Horse euthanized after breakdown in final race of the day at Belmont

It happened late but there was a horse fatality on Saturday at Belmont Park.

Excursionniste, a 4-year-old gelding, was euthanized after being tended to on the track as he suffered a catastrophic injury to his left front leg. Jockey Flavien Prat pulled the horse up at the far turn during the 13th and final race on Belmont Stakes Day, a 1 1/16-mile trip around the inner turf.

It happened with a good portion of the announced crowd of 48,089 still in the cavernous grandstand with the final race being run about 45 minutes after the day’s main event.

It was the third horse death during Belmont’s spring/summer meet out of 1,662 horses running.

The topic of horse safety has been in the forefront during the Triple Crown series as 12 horses died at Churchill Downs in the month leading up to the Kentucky Derby on May 6.

In response to the 12 deaths, Churchill Downs announced new safety guidelines to limit horses to four starts during a rolling eight-week period and imposing ineligibility standards for continued poor performances. Yet it moved its meet to the smaller Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky, as it reviewed its protocols.

The Belmont Stakes was the first Triple Crown race run under Horseracing Safety and Integrity Authority (HISA)’s new medication and anti-doping program, which went into effect on May 22. Congressionally mandated HISA began overseeing the sport last year.

Good to go

Air quality was ultimately not an issue on race day after much consternation during the week as to whether it would impact Saturday’s card.

Per accuweather.com, the air quality index (AQI) in the afternoon was a fair 29.

On Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said the Belmont would not be run if the air quality index exceeded 200. But after training and racing were canceled that day because of the poor air quality, the horses were back on the track Friday for racing and training. Training also resumed at Saratoga on Friday after a one-day hiatus.

Had the AQI remained between 150-200, horses would have been subjected to a prerace respiratory examination by the track veterinarian to be permitted to run.

Happy anniversary, Big Red

Fifty years after winning the Belmont Stakes to secure the Triple Crown, Secretariat is still a star at Belmont Park.

One outside vendor sold blue T-shirts and grey sweatshirts commemorating Secretariat's 50th anniversary. Another inside vendor, standing in front of a photo of Secretariat's win on June 9, 1973, had more shirts, photos and memorabilia.

The crown jewel was a traveling exhibit from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. With the title “A Tremendous Machine” above the entrance, a nod to announcer Chic Anderson's famous call during the Belmont Stakes, fans could read posters displaying Secretariat's life, early racing career and each of his wins in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

The exhibit also had trophies from each race and the Triple Crown trophy presented after his win in the Belmont Stakes. It reminded that Secretariat, once dubbed “The People's Horse,” was still accessible to be admired by fans who weren't alive for his run.

“I don't think any of the staff who's been with [the exhibit] could ever imagine what an impact Secretariat had and still has on so many,” said Cate Masterson, director of the museum. “The number of people that can remember hearing the Belmont Stakes. The young people who were here with the families. We truly think that the Disney movie on Secretariat reinvigorated everyone.”

Also on display was Secretariat’s saddle which jockey Ron Turcotte rode to victory in all three races. According to Larry Hall, chairman of the Jim Irsay collection, Saturday will be the only time it's displayed along with the exhibit.

“The fact that he had a 31-length lead, [won in] 2 minutes and 24 seconds, which is still a world record. It's just phenomenal. It's just a really great part of American history,” Hall said. “It's something that I still remember as a 13-year-old boy seeing him on the cover of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated.”

Forte’s return

Forte completed an unsatisfactory Triple Crown run by finishing second to Arcangelo by 1 1/2 lengths in the Belmont. The Todd Pletcher-trained colt was the 2-1 Belmont favorite after also being the Kentucky Derby favorite before being scratched on race day because of a hoof injury.

That meant Forte ran for the first time since a two-length win over eventual Kentucky Derby champion Mage in the Florida Derby on April 1.

“I knew we were asking a lot coming off the 10-week layoff,” Pletcher said. “He was still making impact at the end but he just ran out of time getting there.”

Mott’s day

The Bill Mott-trained Cody’s Wish, with Junior Alvarado aboard, overcame a sluggish start and won the $1 million Grade 1 Met Mile by 3 1/4 lengths as the 3-5 favorite to claim his sixth straight victory. “At about the half-mile pole, I found my seam, moved behind the heels of horses to get into the clear, then he turned everything on,” Alvarado said.

Another Mott-saddled 3-5 favorite, Elite Power, with Irad Ortiz Jr. up, won his seventh straight race with a 1 3/4-length victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2 True North.

“I noticed the fractions — 23 and change — weren’t overly quick but he’s still got a pretty good punch to him,” Mott said.

Track notes

Saturday’s 13 races generated an all-sources handle of $118,283,455, a New York Racing Association record for a non-Triple Crown year. The previous mark was $112,725,278 in 2021 … Trainer Brad Cox’s Belmont Stakes entries 9-1 Hit Show, 3-1 Angel of Empire and 16-1 Tapit Shoes finished fourth, fifth and ninth, respectively … The Pletcher-trained Up to the Mark earned his second straight Grade 1 stakes victory with a 2 1/4-length win in the $750,000 Manhattan.

Repole’s plan

Mike Repole, who was raised in Queens and owns Belmont favorite Forte after winning last year with Mo Donegal, knows how he’d like to see the Triple Crown series restructured.

Barring extraordinary circumstances — such as the COVID-19 pandemic — the Kentucky Derby is run the first Saturday in May, the Preakness follows two weeks later and the Belmont is three weeks after the Preakness.

“If we go back to leather helmets in the NFL, then we should keep it the way it is — and maybe hockey players should wear no helmets,” Repole said this week.

“First of all, the Derby should be 14 horses. We all care about horse safety. Fourteen horses is a lot safer than 20 horses. The second thing is the Preakness should be probably three weeks out. Three weeks, I think, is a good number, because the six [horses] that didn’t make the Derby, you know they’ll be the first ones lined up for the Preakness. And then I think the Belmont should be four weeks out.”