Bob Baffert scratches one of his two horses for the Kentucky Derby
Rodriguez, the Wood Memorial winner who was considered trainer Bob Baffert's best horse in this year's Kentucky Derby, scratched out of the race on Thursday after a sensitive foot bruise was discovered on the 3-year-old colt. He is expected to recover quickly and will be pointed to the Preakness States in two weeks.
'The horse is by all measures healthy and well,' Tom Ryan, who heads Rodriguez's ownership group, told The Times. 'I guess we look on the bright side and know we can now target him for the Preakness.
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'Of all the possible setbacks, this is the one we can live with.'
Ryan said the sensitivity was discovered a couple days ago and 'out of an abundance of caution' the owners and Baffert thought a scratch was the right thing to do.
The horse is not in any pain, said Ryan, the foot is just a little sensitive.
'The diagnostic work came back clear and clean,' Ryan said.
Read more: When it comes to Kentucky Derby favorite Journalism, it's all in the family
The same ownership group also has Citizen Bull in the race. He won last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was named Eclipse 2-year-old male champion.
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The defection made room for another Southern California horse, Baeza. He has been at Churchill Downs biding his time while waiting for an opening in the race. He is considered a strong contender but will break from the 20th gate, the farthest outside. It is protocol when an 'also eligible' horse is added to the race after the draw.
Baeza finished second to Journalism, the Derby favorite, in the Santa Anita Derby. He is trained by John Shirreffs.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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Miami Herald
8 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Who is the favorite in a loaded Belmont Stakes? See the full field with odds.
For the second straight year, the Belmont Stakes field will feature the winners of both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. Post positions were drawn Monday evening for the 2025 Belmont Stakes, which will feature an eight-horse field Saturday night at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Journalism — the Kentucky Derby post-time favorite who finished second in that race, before then winning the Preakness Stakes — is the 8-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday's 157th running of the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes. Journalism will begin Saturday's Belmont from post position No. 7 near the outside of the field. Sovereignty, last month's Kentucky Derby winner, is the second choice on the Belmont Stakes morning line at 2-1 odds. Sovereignty will begin the Belmont from post position No. 2 near the inside rail. For the second straight year, the Belmont Stakes will be run at a different track and at a different distance than normal. Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, is the usual home for the race, but that venue remains out of action due to ongoing renovations. As such, Saratoga is hosting the Belmont Stakes for a second straight year. The Belmont Stakes is normally run at a traditional distance of 1 1/2 miles at Belmont Park. But, also for the second straight year, the Belmont Stakes will be contested at a shortened distance of 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga. Here's a full look at the 2025 Belmont Stakes field. Post time for the race is 7:04 p.m. EDT on Saturday. 2025 Belmont Stakes post position draw The following eight horses were assigned a starting gate for Saturday's Belmont Stakes during the post position draw on Monday evening. Horses are listed with their morning-line odds, trainers, jockeys and owners, in that order. ▪ 1: Hill Road, (10-1), Chad Brown, Irad Ortiz Jr., Amo Racing USA. ▪ 2: Sovereignty, (2-1), Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, Godolphin. ▪ 3: Rodriguez, (6-1), Bob Baffert, Mike Smith, SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan. ▪ 4: Uncaged, (30-1), Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez, WinStar Farm and Repole Stable. ▪ 5: Crudo, (15-1), Todd Pletcher, John Velazquez, Bobby Flay and James Ventura. ▪ 6: Baeza, (4-1), John Shirreffs, Flavien Prat, C R K Stable and Grandview Equine. ▪ 7: Journalism, (8-5), Michael McCarthy, Umberto Rispoli, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Elayne Stables 5, Robert V. LaPenta, Mrs. John Magnier-Lessee, Derrick Smith-Lessee and Michael