For the 29^th year in a row the winner of the Belmont Stakes won’t be fighting for the Triple Crown, but that doesn’t mean the excitement level won’t be high. The first two races of the Triple Crown season have been fantastic, and the Belmont will most likely not disappoint.

The first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby was won by Street Sense. In one of the most exciting finishes ever in the Kentucky Derby, Street Sense battled back from second to last place to win. Sure, horses have made up ground like this before, but 99 percent of the time they come from the outside to do it. What made that even more spectacular is he did it in the most watched horse race in the world. Street Sense hugged the rail, and if just one other rider would have noticed they would have been able to cut him off, instead he rode right into victory lane.

Curlin snuck away with a victory in the Preakness by defeating Street Sense by half of a head. In the Preakness, Street Sense had once again came from the back of the pack, and seemed to have a lock on trying for the Triple Crown. Curlin, who was making only his fourth start, finished third in the Kentucky Derby. The inexperienced Curlin has shot his way up to the top of the odds maker’s boards as a clear contender to take home the Belmont Stakes. But, even thought Street Sense can probably make the Belmont a two horse race, there are others who will contend for sure.

One major thing that will be different between this race and the others is the number of competitors. The Kentucky Derby had 20 entries, making it crowded for everyone. The Belmont Stakes, at a mile and a half, is the longest track of the Triple Crown Tracks and will only have 11 starters. This means the field is wide open, and every horse will be running in full stride.

One of those horses that will look to take the thunder away from Street Sense and Curlin is Nobiz Like Shobiz. Nobiz Like Shobiz came into the Kentucky Derby winning four races in six starts. Unfortunately he got caught up in the traffic in the Kentucky Derby and, without being able to make a move, finished a disappointing tenth.

Tiago is another horse who has been disappointing in the Triple Crown season, but came in as a dark horse to begin with. The half-brother to 2005 Kentucky Derby Giacomo, finished seventh in this year’s Derby and did not run in the Preakness. Much like Curlin, he was a novice to big time racing, with only 5 career starts. But one of his wins came at the Santa Anita Derby at 50-1 odds. He will most likely still be a long shot at the Belmont, but he is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Belmont Park is located in Elmont, New York, and because of it being the longest distance of all the Triple Crown horses is also known as the “Test of Champions.” The most famous moment to ever come out of Belmont Park is when in 1973 Secretariat won the race by 31-lengths and set a world record time of 2:24.

It’s unsure that a horse will ever win by that margin again, but what is sure is that Curlin and Street Sense have started a nice rivalry that could come to a fantastic conclusion this Saturday at the Belmont Stakes!

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