Winner of last three starts faces tough Acorn field Betting Belmont Stakes belmont stakes betting online

Winner of last three starts faces tough Acorn fieldBELMONT, N.Y. - The first Saturday in June last year at Belmont Park brings back bad memories for trainer John Servis, who saw his chance of making racing history fall one length short when Smarty Jones was denied the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown by Birdstone.Servis hopes for more pleasant memories on the first Saturday in June this year. That's when Servis returns to Belmont to saddle Round Pond in the $250,000 Acorn Stakes. The Grade 1 Acorn is run at one mile.Round Pond, a daughter of Awesome Again, has won her last three starts, including the Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park on April 15. Never intending to run her in the Kentucky Oaks, Servis was pointing Round Pond to the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico on May 20. But upon returning East from Oaklawn, Round Pond got sick and missed some training time, which forced her to miss the Black-Eyed Susan.Since resuming training, Round Pond has put in a solid work tab that includes a five-furlong drill in 57.71 seconds Monday at Philadelphia Park."She's getting better every week,'' Servis said Wednesday from Philadelphia Park. "She's a late May foal and it took a little time for her to come around.''Round Pond didn't debut until February, when she finished third in a six-furlong maiden race at Oaklawn. She caught some traffic trouble that day, but according to Servis, Round Pond galloped out past the field after the wire.Stewart Elliott, who was the regular rider of Smarty Jones, will be here from Monmouth to ride Round Pond.Round Pond will face a solid field that includes Kentucky Oaks runner-up In the Gold, La Troienne winner Seek a Star, Nassau County winner Seeking the Ante, Spinaway and Matron winner Sense of Style, Hollywood Starlet winner Splendid Blended, and Smuggler.Rockport Harbor back in trainingServis reported that Rockport Harbor, his talented 3-year-old colt, galloped Wednesday at Philadelphia Park for the first time since finishing sixth in the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 23."He's been training for five days,'' Servis said. "Today we turned him around and galloped him and he went super. We're moving forward.''Rockport Harbor won all four of his starts at 2, but is 0 for 2 this year. His troubles began when he got stepped on during the running of the Remsen last November. Servis was battling problems with Rockport Harbor's right rear foot as well as a blood clot in the colt's neck this spring while trying to get him ready for the Triple Crown. Rockport Harbor finished second in the Rebel Stakes before the Lexington.Regarding the foot, Servis said, "Don't expect that to be an issue the rest of the year.''At the time Rockport Harbor was pulled from the Triple Crown trail, owner Rick Porter and Servis expressed hope he could make races such as the Haskell and Travers later this summer."He usually comes around pretty fast, he's such a big striding horse,'' Servis said. "I don't have any set goals. We'll see how he comes along and choose a spot when we get closer.''

Zito has trained two Kentucky Derby winners Betting Belmont Stakes belmont stakes betting online

