Sir Winston wins the 2019 Belmont Stakes

By Mia ZanzucchiJun 8, 2019, 6:58 PM EDT

Sir Winston, jockeyed by Joel Rosario and trained by Mark Casse, won the 151st Belmont Stakes after swinging around Joevia and Tax down the homestretch.

The Kentucky-bred horse began on the rail before skirting in front of stablemate War of Will. Once out to the far right, he ate up the distance between him and the two pace setters. Tacitus, the 9/5 favorite, had his comeback attempt foiled and finished second.

Full results from the 2019 Belmont Stakes

This is Casse’s second Triple Crown win of the year and his first Belmont win ever. Rosario previously won the Belmont with Tonalist in 2014. Casse also ran Preakness winner War of Will, who finished 9th. This is Sir Winston’s Triple Crown debut, but Rosario rode Everfast to a surprising second place finish in the Preakness. (Everfast ran 7th in the Belmont with jockey Luis Saez.)

The only horse to run in all three Triple Crown races, War of Will ran a disappointing 9th just three weeks after his Preakness win in Baltimore.

Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher ran two horses: Spinoff (6th) and Intrepid Heart (8th).

One year removed from his Triple Crown victory aboard Justify, Mike Smith rode Bourbon War for the first time, but the pair fell to the back early in the race and never recovered, finishing dead last.

Watch Larry Collmus call the 151st Belmont Stakes

The 1 1/2 mile-long (12 furlongs) “Test of the Champions” closed out one of the most dramatic Triple Crowns in recent memory.

Five weeks ago, Maximum Security crossed the wire first at Churchill Downs. About 22 minutes later, the second place finisher Country House was declared the winner of the 145th Kentucky Derby after track stewards ruled Maximum Security had impeded the forward motion of several horses. For the first time ever, the Kentucky Derby winner was disqualified on site.

In the days following, Maximum Security’s team announced they would rest the colt with no shot at a Triple Crown, and Country House’s training team scratched him from the Preakness because of a cough and potential burgeoning illness.

Without the disqualified winner and the official winner in contention, the 144th Preakness Stakes seemed to go off without a hitch until Bodexpress ditched jockey John Velazquez right out of the gate. The riderless No. 9 horse kept pace with the pack and even kept running after the race ended before being caught by outrider and former jockey Kaymarie Kreidel.

Somewhat slighted by the Bodexpress drama, Mark Casse’s War of Will shot past pace-setting Warrior’s Charge down the homestretch to win the 2019 Preakness Stakes. The win was especially sweet since War of Will was the horse most impacted by Maximum Security in the Derby.

Forte works out, waits for Belmont Stakes clearance

Associated PressMay 27, 2023, 3:14 PM EDT

Matt Stone/USA TODAY NETWORK

NEW YORK — Forte, the early Kentucky Derby favorite who was scratched on the day of the race, worked out in preparation for a possible start in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.

Under regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte worked five-eighths of a mile for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. It was the colt’s second workout since being scratched from the Derby on May 6.

“It seems like he’s maintained his fitness level,” Pletcher said. “It seems like everything is in good order.”

Forte was placed on a mandatory 14-day veterinary list after being scratched from the Derby because of a bruised right front foot. In order to be removed from the list, the colt had to work in front of a state veterinarian and give a blood sample afterward, the results of which take five days.

“There’s protocols in place and we had to adhere to those and we’re happy that everything went smoothly,” Pletcher said. “We felt confident the horse was in good order or we wouldn’t have been out there twice in the last six days, but you still want to make sure everything went smoothly and we’re happy everything did go well.”

Pletcher said Kingsbarns, who finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby, will miss the Belmont. The colt is showing signs of colic, although he is fine, the trainer said.

Another Pletcher-trained horse, Prove Worthy, is under consideration for the Belmont. He also has Tapit Trice, who finished seventh in the Derby, being pointed toward the Belmont.

Judge grants Churchill Downs’ request for summary judgment to dismiss Bob Baffert’s lawsuit

Associated PressMay 25, 2023, 9:36 PM EDT

Abbey Cutrer/USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge has granted Churchill Downs’ motion for summary judgment that dismisses Bob Baffert’s claim the track breached due process by suspending the Hall of Fame trainer for two years.

Churchill Downs Inc. suspended Baffert in June 2021 after his now-deceased colt, Medina Spirit, failed a postrace drug test after crossing the finish line first in the 147th Kentucky Derby. The trainer’s request to lift the discipline was denied in February, keeping him out of the Derby for a second consecutive May.

U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ruled in a 12-page opinion issued Wednesday that Churchill Downs’ suspension of Baffert did not devalue his Kentucky trainer’s license. It cited his purse winnings exceeding $1 million at Keeneland in Lexington and stated that his argument “amounts to a false analogy that distorts caselaw.”

Jennings denied CDI’s motion to stay discovery as moot.

The decision comes less than a week after Baffert-trained colt National Treasure won the Preakness in his first Triple Crown race in two years. His record eighth win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown came hours after another of his horses, Havnameltdown, was euthanized following an injury at Pimlico.

Churchill Downs said in a statement that it was pleased with the court’s favorable ruling as in Baffert’s other cases.

It added, “While he may choose to file baseless appeals, this completes the seemingly endless, arduous and unnecessary litigation proceedings instigated by Mr. Baffert.”

Baffert’s suspension is scheduled to end on June 2, but the track’s release noted its right to extend it “and will communicate our decision” at its conclusion.