Donna Wright and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Crazy Mason stretches back out to 1 mile in the Nov. 1 $200,000 Forty Niner Stakes (G3), a one-turn test for 3-year-olds and up, at Belmont Park.
Trained by Gregg Sacco, the 5-year-old Coal Front horse employed his usual deep-closing tactics to finish a nose runner-up in the 7-furlong Vosburgh Stakes (G3) Oct. 1 when beaten by T Kraft.
"That was a heartbreaker," Sacco said. "It was a big effort. He seemed to love the Belmont racing strip. That was his highest Beyer. I think he's still an improving type of horse, just a solid dude. It's heartbreaking that he's lost some of these races, especially the Vosburgh, but he's doing fantastic."
Crazy Mason won the Carter Stakes (G3) last April at Aqueduct Racetrack, and has hit the board in seven graded stakes in 10 attempts since. Before the Vosburgh, he was a close fourth in the Forego Stakes (G1) to Hymn, who is entered in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).
"He ran dynamite in the Forego, another big bang-up race in the Vosburgh, so he's coming into this race in peak form," Sacco said. "We expect a big effort. The longer stretch is definitely to his advantage with his style, but he did break better last time. He didn't drop to another area code at the start."
Sacco said glue-on shoes seem to be making a difference for Crazy Mason and he'll run in them.
"The only change is glue-on shoes. He didn't have anything bad, his feet have always been a little funky, but he's never taken an unsound step in his life. We brought in Ian McKinlay (farrier and hoof specialist), and he said, 'Gregg, this horse will benefit leaps and bounds,'" Sacco said.
"We saw an immediate change. He's been gliding over the track at Delaware Park, even a slight improvement for a horse running the way he is would be a big help."
Jay Em Ess Stable's Ignite the Light makes his graded debut for trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. The 5-year-old Into Mischief gelding was a head second in the 6 1/2-furlong Stable Recovery Stakes last out Sept. 19 at Parx Racing.
"He's doing great," Dutrow said. "He can get a mile around one turn. We're happy with him, but he's stepping up into tougher competition."
Dutrow said Ignite the Light is still improving.
"We're happy with him, look at his form from Day 1, it is unbelievable that he's wound up in this zone," said Dutrow. "He was one who would pull up in a minute and just didn't like things, he wouldn't perform, was hard to read, but now he's easy to train.
"We don't have the stars in the barn like we used to, but who knows what these guys could turn into; Ignite the Light is doing very good," Dutrow added.
Godolphin's Kentucky homebred East Avenue seeks his first win in his third start since taking the Salvator Mile Stakes (G3) in June at Monmouth Park. Trained by Brendan Walsh, the 4-year-old Medaglia d'Oro bay earned a field-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure for that nose score over multimillionaire Bishops Bay.
Belmont Park, Sunday, November 1, 2026, Race 9Entries: Forty Niner S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1East Avenue (KY) Flavien Prat 126 Brendan P. Walsh 5/2 2 2Bendoog (KY) Junior Alvarado 124 William I. Mott 4/1 3 3Ignite the Light (KY) John R. Velazquez 124 Richard E. Dutrow, Jr. 6/1 4 4Nelson Avenue (KY) Edgard J. Zayas 124 Jorge R. Abreu 30/1 5 5Crazy Mason (KY) Manuel Franco 126 Gregory D. Sacco 7/2 6 6Pentathlon (KY) Paco Lopez 124 Claude R. McGaughey III 9/2 7 7Gate to Wire (KY) Javier Castellano 124 Todd A. Pletcher 6/1 8 8Warp Nine (KY) Frankie Pennington 124 Harold Wyner 12/1
Buccherino Seeks Bold Ruler Rebound
Happy Tenth Stable's Buccherino will look to avenge a second in this event last year in Sunday's $200,000 Bold Ruler Stakes (G3), a 6-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up.
Trained by Alfredo Velazquez, the 5-year-old Bucchero horse set the pace in last year's Bold Ruler in November at Aqueduct and was edged by multiple graded stakes winner Damon's Mound by a half-length.
Buccherino has made three starts this year at Parx, beginning with a close second in a February allowance optional claimer and returning six months later to finish fourth in the State Representative's Sprint Stakes in August. Most recently, he posted a head score in the Stable Recovery Sept. 19 over Ignite the Light.
"He's doing good," Velazquez said. "When he's doing good, he goes out there and runs his race. Right now, he's doing real good and he's at the top of his game. I can't wait."
Velazquez said Buccherino is in good form after being unlucky with foot problems at multiple points in his career.
"Sometimes we've had to give him time because he wasn't 100%," Velazquez said. "When he's not 100%, I do not run him. I wait until he is good to run him. Right now, he is good."
Buccherino shortens up a sixteenth and is 2-3-3 from 10 starts at the 6-furlong distance.
"They are going to have to run big to beat him," Velazquez said. "I go in there with a lot of confidence."
Lucky Hat Racing and EGL-One Racing's Contrary Thinking has made four starts for trainer Amelia Green after being purchased for $130,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Digital Sale in May, most recently landing eighth in the Vosburgh.
The 6-year-old Into Mischief gelding previously contested three dirt sprint allowance optional claimers this summer at Saratoga Race Course, landing second by a nose to Senior Officer in June and second to Whatchatalkinabout in July ahead of a 2 1/2-length score over returning rival Commuted in August.
Last out, Contrary Thinking, who is usually on or near the early lead, was sixth of nine through the half-mile after a slow start.
"For the Bold Ruler, he's going to have to get out of the gate better than he did last time," Green said. "Going 7 (furlongs), he missed the break. Going 6, he definitely has to get out of the gate."
Owner/trainer Linda Rice's Commuted wheels back from a 6-furlong starter allowance score on muddy going Oct. 17 here. The 5-year-old Gun Runner gelding previously captured a starter optional claimer over the same distance in September at Saratoga that earned a career-best 102 Beyer.
"He's got a shot, especially if it rains," Rice said of the bay who is 4-for-4 over wet tracks.
Rice haltered Commuted, who is out of the Harlan's Holiday mare Final Holiday, for $30,000 out of a win traveling 1-mile in February at Aqueduct and he won his next three races, culminating with a six-furlong optional claiming score in May there.
"I liked his pedigree," Rice said. "I felt like physically, he looked more like a sprinter than a router, so that's why I shortened him up. He's improved as a closing sprinter."
Belmont Park, Sunday, November 1, 2026, Race 2Entries: Bold Ruler S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Commuted (KY) Flavien Prat 122 Linda Rice 2/1 2 2Paradise Valley (KY) Samuel Marin 122 Ilkay Kantarmaci 10/1 3 3Buccherino (FL) Eliseo Ruiz 124 Alfredo Velazquez 5/2 4 4Subrogate (KY) Paco Lopez 122 Jorge Duarte, Jr. 6/1 5 5Stickupwithoutagun (NY) Christopher Elliott 122 Ilkay Kantarmaci 12/1 6 6Contrary Thinking (KY) Manuel Franco 122 Amelia J. Green 9/5
