Belmont Stakes 2013: Breaking Down Top Challengers to Orb and Oxbow

The 2013 Belmont Stakes will mark the 145th running of the historic race in Elmont, N.Y, but as rich in tradition as this premier horse racing event is, one element in particular that won't change is the focus of the hype.

Absent is the possibility of an individual Triple Crown winner although Kentucky Derby champion Orb and Preakness winner Oxbow will vie for bragging rights in a rubber match of sorts. Twelve other horses are expected to be in the field, though, and several of them should give both Orb and Oxbow a serious run for their money.

Let's take a look at the horses whose stock should be up as the premier challengers to those horses which currently reign supreme.

Note: All horses are listed as probable entries at Horse Racing Nation. Race history is courtesy of Equibase.com.

Revolutionary

Running well at the Kentucky Derby doesn't necessarily translate into a solid performance at Belmont Park, but in Revolutionary's case, it should.

Mike Watchmaker of The Daily Racing Form lists Revolutionary as the No. 2 favorite behind Orb in his initial odds listing at 4-to-1.

Most horses which won marquee races entering Churchill Downs failed to sustain that momentum. As the Grade II Louisiana Derby winner over the likes of Mylute and Departing, Revolutionary backed up the hype surrounding him with a third-place finish in Louisville.

Revolutionary was mounted by prolific jockey Calvin Borel in that race, but it remains to be seen who will be in the saddle this time around. Regardless, trainer Todd Pletcher isn't going to rule out pursuing anyone in an effort to avoid coming up empty in his last leg of the Triple Crown campaign.

Given the endurance and power that Revolutionary showcased at a sloppy Kentucky Derby track, expect him to be in contention late.

Will Take Charge

Successive wins at Oaklawn Park in the Smarty Jones and Rebel Stakes gave deserved hype to Will Take Charge entering Churchill Downs. Unfortunately, traffic problems and the track gave him issues, as even the training of Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas didn't net a result better than eighth.

Things got worse at the Preakness, where the talented horse finished seventh in a nine-horse field. A slower pace set by winner Oxbow again congested the even smaller field of competitors.

Will Take Charge can live up to his namesake if he only gets a little bit more spacing, and Jon Court is returning as jockey after Mike Smith rode the colt at Pimlico Race Course.

Court had a stellar run aboard him in the Kentucky Derby and has been instrumental to his success as a three-year-old.

It may not make much sense to advocate for a horse which has disappointed in the first two marquee showcases of the season, but the combination of a likely slower pace and a longer distance plays into Will Take Charge's favor.

Freedom Child

The Peter Pan Stakes champion is perhaps better known for what he did as a two-year-old in competing neck-and-neck with Orb and Revolutionary. However, now that Freedom Child is armed with his success at Belmont Park, he has to be considered a serious threat.

West Point Thoroughbreds captured a wonderful shot of Freedom Child breezing down Belmont Park on Monday:

BloodHorse.com reports that Freedom Child ran five furlongs that morning in 59.87 seconds, which pleased trainer Tom Albertrani:

"

I thought it went super...The rider sat there with a nice hold of [Freedom Child] and he looked like he was just galloping down the lane. We just wanted to let him go in hand. Typically he can get aggressive when he's feeling good, so the rider had a nice hold of him early on.

It looked like he was just running through the bridle the first three-eighths, and he just gave him a little slack down the lane. He responded well and did it all nice and easy.

"

Freedom Child won the Peter Pan Stakes by 13.25 lengths. Granted, it wasn't the strongest field, but it's an impressive display of dominance under any circumstances.

It was a sensational bounce-back race for Freedom Child after a disappointing 11th at the Wood Memorial Stakes took him out of the running for the Kentucky Derby. As a new shooter, there's a great chance for Freedom Child to pull off a shocker in the Triple Crown finale.