Sunny skies have arrived in the afternoon on Belmont Stakes day after a rainy morning June 7 at Saratoga Race Course. Steady precipitation fell this a.m. following afternoon rain June 6, leaving sloppy and sealed main track conditions.
The Jaipur (G1T) and Manhattan (G1T) stakes have been canceled for Saturday and moved to Sunday, June 8. All multi-race wagers involving those races for Saturday will be refunded. The two-day all turf pick 5 will have all of Saturday's races treated as "all" because all of the day's turf races have either been postponed or moved to the main track.
The Jaipur and the Manhattan will be run Sunday as races 12 and 13, respectively. The Manhattan will be contested at 1 1/8 miles on the inner turf rather than the originally scheduled 1 3/16 miles on the Mellon turf.
The Wonder Again (G3) and Pennine Ridge stakes are off the turf, as are races 3 and 14. The Wonder Again and Pennine Ridge, plus race 14, will have distance changes and be contested at a mile. Both the Wonder Again and Pennine Ridge drop one grade with the surface switch, pending a review by the American Graded Stakes Committee in the coming days.
As of 10:08 a.m. ET, there are no scratches or changes from the Belmont Stakes (G1).
Post time for the Belmont, race 13, is 7:03 p.m. ET, leaving the possibility of a main-track upgrade.
The wet weather likely kept a few fans away yesterday, as Friday's attendance was down 28% compared to the same day last year, at 19,744. But in a good sign for Saturday, bettors embraced the card, wagering $40,094,951—up 4.1% compared with last year.
Temperatures are currently in the 60s and are expected to rise into the low 70s this afternoon.
Listed below are the scratches and jockey changes as of 10 a.m. More scratches could be announced as the day continues.
Post times have also been adjusted due to the canceled races on the program.
The final pick 5 of the day was offered with race 3, and the final pick 4 was to begin with race 4. The pick 6 on Saturday was scrapped.
ScrAtches
Race 1: #8 Will Be Famous
Race 2: #1 Dew, #2 Onepac, #8 Life and Times
Race 3: #1A Palazzi, #3 Crystal Quest, #4 El Rezeen, #6 Daunt, #7 Redistricting (GB), #9 Atlast, #10 Fuerteventura, and #11 Catch a Wave
Race 4: #10 Maker's Candy
Race 5: #6 Antonio of Venice
Race 6: #1 Al Jafara, #4 Virgin Colada, #5 Opulent Restraint, #7 Love You Anyway, #8 Laurelin
Race 7: #7 Full Moon Madness
Race 8: CANCELED - Jaipur moved to Sunday
Race 10: #1 Zulu Kingdom, #3 States' Rights, #5 Tom's Magic
Race 11: #7 Colloquial
Race 12: CANCELED - Manhattan moved to Sunday
Race 14 (No Show, Trifecta, or Superfecta wagering): #1 Ramblin' Wreck, #2 Taraj, #3 Tiz Dashing, #4 Deuteronomy, #5 Then, #6 Jurisprudence, #7 Landman Friday, #8 Smooth Breeze, #9 Simulate, #11 Gene and Jude, #12 Classic Creation, #13 Rothschild
Jockey changes
Race 3: Flavien Prat rides #12 Certified Loverboy
Race 14: Dylan Davis rides #14 Top Gun Rocket
