WITH the Kentucky Derby rescheduled to September 4th, the dates for the other two legs of the US Triple Crown were announced this week.

With racing now set to resume in Belmont Park from June 3rd, the Belmont Stakes, normally run as the last leg of the Triple Crown on the first Saturday in June, will now become the first leg and be held behind closed doors on June 20th.

The Preakness has now been moved from mid-May to October 3rd, with the Breeders’ Cup coming up on November 6th and 7th. The Belmont Stakes will also be reduced in distance to a mile and an eighth.

“The Belmont Stakes is a New York institution that will provide world-class entertainment for sports fans during these challenging times,” NYRA President & CEO Dave O’Rourke said in a statement. “While this will certainly be a unique running of this historic race, we are grateful to be able to hold the Belmont Stakes in 2020.” Prize money has also been cut from $1.5 million to $1 million.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan had earlier in the week announced the rescheduling of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on October 3rd.

“We all wish we could have been together today to celebrate the Preakness but we stayed home and stayed safe and now we can look forward to Preakness 145 on October 3rd,” Belinda Stronach, the chairman and president of the track’s owners, The Stronach Group, said in a statement.

Canada’s most famous race, the Queen’s Plate, has been moved from June 27th to September 12th in Woodbine. The track is currently scheduled to start to its thoroughbred season on June 6th.

Belmont line-up

It remains to be seen what the Belmont line up will look like as the first classic and over a shortened distance but Bob Baffert has said he will likely point two of his unbeaten stars, Charlatan and Nadal who won divisions of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby this month, to the race.

“Depending on how they are training, I will have Nadal and Charlatan for the race,” Baffert said.

“I backed off both a little bit but am starting back up now. I am just glad they are having the Belmont. I would have preferred they have it after the Preakness to keep the tradition, but they will all be very exciting races.”

Baffert is pointing his other three-year-old star, Authentic, to the Santa Anita Derby on June 6th.

Barclay Tagg, trainer of Grade 1 Florida Derby winner and likely Derby favourite, Tiz The Law, said he would have preferred the Belmont stay at 12 furlongs but is still aiming for the race.

“We are planning on running, but I think they should have kept it longer, at least at a mile and a quarter,” he said. “You can complain about dates all you want but there are so many things going into dates this year. But it’s a shame they had to change the order of the Triple Crown races around.”

Trainer Patrick Biancone said he plans on running Sole Volante. “I was expecting the race would be run in the middle or end of June, so I’ve programmed it so that Sole Volante will be ready for the Belmont. When it comes to the tradition of these races, there’s nothing anybody can do about that.”

The June date also allows the NYRA to fit in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes (usually run in Saratoga’s meeting on the last Saturday in August), yet to be arranged, between the Belmont and the Kentucky Derby to have enough time to run in all four races.

American classic schedule

CHAMPION mare Monomoy Girl made her first start since winning the 2018 Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs last Saturday, when she had no trouble in winning a mile allowance race for fillies and mares.

For Sol Kumin and his fellow owners, and trainer Brad Cox, it ended over two and a half years of waiting with the five-time Grade 1-winning mare.

Back at the track where she captured the Distaff and the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks during a 2018 campaign when she was crowned champion three-year-old filly, the popular chesnut put two failed comeback bids (a mild colic and a hamstring injury) behind her in winning by almost three lengths.

“She ran really, really well,” said Kumin, “It wasn’t a perfect, easy trip, and she’ll get a lot out of it. It was exciting to see. When you watch her make that move (on the final turn) and pull away, it’s such a relief.”

“I’m very proud of her. She showed what kind of champion she is today. She’s very special,” Brad Cox said. “A lot of credit goes to the ownership group for keeping her in training. I’m super excited about the year ahead.”

Future plans depend on the schedules for the major fillies Grade 1 races through the summer but regardless of what’s next, Cox said the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland will be the ultimate goal.

Though Monomoy Girl had a class advantage over her six rivals, her long absence and a wet track had to be overcome on the opening day of racing behind closed doors at Churchill Downs.

Fourth early on, Florent Geroux guided her outside of the front running Talk Veuve To Me and Fashion Faux Pas approaching the quarter pole and the even-money favourite easily opened a four-length lead in the straight and was never seriously challenged for her 10th win in 12 starts, pushing her earnings to over $3 million.

Flavien Plat puts on the style at Santa Anita

JOCKEY Flavien Plat dominated the opening weekend at Santa Anita when racing resumed last weekend.

On a 10-race card on Sunday, Plat rode six winners, highlighted by the win of the Grade 1-winning filly Bellafina in the Grade 3 Desert Stormer Stakes.

She had been a dual winner at the top level at two and last year her early Santa Anita form was top notch with two graded wins leading up to a third Grade 1 success in the Santa Anita Oaks. The Quality Road filly had failed to win in four Grade 1 attempts in the second half of the season, twice going down to Covfefe over seven furlongs.

“It unfolded pretty much as we expected,” said trainer Simon Callaghan. “We had decent speed and Flavien had her in a great position to stalk and gave us a really good performance. It shows how much she loves Santa Anita and we’re glad to get her back in the winner’s circle.”

She swung three-deep turning for home, took command a sixteenth of a mile out and held off a big late run from longshot Hang a Star. The filly runs for a partnership of Kaleem Shah and the Coolmore Stud triumvirate of Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith.