AT BELMONT WOMAN TRAINER HOPES TO BEAT HER OWN ODDS
Bob Baffert
ELMONT  N.Y. -- Bob Baffert isn't supposed to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. Not too many people who roam the backstretch in the mornings are giving his horse  Game On Dude  much of a chance to get to the winner's circle in the 1-1/2-mile Belmont.
 Heck  Baffert is one of them.
 "You know " Baffert said  standing outside the barn housing Game on Dude early Thursday morning  "the Belmont can be an odd race. Horses have won this race who really didn't figure. I am one of those here."
 Game On Dude is a modest 10-1 in the Belmont  co-fourth choice along with Uptowncharleybrown and Make Music For Me. Surely  the main reason Game On Dude is 10-1 is not because he won the Lone Star Derby in Texas in his last start. It's because Baffert  the Hall of Fame trainer  is calling the shots.
 "The Lone Star Derby to here is a big jump " Baffert said. "He has been training well at Santa Anita."
 Baffert was speaking to a small group of writers and didn't sound as confident as he did in the days leading up to the Preakness. Then again  he wasn't talking about Lookin At Lucky here.
 "He is smart " Baffert said about the Preakness winner  who is back home in California. "When he realized he was not gonna run here  he started to feel good. He looks great now. I would love to have him here."
 Baffert will roll the dice with Game On Dude  who was fifth in the Derby Trail and seventh in the Florida Derby. The Florida Derby was won by Ice Box  who is the 3-1 morning line favorite in the Belmont.
 Game On Dude will be ridden by California-based Martin Garcia  who won the Preakness for Baffert with Lookin At Lucky.
 This will be the third race the son of Awesome Again will make under Baffert. The horse was bought by multiple owners -- including Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre -- after the Florida Derby.
 "We bought him for the Classics  we bought him for the (Kentucky) Derby " Baffert said. "Martin worked him the other day and I said  'Are you sure he has a chance to go a mile and a half because I don't want to embarrass myself.' He said he was doing good  a one-pace type cruiser. I do think he looks better than he did before the Lone Star race. I think he will run OK. I hope he does."
ELMONT  N.Y. -- [TGT] isn't supposed to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. Not too many people who roam the backstretch in the mornings are giving [TGT] horse  Game On Dude  much of a chance to get to the winner's circle in the 1-1/2-mile Belmont.
 Heck  [TGT] is one of them.
 "You know [TGT] said  standing outside the barn housing Game on Dude early Thursday morning  "the Belmont can be an odd race. Horses have won this race who really didn't figure. I am one of those here."
 Game On Dude is a modest 10-1 in the Belmont  co-fourth choice along with Uptowncharleybrown and Make Music For Me. Surely  the main reason Game On Dude is 10-1 is not because he won the Lone Star Derby in Texas in his last start. It's because Baffert  the Hall of Fame trainer  is calling the shots.
 "The Lone Star Derby to here is a big jump " [TGT] said. "[TGT] has been training well at Santa Anita."
 [TGT] was speaking to a small group of writers and didn't sound as confident as [TGT] did in the days leading up to the Preakness. Then again  [TGT] wasn't talking about Lookin At Lucky here.
 "[TGT] is smart " [TGT] said about the Preakness winner  who is back home in California. "When [TGT] realized [TGT] was not gonna run here  [TGT] started to feel good. [TGT] looks great now. I would love to have [TGT] here."
 Baffert will roll the dice with Game On Dude  who was fifth in the Derby Trail and seventh in the Florida Derby. The Florida Derby was won by Ice Box  who is the 3-1 morning line favorite in the Belmont.
 Game On Dude will be ridden by California-based Martin Garcia  who won the Preakness for [TGT] with Lookin At Lucky.
 This will be the third race the son of Awesome Again will make under [TGT]. The horse was bought by multiple owners -- including Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre -- after the Florida Derby.
 "We bought him for the Classics  we bought him for the (Kentucky) Derby " Baffert said. "Martin worked him the other day and I said  'Are you sure he has a chance to go a mile and a half because I don't want to embarrass myself.' He said he was doing good  a one-pace type cruiser. I do think he looks better than he did before the Lone Star race. I think he will run OK. I hope he does."