by ITM Staff
ITM Telegraph — Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Your daily briefing on what to watch, read, and bet from In The Money Media and the world of horse racing.
🏇 Two Out, One In: Belmont Field Reshuffles to 10
The Belmont field lost two names and gained one on Wednesday.
Chip Honcho and Potente are both out. Steve Asmussen told DRF’s David Grening that the Belmont is “too soon off a hard race” for Chip Honcho, who finished third in the Preakness just two weeks ago. No next start was named. Bob Baffert is redirecting Potente — 12th in the Kentucky Derby — to the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs on June 7. (TDN) (BloodHorse)
Then came the addition: Vitruvian Man, a son of Vino Rosso trained by Doug O’Neill, will run in the Belmont with Antonio Fresu in the irons. Vitruvian Man was third in the Santa Anita Derby in his only start this year and has one win from six career starts — a maiden score at Keeneland last fall. O’Neill told Grening: “He’s always shown a lot of talent, he was just a little slow to come around. He’s training well. We’re excited.” O’Neill noted the horse has had “steering issues” in the past and will be fitted with an Australian ring bit for the Belmont. His most recent work was six furlongs from the gate in 1:13.60 at Santa Anita on May 20, with another gate work planned this weekend. (DRF)
That makes a probable field of 10. Here are the latest overseas odds via Oddschecker (best available price) with jockey assignments where confirmed:
Renegade 7/4 (Irad Ortiz Jr.) · Chief Wallabee 9/2 (Junior Alvarado) · Golden Tempo 13/2 (Jose Ortiz) · Commandment 13/2 (John Velazquez) · Emerging Market 13/2 (Flavien Prat) · Growth Equity 10/1 (Manny Franco) · Ocelli 20/1 (Tyler Gaffalione) · Powershift 20/1 (TBA) · Ottinho 20/1 (Dylan Davis) · Vitruvian Man 50/1 (Antonio Fresu)
The post-position draw is Monday, June 1 at 5 PM ET. Post time for the Belmont Stakes is 7:04 PM ET on Saturday, June 6. Full draw analysis coming Tuesday.
Work Tab and Shipping Plans
Golden Tempo’s second Belmont breeze on May 23 went five furlongs in 1:00.20 at Keeneland with Jose Ortiz aboard, breezing in company with So Sandy. DeVaux plans a final maintenance work this Friday, then ships to Saratoga Saturday. (BloodHorse)
Commandment also worked in preparation for the Belmont, while Further Ado is pointing to the Matt Winn instead. Cox told BloodHorse that John Velazquez will likely ride Commandment in the Belmont, with Irad Ortiz Jr. reuniting with Further Ado in the Matt Winn. (BloodHorse)
📰 Around the Sport
We will be offering thorough coverage of Royal Ascot this week and PTF will be there in person covering for the world feed and Sky Sports as usual. One man who is even more of a fixture on the Ascot scene – to put it mildly – is Wesley Ward. Ward’s Royal Ascot brigade could feature seven runners. Wesley Ward — who pioneered shipping American horses to the Royal Meeting and has won a dozen races there — is eyeing up to five in the Queen Mary alone, plus Outfielder in the Group 1 Commonwealth and Bacio in the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Ez Tina flashed with an 85 Beyer in her Woodbine debut. Ward hasn’t won at Ascot since Campanelle took the Commonwealth Cup in 2021. (DRF)
Forged Steel dominates Hollywood Gold Cup. Won by 9½ lengths at Santa Anita on Memorial Day for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and jockey Flavien Prat. (Paulick Report)
Formidable Man takes Shoemaker Mile as the 3-5 favorite at Santa Anita, his third Grade 1 victory and first start since running second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile. (BloodHorse)
Romantic Warrior completes Hong Kong Triple Crown — only the third horse in history to do it — and jockey James McDonald was suspended eight days and fined HK$120,000 for careless riding in the stretch. (Paulick Report)
NYRA’s Big Apple Bonus debuts in September when the new Belmont Park reopens. Up to $8,500 in awards per horse shipping or relocating to Belmont for the fall meet. (TDN)
Atomic Blonde: the dam of a Preakness winner. TDN’s Producers feature examines Napoleon Solo’s mother — a Scat Daddy mare bred on the same cross as Justify. (TDN)
🎙️ From ITM
👉 NEW: The Gallop Out — Stephen Foster Preview Day at Churchill Downs
Ryan Anderson and Kyle Roscoe examine the key stakes on Saturday’s Churchill card, one of the biggest summer racing weekends of the year.
👉 Players Podcast — Early Belmont Thoughts with Nick Tammaro
👉 Fair Hill Steeplechase Preview — Sean Clancy Goes Race-by-Race
👉 A Boy, a Racehorse, and a Story That Doesn’t End — Paul Halloran’s “Cody’s Wish”
Belmont coverage PLUS the first month of Saratoga — included with ITM Plus. Horse Player Happy Hour returns Belmont week Friday.
