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Written Analysis

Nick Tammaro — Saratoga Full Card, June 3, 2026

Belmont Stakes Racing Festival — Day 1  |  NY-Bred Showcase Day

Race 1: 1-7-6-8

The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival kicks off with a Grade I jump race that features #1 Little Trillby, a recent G1 winner at Green Mountain who is bidding for a second Saratoga win this afternoon. He has blossomed into a top notch jumper and carries a 3-race win streak in races which he completed. That’s enough to make him the focal point of the opener.

Race 2: 7-4-5-2

Prior to the Forester Creek in April, #7 Hot Currency had hinted at having serious ability. She finally put it all together in a compelling performance, drawing off late to win by 8+ lengths and earning an 84 Beyer Speed Figure. This is her 2nd start off a brief layoff and she drew beautifully on the outside to stalk the pace and pounce as a likely heavy favorite. Most of your Pick 5 tickets can single this daughter of Central Banker who will bid for a 3rd win in 7 starts.

Race 3: 3-7-4-5

To look at the last effort of #3 Awesome Czech and see a poor effort is to completely overlook the race flow of the 2026 Gallorette. The race completely collapsed late, with the 1-2-3 finishers coming from 6th, 7th and 8th after a half-mile. This daughter of Mendelssohn was parked wide the entire way, never got a breather and understandably tired late in her first start back off a 110-day break. She’s now back against NY breds and at Saratoga, where she’s 4-5 lifetime and has never missed the trifecta. This should be no different than either of her most recent NY-bred stakes tries, which both ended with winner’s circle photos.

Race 4: 6-7-3-2

It’s almost amazing that #6 Mi Bago is facing NY breds for the first time in his career this afternoon. He has been very solid against open company, including winning a salty allowance race on the undercard of the Pegasus World Cup back in January. The name of the game with this son of Vekoma is speed, and he is the quickest early on paper in this affair. While it’d be better for the distance to be a mile, he should have no trouble getting clear and the last effort of #7 Spirit of St. Louis makes it appear as if that two-time GI winner is getting a bit long in the tooth.

Race 5: 7-1-4-3

#7 Bernietakescharge is the one to catch today as she returns off a layoff for trainer Dominick Schettino. The last time this daughter of Take Charge Indy faced NY-breds at the Spa she won this very race a year ago as a 9-1 upsetter. She has faced considerably better competition in recent tries and has landed in a great spot from a pace perspective. Nothing should keep her from a forward position and whether #3 Landed wants to throw her hat in the ring for the early lead is the only worry. This mare can rate if necessary and looks to be a very likely winner this afternoon.

Should the Timing of the US Triple Crown Be Changed?

Peter Thomas Fornatale  |  At The Races  |  Published June 2, 2026

PTF’s latest column for our broadcast partners at At The Races — the UK’s leading racing channel — makes a full-throated case for reimagining the Triple Crown schedule. Five of the last eight Kentucky Derby winners have bypassed the Preakness. That’s not a blip. That’s a structural problem, and PTF argues it has a specific and elegant solution: the first Saturday of May, June, and July.

The piece traces the origin of the Triple Crown to an anonymous turf writer in May 1923 — seven years before the phrase was popularized in the Daily Racing Form — who conceived of the series not as an endurance test but as a way to find the best horse by watching the best horses race each other. PTF argues we’ve lost that.

The column features an on-the-record quote from Cherie DeVaux — trainer of Derby winner Golden Tempo — that cuts to the heart of the issue: “Things that could [have gotten] a horse who came out of a race a little sore could have been done in the past within the rules — now we don’t have that.” DeVaux goes further: “I can confidently say that there are horses that were very good horses, and great horses in the past, that would not be able to run in the current regulatory climate that we have now.”

PTF’s argument: racing did the right thing on safety. The schedule now needs to catch up with that new reality. You cannot simultaneously tighten the rules around horse welfare and maintain a schedule built for an era when those rules didn’t exist.

And for those who think the current format makes the Triple Crown harder: PTF distinguishes between the physical toll of three races in five weeks and the competitive challenge of beating the best of your generation three times. The current spacing, he argues, maximizes the first kind of difficulty and minimizes the second. That’s exactly backwards.

As Randy Moss put it: “Imagine what it would be this year with Golden Tempo and Renegade, with the Ortiz brothers rematched against each other in the Preakness.” Required reading before Saturday’s race.

Read the Full Column at At The Races →

Donna Brothers — Embrace the Belmont Special

Donna Brothers joins ITM for a deep dive into Belmont Stakes week at Saratoga — history, horses, and what to expect from the final jewel of the Triple Crown.

Tom Durkin — A Life’s Calling

The legendary voice of the Triple Crown in conversation with ITM. Make time for this one before Saturday.

Owner’s Box Ep. 198 — Lynn Hancock

The latest Owner’s Box digs into the ownership experience with Lynn Hancock. Behind-the-scenes access to the world of thoroughbred ownership.

Free Horse Racing Tips Every Week — The ITM Players’ Newsletter

The ITM Players’ Newsletter goes out every Friday and is packed with free horse racing analysis, picks, and content from the full ITM team and partners. Sign up free at inthemoneypodcast.com/email. And remember — sign up for ITM Plus before Belmont Stakes to get your first month completely free.