 years old. former Seize the Gray Hall of Fame coach. “I think the Belmont this year could easily be — you could make the argument that it is — the best of the three: the Derby, the Preakness or the Belmont. I think they probably put the best of the three together.

Mystik Dan is a rarity as a horse not aiming for the Triple Crown after running in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, the first to do so since War of Will in 2019. And trainer Kenny McPeek certainly wouldn’t have it brought back for this race. 1 1/2 miles away. “It would have been difficult for my colt: he’s not a very big horse, he’s a modest-sized horse,” McPeek said. “This mile and a quarter run should suit him.”

Suitable but not favor as this race is extremely competitive. Sierra Leone, with a jockey change and equipment adjustment, opened as a 9-5 favorite with Mindframe, undefeated and lightly trained by Todd Pletcher, the second choice at 7-2.

Sierra Leone could have won the Derby had he not veered off course and repeatedly hit another horse along the way, and trainer Chad Brown is counting on rider Flavien Prat to guide the colt into a clear path as much as possible.

“As long as you’re prepared for him and he runs straight, he should run big,” Brown said. “I just hope to have a good trip. Obviously we have half as many horses to put down, so it should be a little easier for him, hopefully. I just hope he runs the same race as he did in the Derby.

McPeek would also take that from Mystik Dan, especially considering the course he took at Churchill Downs from jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. Also returning from that race are sixth-place Resilience (10-1), eighth-place Honor Marie ( 12-1) and 10th-ranked Dornoch (15-1), which is partly owned by World Series winner Jayson Werth.

The Saratoga setting makes the Belmont so attractive to owners and trainers. It will operate upstate for the next two years, while Belmont Park in New York undergoes a massive $455 million reconstruction.

“Everyone really expects it to be a historic, exciting weekend,” said Brown, who grew up in nearby Mechanicsville and got into racing by going to the Saratoga track. Springs with his family. “For me, personally, the thought of possibly winning the first Belmont Stakes ever held at Saratoga would be just an incredible moment.”

Easier said than done given the depth of this area. But McPeek didn’t hesitate, knowing all the talent Mystik Dan must face to win two-thirds of the Triple Crown.

“The way the race is run is so unique,” ​​McPeek said. “Mystik Dan is such a unique horse in that he has tactical speed, and I think that put him in a position to be able to win the Derby. Of course (there’s also) the running style of Sierra Leone’s counter attack against Mystik Dan and then Seize the Grey. We have a fast horse, a stalker, and we have a closer.

“It’s going to be an interesting handicap race for the players and the jockeys. … This gives us another opportunity to really prove ourselves.”