Belmont Stakes still great day at races, without Triple Crown

When the 142nd Belmont Stakes starts at Elmont on June 5 this year, the race may wind up turning into, as one trainer put it, a “battle of the Dudes.”

Those “Dudes” being horses, of course. Two contenders – Dale Roman’s First Dude and Bob Baffert’s Game On Dude – are among the favorites to square off on the track in Belmont Park on Saturday. Baffert, a Hall of Fame trainer responsible for the above quip, won his fifth Preakness last month with another horse, Lookin At Lucky, and now seeks to achieve his second Belmont victory, having taken the race in 2001.

“I like the Belmont,” he said in a statement. “It’s a long, tough race. When I ran my other horses for the Triple Crown, I had to give them a break. It’s tough on them.”

Although there will be no Triple Crown tension this time around to attract the national spotlight, racing fans still have reason to turn their attention to Belmont’s 1.5-mile showdown. First Dude placed runner-up to Baffert’s steed at Preakness, and will carry Romans’ hope through the trainer’s second try at the Stakes.

“I think it’s going to end up being a pretty good field of horses,” Romans said. “With horses like Ice Box, Fly Down and my horse, it’ll be a good race.”

The two other competitors winning praise from Romans will run, respectively, for Nick Zito, another Hall-of-Famer who has triumphed at Belmont twice in the past, and Richard Pell.

Neither of Todd Pletcher’s horses, including Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, will race after a relatively poor showing at

the Preakness.

NYRA officials said they were expecting as many as 50,000 spectators to show up to watch the nail-biting action, which will transpire among a full schedule of 13 races at Belmont that day. In addition to the equestrian championship, several musical acts will perform in and around the park, including funk, blues, bluegrass, rock, and vocal ensembles.

Up-and-coming 16-year-old R&B performer Jasmine Villegas will get the crowd into that New York spirit with a rendition of Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind,” and Kim Lively of the United States Air Force will deliver the national anthem with her band Afterburner, before a military flyover to open the day at 10:50 a.m.

Besides those mentioned, other horses expected to compete are Bank The Eight, Uptowncharlybrown, Make Music For Me, New Madrid, Dublin, Drosselmeyer,

Sestuko, Stay Put, and the reputable Stately Victor.

In addition to all the action on the track, this year’s race is concentrating on what’s going on in the grandstand and beyond, as well.

There will be “strolling entertainers” in the picnic areas of the park, including a Dixieland trio and a barbershop quartet. The bandstand, a mainstay of entertainment in past years, is also returning, featuring the official rock band of the United States Air Force, "Afterburner," and “Pink Noise” a Brooklyn band that concentrates on playing favorites from rock and roll’s glory days.

Start placing your bets and fixing your Manhattans.