B. Tabor-Lessee. ▪ 8: Heart of Honor (GB), (30-1), Jamie Osborne, Saffie Osborne, Jim and Claire Limited. Half of the horses in the Belmont Stakes field have already run in a Triple Crown race this year. Sovereignty won the Kentucky Derby, and his connections controversially opted to skip the Preakness Stakes. Journalism ran second in the Kentucky Derby and then won the Preakness Stakes. Baeza, who was initially an also-eligible horse for the Derby, drew into the field and charged late to finish third in the Run for the Roses. Heart of Honor (Great Britain) finished fifth in the Preakness, which was his first race in the United States. Journalism will be the only horse this year to run in all three Triple Crown events. Crudo, Hill Road, Rodriguez and Uncaged will all be making their first and only Triple Crown starts Saturday. What are the key storylines for the 2025 Belmont Stakes? ▪ Sovereignty is aiming to become the first Kentucky Derby winner to also win the Belmont Stakes since Justify won the Triple Crown in 2018. That's also the last time the Preakness Stakes winner went on to also triumph in the Belmont Stakes. The last time a horse won both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, but not the Preakness Stakes, was Thunder Gulch in 1995. That's what Sovereignty would accomplish with a win Saturday. ▪ The last time a horse won both the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, but not the Kentucky Derby, was Afleet Alex in 2005. That's what Journalism would accomplish with a win Saturday. ▪ For the first time since 2013, the top three finishers in the Kentucky Derby will all be running in the Belmont Stakes. On that occasion, Derby winner Orb ran third in the Belmont, Derby runner up Golden Soul finished ninth and Derby third-place runner Revolutionary was fifth in the Belmont. ▪ Trainer Todd Pletcher — a four-time winner of the Belmont Stakes — has a quarter of this year's Belmont runners with Crudo and Uncaged. Crudo, who is part-owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, has two wins in three career starts, including in a maiden special weight race in April at Keeneland. Crudo — who is a son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify — will begin the Belmont from post position No. 5. Uncaged — last seen finishing sixth in the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes in May — is part-owned by Mike Repole, a prominent businessman who is also a major booster for the St. John's men's basketball team that's coached by Rick Pitino. Luis Saez, who won last year's Belmont Stakes aboard Dornoch and the 2021 Belmont Stakes with Essential Quality, will be the jockey for Uncaged. Uncaged will begin the Belmont from post position No. 4, right next to Pletcher's other runner, Crudo. Pletcher's victories in the Belmont have come with Rags to Riches (2007), Palace Malice (2013), Tapwrit (2017) and Mo Donegal (2022). ▪ Bob Baffert's Rodriguez was supposed to run in the Kentucky Derby, but a foot injury kept him out of both the Derby and the Preakness. Earlier this year, Rodriguez won the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. The defection of Rodriguez from the Derby is what allowed Baeza to compete in that race. Rodriguez drew post position No. 3. Baffert has already won the Belmont Stakes three times with Point Given (2001) and Triple Crown winners American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018). Baeza has post position No. 6 for Saturday's race. ▪ Hill Road offers intrigue on a number of fronts entering the Belmont. He's coming off a victory in the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes last month, which is a traditional prep race for the Belmont. Past winners of the Peter Pan Stakes who went on to win the Belmont Stakes are Counterpoint (1951), High Gun (1954), Gallant Man (1957), Cavan (1958), Coastal (1979), Danzig Connection (1986), A.P. Indy (1992), Tonalist (2014) and, most recently, Arcangelo (2023). Known as a closer, Hill Road will begin his third start for trainer Chad Brown from post position No. 1 along the inside rail. ▪ Heart of Honor, a 30-1 shot, drew the furthest outside gate with post position No. 8. There's a distinct family connection with this horse: Trainer Jamie Osborne's daughter, Saffie, is the jockey. Saffie is looking to become the second female jockey to win the Belmont Stakes (Julie Krone with Colonial Affair in 1993). The most recent British horse to win the Belmont Stakes was Celtic Ash in 1960.
Miami Herald
8 hours ago
- Miami Herald
After skipping the Preakness, what is expected from Sovereignty in the Belmont?