Zito has trained two Kentucky Derby winners
NEW YORK -- At long last, trainer Nick Zito will find out what it's like to be inducted into racing's Hall of Fame instead of attending the ceremony and wondering."I remember just about every one of them, and I just loved it," Zito said Tuesday after being elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. "I just wanted to know how it would feel someday, like everybody else. Anybody that says they don't want to be in there, they're just not human. It's a great, great honor."Zito, voted into the hall in his eighth year of eligibility, will be inducted Aug. 8 at Saratoga Springs, along with three standouts in steeplechase racing -- jockey Thomas Walsh, trainer Sidney Watters Jr. and five-time champion Lonesome Glory.The two-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer acknowledged he was frustrated it took so long to get in."But on the other hand, you have to wait your turn, you have to be humble, and do the right thing and try to realize you're in a great game and the game is bigger than everyone," the 57-year-old Zito said on a conference call. "And I'm not ancient, so that's good. I'm just gratified that I did get this great honor."Zito won the Derby with Strike the Gold in 1991 and Go for Gin in 1994, and also won the 1996 Preakness with Louis Quatorze and the 2004 Belmont Stakes with Birdstone, who played the spoiler's role in Smarty Jones' Triple Crown bid.Under a new voting format, nominees in four racing categories -- trainer, jockey, contemporary male horse and contemporary female horse -- must receive 75 percent of the votes to be elected. Previously, the top vote-getter in each category was elected. Zito was the only one of 20 nominees who received the necessary votes (of the 163 eligible voters, 127 returned ballots).The steeplechase division is separate, with nominees considered every four years and voting done by a 12-person committee.Despite missing out on a chance to win the Derby with a record-tying five horses or the Preakness with a record-equaling three horses this year, Zito has amassed numbers worthy of Hall of Fame recognition.The New Yorker has saddled 1,410 winners in a career that began in 1972, including 83 in graded stakes races, and they have earned $69,333,163 in purse money.“Anybody that says they don't want to be in there, they're just not human. It's a great, great honor ”— Nick ZitoZito had his best earnings year in 2004, when he saddled 86 winners and totaled nearly $7 million in purse money."The Hall of Fame is based on a career," Zito said. "I always try to philosophize life in general ... My disappointment is in the Derby, of course. I'm human. But I must have had some pretty good days, too. Sure it's disappointment, but nothing tops this."During his 12-year riding career that ended in 1967 at the age of 27, Walsh was fifth in victories with 253, including five consecutive wins in the prestigious Grand National Steeplechase. Walsh currently trains horses and is based at Belmont Park.Watters, 87, led or shared the lead in steeplechase victories six times between 1948 and 1971. He led steeplechase trainers in purse money earned three times. He also was a successful flat-race trainer, handling 1983 3-year-old champion Slew o' Gold and 1970 2-year-old champion Hoist the Flag.Lonesome Glory, with 24 wins in 44 career starts in 1991-1999, is steeplechase racing's leading money-earner with $1.4 million.Nominated jockeys who failed to receive the required votes were Eddie Maple, Craig Perret, Randy Romero, Jose Santos and Ismael (Milo) Valenzuela.Contemporary female nominees were Inside Information, Mom's Command, Open Mind, Silverbulletday and Sky Beauty. Contemporary male nominees were Best Pal, Housebuster, Lure, Manila and Silver Charm.Other trainers on the ballot were Dale Baird, Gary Jones, Mel Stute and John Veitch.Zito started out as a hotwalker for Buddy Jacobson and was an assistant trainer for Johnny Campo and LeRoy Jolley before opening a two-horse stable in 1972. His first Grade 1 winner came in 1986 -- Ride Sally win the Top Flight Handicap at Aqueduct. Five years later, he was in the winner's circle with Derby winner Strike the Gold, and racing in the Triple Crown events became Zito's primary goal.Zito has sent out 19 starters in the Derby, 16 in the Preakness and 13 in the Belmont. He also has trained two divisional champions, both fillies -- Storm Song in 1996 and Bird Town in 2003.

Nine Possible for Belmont Stakes Betting Belmont Stakes belmont stakes betting online

The field for the 137th Belmont Stakes (gr. I) on June 11 is slowly taking shape, with at least nine 3-year-olds pointing for the third leg of the Triple Crown. The 1 1/2-mile "Test of the Champion" will be headed by Preakness (gr. I) winner Afleet Alex and Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Giacomo. Afleet Alex was originally scheduled to van to Belmont Park last Saturday following his morning jog. But with a suspected case of strangles being investigated there, trainer Tim Ritchey decided to play it safe and keep the son of Northern Afleet at Pimlico, and work him on Wednesday. He will then decide when to ship to Belmont, depending on whether or not the strangles situation is under control. A case of strangles has also been confirmed at Delaware Park where Preakness runner-up Scrappy T is stabled. Horses stabled at Delaware Park are temporarily restricted from New York Racing Association premises, and if there no other additional cases outside the quarantined barn, horses from Delaware will have to provide a negative culture for strangles from a nasopharyngeal wash or swab taken on or after June 6. Out in California, Giacomo breezed seven furlongs in 1:27 at Hollywood Park May 30, and trainer John Shirreffs indicated they are leaning toward heading back east for the Belmont Stakes. If last Saturday's Peter Pan Stakes (gr. II) produces a Belmont starter it likely will not be the runaway winner, Oratory, owned by Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stable. The colt's connections feel the Belmont comes too close to the Peter Pan, in which Oratory earned a lofty 114 Beyer Speed figure. The two Belmont possibles coming out of the Peter Pan are runner-up Reverberate and the beaten favorite Chekhov, who made a good run on the turn only to flatten out in the stretch. But the $3.3 million Pulpit colt had trouble leaving the gate and put in a strong move, having only a maiden victory to his credit. Reverberate pushed the winner most of the way, and although he was no match for him down the stretch, he did finish well clear of the third horse. Also pointing for the Belmont are the Nick Zito pair of Andromeda's Hero, eighth in the Kentucky Derby, and Pinpoint, winner of the Sir Barton Stakes on the Preakness undercard. Lone Star Derby (gr. III) winner Southern Africa is considered a definite, and Wayne Lukas may run his recent maiden winner A.P. Arrow. Santa Anita Derby (gr. ) winner Buzzards Bay had been considered a definite starter, but trainer Jeff Mullins said, following the colt's :57 2/5 work, that they were passing the race.