NEW YORK (AP) – Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird needs a jockey for the Belmont Stakes.
Rachel Alexandra needs to show she’s fit after winning the Preakness.
Derby and Preakness-winning rider Calvin Borel needs to figure out which horse he’ll climb aboard in his personal quest for a Triple Crown.
While big decision day appears to be Monday – the day Rachel Alexandra works out at Churchill Downs and Borel was told to declare whether he’ll ride Mine That Bird – the rest of the Belmont field is coming into shape.
Derby also-rans Chocolate Candy (fifth), Dunkirk (11th), Mr. Hot Stuff (15th) and Flying Private (19th) missed the Preakness, but will be back to take on Mine That Bird in the 11/2-mile Belmont on June 6.
Other probable starters include Brave Victory, Charitable Man, Luv Gov, Miner’s Escape and Summer Bird, bringing the count to 11 3-year-olds if Rachel Alexandra is entered.
The wait continues for trainer Chip Woolley, the New Mexico cowboy who swooped onto the national scene when Mine That Bird won the Derby at odds of 50-1, then finished a length behind Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness.
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” Woolley said Thursday from Churchill Downs as he watched Mine That Bird gallop twice around the track. “When we came here, we had planned on going on to the Belmont after the Derby.”
Peter Pan Stakes winner Charitable Man was confirmed for the Belmont earlier this week by trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.
“I have nothing but respect for Rachel Alexandra, if she comes, and Mine That Bird, but Charitable Man is doing great,” McLaughlin said. “He’s bred to go a mile-and-a-half, he’s 2-for-2 on the track, and he’s a fresh horse.”
Charitable Man, a son of 1999 Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid, finished seventh in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 11 in his first start after a long layoff.
Trainer Nick Zito and owner Robert LaPenta, who won last year’s Belmont with Da’ Tara, will try to pull another upset with either Brave Victory or Miner’s Escape.
Each worked four furlongs Thursday over Belmont’s main track; Brave Victory was timed in 48.55, Miner’s Escape in 48.56.
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas also has two colts for the Belmont in Flying Private (fourth in the Preakness) and Luv Guv (eighth in the Preakness).
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