Races at a mile and one-half are seldom run in this country, but are a little more common place in Europe. Actually the mile and one-half better suits many horses from Europe as they are trained to be restrained early and fire late. There is more of a premium placed on early speed in this country. The casual racing fan seems to always have the notion that those confirmed closers will relish the mile and one-half of the Belmont. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Most closers have a solid run of maybe a quarter of a mile or maybe an eighth of a mile.
In the Belmont all that will do is complete some exactas or trifectas. Those confirmed closers will find themselves well behind a moderate to slow early pace and hot and dirty when the real running begins about a half mile from the finish line. Jockey Ron Turcotte rode Riva Ridge and Secretariat to front-running victories in the Belmont in 1972 and 1973. Prior to the 1976 Belmont, Turcotte, injured and unable to ride, told all who would listen that Bold Forbes was the dangerous horse. If Bold Forbes gets that far without being pressured then it's good-bye to everyone.