Belmont Stakes - 12F Dirt TRIPLE CROWN - COMPLETED!

Weather
Sunny

Course: Dirt
Fast

Previous Record
2:31.4 (Rancor 2016)

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Post Positions (per Random.org)
1. Keen Ice
2. Augustus
3. Lost Hero
4. Gaelic Gold
5. Apparition
6. Legionaire
7. Serenity
8. Delirium
9. Purple Heart
10. Cat Scratch Fever

All colts will carry 126 lbs
All fillies will carry 121 lbs

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Post Time Odds

1. Keen Ice: 4 - 1
2. Augustus: 7 - 2 (f)
3. Lost Hero: 5.5 - 1
4. Gaelic Gold: 5 - 1
5. Apparition: 9 - 2
6. Legionaire: 8 - 1
7. Serenity: 9 - 1
8. Delirium: 6 - 1
9. Purple Heart: 44.5 - 1
10. Cat Scratch Fever: 13 - 1

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Call

Three weeks ago, Keen Ice roared to the lead past a determined Motive to just get up in the shadow of the wire in the Preakness Stakes, with Derby winner Augustus far back in sixth as the bay son of Secretariat struggled home. This week, we move to beautiful Belmont Park to contest the Test of Champions, the 12 furlong Belmont Stakes.

Augustus sports the top spot here as the narrow favorite due to his Derby victory, with Keen Ice the close second choice coming off his Preakness triumph. Apparition is getting a lot of play from the crowd as the third betting favorite, Gaelic Gold sits fourth choice after two good seconds in the Oaks and Black Eyed Susan, while Lost Hero is the narrow fifth choice and Delirium sits just behind those two as the sixth betting favorite. Serenity and Legionaire are the only other single digits choices as the rest of the field sports longshot odds but no horse knows their price as they head to the sunny dirt oval of Belmont Park. With a rubber match between Augustus and Keen Ice, it promises to be one helluva race as we take to the track to contest the longest of the Triple Crown races.

The Triple Crown all comes to an end NOW on Seeing Stars!



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Results
1. (5) Apparition - 2:31.8
2. (2) Augustus (1/2 length)
3. (1) Keen Ice (1 length)
4. (8) Delirium (nose)
5. (3) Lost Hero (1/2 length)
6. (7) Serenity (1 1/4 lengths)
7. (9) Purple Heart (3/4 length)
8. (10) Cat Scratch Fever (nose)
9. (4) Gaelic Gold (3/4 length)
10. (6) Legionaire (1 1/2 lengths)

Places 1 - 5 take your points, while 6 - 10 will earn 1 pt for fierce and 1 pt for feel.

CONGRATS TO APPARITION FOR WINNING THE BELMONT STAKES!

This is the first year that three different horses have won a Triple Crown race here on SS and they were spectacular horses all around! Augusts ran his heart out only to be passed by the freight train that was Apparition on the far outside, with Preakness winner Keen Ice closing between rivals to get up in third. After losing the Belmont last year with Triple Crown hopeful Skeptic, Rhapsody came back for revenge this year to take down the longest of the spring classics, winning in near record time.

I am super proud of ALL of the horses that competed this year - and so excited to see all the new faces in racing! The Triple Crown will return next year as the drought continues (but hopefully not for 37 years!) with Seabiscuit as the only Triple Crown winner on the forum. However, there's still a year left to go and I can pick out a number of colts on this forum that are looking scary good for the TC next year, so I hope we will see some of these up and comers on the Road to the Roses next year when we reconvene for the colt spring classics.

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Time
Quarter Splits: 25.7 | 51.5 | 1:16.7 | 1:42.2 | 2:07.4 | 2:31.8
Final: 2:31.8

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