After several weeks of debate, the 2025 Kentucky Derby winner is back in horse racing's spotlight. Sovereignty, whose connections opted to not run him in the Preakness Stakes, is back for the final race of the 2025 Triple Crown season. The Bill Mott trainee is one of eight horses that will run in Saturday night's Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Much was made of the decision from Mott and Godolphin — Sovereignty's breeder and owner — to have the horse skip the Preakness, which is the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown. The choice sparked renewed discussion about the scheduling of horse racing's three Triple Crown events and the modern viability of having three classics run in a five-week period. But, at least temporarily, all that chatter can die down. The focus for the next few days will be on Sovereignty's return in the Belmont Stakes, which features a loaded field. Journalism (the Kentucky Derby runner-up and Preakness Stakes winner), Baeza (third in the Derby) and Rodriguez (a highly touted Bob Baffert trainee) are expected to pose stiff competition for Sovereignty in the Belmont, which will again be contested at a shortened distance of 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga. 'He's improved, as many of these horses have,' Mott said following Monday evening's post position draw. 'This entire group, if you look at their form and the way they've developed over the course of this year, I think they've made steady progress. It should be an interesting race on Saturday.' Sovereignty, who will begin the Belmont Stakes from post position No. 2 near the inside rail, is the second choice in the morning line odds at 2-1. Journalism is the morning line favorite for the 157th running of the Belmont at 8-5 odds. 'I thought being a small field, eight horses, I was going to be happy with whatever post position we got,' said Mott, the 71-year-old trainer who won the 2010 Belmont Stakes with Drosselmeyer. 'I don't think it's a big issue for him.' Jockey Junior Alvarado, who has been aboard Sovereignty for all three of his wins, once again has the mount for Saturday's Belmont. How do Sovereignty's connections expect him to fare in his first outing since defeating Journalism by 1 1/2 lengths over a sloppy and sealed Churchill Downs track to win the Kentucky Derby on May 3? 'Bill has been very happy with him since he's got up to Saratoga,' Michael Banahan, Godolphin's USA director of bloodstock, said Tuesday afternoon. 'He came out of the Derby in good shape, and he had a couple of breezes that Bill has put into him up there. He seems like he's responded well… So by all accounts, Bill and his team up in Saratoga have been particularly pleased with how well he's been doing.' Sovereignty posted a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure in that Derby triumph, which delivered Godolphin its first victory in the Run for the Roses. Godolphin, a global racing outfit, has tasted victory in the Belmont Stakes before. Essential Quality — who, like Sovereignty, is a Kentucky homebred for Godolphin — won the 2021 Belmont after finishing third in that year's Kentucky Derby. This year's shortened Belmont distance of 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga figures to work well for Sovereignty, whose three career wins have come at distances of 1 1/16 miles (twice) and 1 1/4 miles in the Derby. 'I would anticipate that'll be fine for him,' Banahan said of the Belmont distance for Sovereignty, who began his racing career with a fourth-place effort in a maiden special weight race at Saratoga last August. 'I suppose if it was a regular Belmont at Belmont Park, that'd be another question to answer going that far (1 1/2 miles). But it certainly looks like a mile and a quarter was well in his wheelhouse in the Derby and (we) anticipate that it shouldn't be any issue at Saratoga as well.' Sovereignty looking to win both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes History is on the line for Sovereignty on Saturday at Saratoga. Sovereignty is aiming to become the first Kentucky Derby winner to also win the Belmont Stakes since Justify's Triple Crown campaign in 2018. Because Sovereignty didn't compete in the Preakness Stakes, there's also another piece of horse racing history available to him. He's looking to become the first horse to win the Derby and the Belmont, but not the Preakness, since Thunder Gulch in 1995. Only 11 horses in history have managed to win both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, but not the Preakness Stakes, in the same year. They are Zev (1923), Twenty Grand (1931), Johnstown (1939), Shut Out (1942), Middleground (1950), Needles (1956), Chateaugay (1963), Riva Ridge (1972), Bold Forbes (1976), Swale (1984) and Thunder Gulch (1995). Of course, one of the reasons Sovereignty is in this position is because of the decision to not race in the Preakness Stakes. Since Justify won the Triple Crown in 2018, four of the seven horses that won the Kentucky Derby have skipped the Preakness. That list includes Country House (who won the 2019 Derby following a postrace disqualification), Mandaloun (the 2021 Derby winner after first-place Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test), Rich Strike (2022) and Sovereignty. Mott was also Country House's trainer. On Tuesday, the Herald-Leader asked Banahan what his thoughts were on the Triple Crown scheduling debate that was reignited by the choice to not run Sovereignty in the Preakness. 'I think that'll be up to the racetracks to really come to a decision on what they think is going to be the best for those three races in the Triple Crown, and going forward, if and how they need to evolve,' Banahan said. 'There have been probably plenty of debates about it, but we were pretty confident that it was the right thing to do for our horse and with the spacing of his races so far, he's responded very well with that.' After running second in the Florida Derby on March 29, Sovereignty had a five-week break before running in and winning the Kentucky Derby. That's the same gap Sovereignty will have between the Derby and Saturday's Belmont. 'We looked at the opportunities that were going to present themselves for him after the Derby and we felt that the best thing for him, and to have a career through the whole season and maybe into next year as well, was spacing his races a little bit,' Banahan added. 'Bill Mott, who's trained horses for us for a long time, is very judicious about where he wants to place his horses and we put a lot of faith in the recommendations that he would give us as well.'
