Belmont Stakes Draw 2019: Full Schedule and Live-Stream Info for Post Positions
June 4, 2019
The 2019 Belmont Stakes rounds off the Triple Crown season on Saturday, but the post position draw for this year's race will have a big say in deciding the shape of the market.
War of Will has participated in both rounds of the Triple Crown campaign so far and won the Preakness Stakes on May 18. He's been drawn first at the rail in both that race and the Kentucky Derby, with mixed results.
His trainer, Mark E. Casse, will hope for another stroke of fortune at Tuesday's draw, which will be held at Citi Field shortly before the New York Mets host the San Francisco Giants.
It's possible we could see three different horses crowned winners in each of the Triple Crown races for the third time in the past four years (it also happened in 2016 and 2017).
Everfast, who finished second in the Preakness, will also be among the list of front-runners to monitor in Tuesday's post draw.
Post Position Draw Info
Date: Tuesday, June 4
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET/10:30 p.m. BST
Venue: Foxwoods Club, Citi Field, New York
Live Stream: Belmont Stakes website
Preview
The contrast between War of Will's performances in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness partially throws out the form book in terms of the impact a post position can have.
The three-year-old was drawn No. 1 for the Derby and finished seventh before again getting the rail at Pimlico Race Course and galloping to Preakness glory, via NBC Sports:
The key difference between those races was of course the size of the fields, and the Preakness demonstrated the power War of Will has with a clearer field ahead.
After 19 runners took part in the Kentucky Derby, it looks like the Belmont Stakes will feature a field of 10 horses.
Nevertheless, the Bill Mott-trained Tacitus is the favourite to win at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, per the Washington Post's Neil Greenberg:
Tacitus was third in the Run for the Roses but won his previous three races prior to that, including victories in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and Wood Memorial Stakes.
Mott won the Belmont Stakes with Drosselmeyer in 2010, and Tacitus has had around three weeks of preparation in the appropriate conditions ahead of his run in the Belmont:
Jose Ortiz will partner the horse and also brings Belmont-winning experience after he raced to victory aboard Tapwrit in 2017.
Master Fencer—who finished sixth in Kentucky—will be the sole Japan-based entry at Belmont Park, while Long Branch Stakes winner Joevia enters the field for his first appearance in a Triple Crown event.