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
2025 Belmont Stakes predictions: Three picks for Saturday's race at Saratoga
Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards for more information. SARATOGA SPRINGS — The 2025 Belmont Stakes is being billed as a heavyweight fight between Sovereignty, the winner of the Kentucky Derby running out of the No. 2 post, and Journalism, the Preakness winner and Derby runner-up running out of the No. 7 post. The oddsmakers could barely separate the two horses, identifying Journalism as the 8-5 favorite on the morning line, but putting Sovereignty right behind at 2-1. When you convert those odds to implied probabilities, you get a 38.5 percent chance that Journalism finishes first, and a 33.3 percent chance that we see Sovereignty in the winner's circle. In other words, the odds are telling us that there's nearly a 75 percent chance that the winner of this race will be one of the two favorites. That poses an interesting predicament for handicappers. Whom do you pick? And how do you best set up a betting card based on the horse you're backing, whether it's Journalism, Sovereignty or none of the above? If you think Journalism is going to be your winner … Journalism proved at the Preakness that he can win a race no matter what the horse racing gods throw at him. He was bumped and squeezed at the quarter-turn at Pimlico, but fought his way through the chaos to nip Gosger for the win. It was a remarkable effort. He also ran an impressive race at the Derby, just to be passed by Sovereignty, who will be a threat to do so again on Saturday. The presence of Sovereignty in this field does change how I think Michael McCarthy and Umberto Rispoli will approach this race. I think Rispoli will hold back Journalism a bit longer, preventing a repeat of what we saw at the Derby, where Sovereignty had enough runway to catch him. That kind of race setup would benefit No. 6 Baeza, another stalker, and potentially No. 5 Crudo, who will likely be near the lead, but behind No. 3 Rodriguez out of the gate. Trifecta box: 5-6-7. Baeza breezes during his morning workout at Saratoga Race Course. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect If you think Sovereignty is going to be your winner … The Kentucky Derby is always chaotic, but a sloppy track added to the volatility on the first Saturday of May. Somehow, Sovereignty was completely unaffected by the havoc at Churchill Downs and ran a flawless trip, aided by the pace setup. There was a lot of pace in the Derby, which allowed Sovereignty to sit back in the mid-pack, which is exactly what this elite closer wants. If you are convinced that Sovereignty is going to win the Belmont, you're expecting Saturday's headliner to set up similarly, with Rodriguez, Crudo, and perhaps Baeza setting a cracking pace, while Sovereignty remains in his office. Once they turn down the stretch, Sovereignty will make his move, hoping that the pace was too hot to sustain for the front-runners, leaving him to duke it out with Journalism and another closer like No. 1 Hill Road. Tying Sovereignty to Journalism is no way to land a big score, but Hill Road opened at 10-1 and should drift further as money piles up on the top three contenders. Exacta box: 1-2. Get the lowdown on the Best USA Sports Betting Sites and Apps If you think someone else is going to be your winner … The best path to an upset Saturday is to go gate-to-wire, and the two horses that have the chance of pulling that off are Rodriguez and Crudo. Though Rodriguez will rightfully be the trendier horse, Crudo is going to be a much bigger price, plus he just wired the field at the Sir Barton Stakes on Preakness Day. Repeating that feat in this race will be unlikely, but you're going to get a big enough number to have a sprinkle on Todd Pletcher's best shot for his fifth Belmont win. Win: 5. Why Trust New York Post Betting Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
