The final leg of the Triple Crown will be on June 5^th.

But unfortunately, there will be no rematch between Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky as the connections of both have decided to pass up on the 2010 Belmont Stakes this Saturday.

While a few veterans of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness will be there, it looks like there will be lots of new shooters to fill out the field.

Here is the list of the top contenders for the 2010 Belmont Stakes:

Ice Box – Trained by infamous Nick Zito, Ice Box broke his maiden in October at the Meadowlands, and then followed that up with an allowance win at Gulfstream in January. He made his stakes debut in the Fountain of Youth (G2) on February 20, finishing 5th beaten 12 lengths. He came back to win the Florida Derby (G1) on March 20. Finished a fast-closing second in the Kentucky Derby beaten 2 1/2 lengths.

First Dude – After finishing 2nd in his first two starts, he finally broke his maiden in January at Gulfstream. Then he followed that with an allowance win also at Gulfstream, then finished third in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland. He set the pace in the Preakness, finishing second beaten just 3/4 length by Lookin at Lucky.

Fly Down – Another Nick Zito trained horse, he won an allowance at Gulfstream in February, followed by a 9th place finish in the Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds on March 27. He came back next to win the Dwyer Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park on May 9, earning a career-best 99 Beyer.

Stately Victor – After breaking his maiden at Saratoga…

You just know which horse will most horse racing fans be rooting for this weekend.

This Saturday will mark the 135th Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the second leg in the race for the Triple Crown and like almost every year, everyone would love to see the Derby champ, this time it’s Super Saver, to win the Preakness Stakes and have a shot at winning the Triple Crown, a feat nobody has accomplished in thirty two years, as no one since Affirmed back in 1978 has been able to pull off horse racing’s version of the trifecta.

2010 Kentucky Derby champion Super Saver entered into the field for the Preakness Stakes looking to take the second of three steps for Triple Crown glory. One can’t deny that everyone will be focused on this horse and its jockey, Calvin Borel.

Pulling off a flawless race in the Kentucky Derby, Calvin Borel was able to run a masterful sprint around the track and have his horse in a position to take it in the end. He had not won a race in 2010 up to the Derby, but getting to the rail was exactly what Saver needed to do to make his winning dash to the roses.

Can Borel pull off the feat again? Early odds makers say he can with current odds running at 5 to 3 for him to repeat.

Showing a new dimension and given a perfect ride, the bay son of Maria’s Mon is two wins away from becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 32 years. Super Saver is a homebred out of the A.P. Indy mare Supercharger.

Super Saver had flashed early speed in each of his first…

Can the Kentucky Derby champ continue his campaign for this year’s Triple Crown?

That question is always asked every single time the second leg of the race for the Triple Crown marches on and in the 2010 Preakness Stakes, it just so happened that this time it’s Kentucky Derby champion Super Saver trying to win at Pimlico and continue to chase after Triple Crown glory.

The Kentucky Derby champion Super Saver entered into the field for the Preakness Stakes looking to take the second of three steps for Triple Crown glory. One can’t deny that everyone will be focused on this horse and its jockey, Calvin Borel. Of course, there will be others looking to put an end to his Triple Crown trail. Who are these killjoys? Let’s begin with Paddy OPrado.

Paddy OPrado cannot be discounted as a possible contender. This horse’s pet peeve has always been getting caught up in traffic, and such was the problem again at the Kentucky Derby. Paddy OPrado got caught up in the beginning of the race in the jumbled up field and was only able to shake free towards the end of the race.

Oprado almost took the race from Super Saver, going stride for stride until a late charging Ice Box nipped him at the end to take second. If the horse can come up with that strong of a performance after getting caught up in traffic, what happens he has some breathing room between him and the other contenders?

We also have Lookin at Lucky. Bettors should have known that…

Yep, a lot of guys will be gunning for Mine That Bird this weekend.

In case you don’t know it yet, the 141st Belmont Stakes is on this weekend as the top horses in the country will be looking to win the last leg of this year’s Triple Crown trail and end the season on a high note.

With Rachel Alexandra out, Mine That Bird took over the reigns as the heavy favorite at Belmont Park. After all, he is the reigning Kentucky Derby champion and came an inch close from winning the Preakness as well.

However, there will be others looking to challenge the horse this weekend, one of which is Luv Gov. Named after disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, the horse was last seen making his stakes debut in the Preakness. He was never a factor in the race. He settled early at the back of the pack, got forced eight wide entering the stretch, and was only able to hold his ground as a few fast fading stragglers went past him in reverse.

He wound up eighth.

On the plus side, he never exerted any real effort in the race, so he’ll be reasonably fresh and ready for the Belmont.

Luv Gov is a homebred son of Ten Most Wanted. His first crop of foals are just three…

As of this writing, Rachel Alexandra is still a no go for Belmont this Saturday.

You read it, and since we only have a few more days before the 141st Belmont Stakes gets going at Belmont Park in New York City, chances are, it’ll stay that way until raceday. That means, Mine That Bird should be the ULTIMATE, HEAVY FAVORITE, to win at Belmont Park. The thoroughbred, after all, won the 2009 Kentucky Derby before finishing second best at Pimlico.

Mine That Bird, if he wins the 2009 Belmont Stakes, will become only the 12th horse to complete the Derby – Belmont double and the first one since Thunder Gulch did it, 14 years ago in 1995.

Of course, there will be challengers and these horses should prove to be big ones.

One of which is Dunkirk. Dunkirk finished 11th in the Kentucky Derby in his last start, which was his fourth lifetime for trainer Todd Pletcher. He earned points for running style as he stalked the pace in his two wins, he has 4 starts as a 3-year-old, has topped the Beyer par of 106 with his 108 effort in the Florida Derby, and his dosage index is under 4. However he did not race as a 2-year-old, skipped the Preakness, did not have a sharp prep nor have any starts at Belmont Park, and he has points on the right side of his dosage profile.

Charitable Man, on the other hand, exits a…

No, there won’t be any flying privates making any escapes this weekend.

What we are trying to imply here are two of the contenders looking to make a big impact on the 141st Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park this weekend. Yes, the hroses are named Flying Private and Miners Escape.

Flying Private continued an impressive move which saw him open at 25/1 before moving to 20/1 earlier this week and now to 16/1 where he currently resides. Flying Private finished fourth beaten 4 lengths in the Preakness for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, which ”just” qualifies as a sharp prep race with a Beyer Speed Figure of 102, not quite par but earns points for breaking 100.

Flying Private ran 4th in an optional claimer at Oaklawn for his 2009 debut, then was 2nd and 4th in similar races also at Oaklawn. Ran 2nd by a head in the Mountain Valley Stakes there then shipped to Turfway to run 2nd in the Lane’s End Stakes. Put in an even effort to finish 5th in the Arkansas Derby. In the Kentucky Derby, he was 5 wide on the first turn then stopped badly after 1 mile finishing 19th and last. In the Preakness he raced 10th early and put in a mild rally to finish 4th beaten 4 lengths.

On the negative side he has too many starts at both 2 and 3, lacks a stakes win…

The final leg of this year’s Triple Crown race is finally here.

The final leg of the Triple Crown will be the 141st Belmont Stakes on June 6th, and sadly, there will be no rematch between Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra.

Rachel Alexandra (was 9/4 on the 2009 Belmont odds) has been withdrawn and two more horses have been added to the betting options.

There are a ton of quality horses with a chance at the title remaining in the race and this one could very well come down to the final wire with a photo finish being the only way to decide who takes home the 2009 Belmont Stakes title.

Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird becomes an ever bigger favorite with the withdrawal of Rachel Alexandra. The three-year-old thoroughbred currently sits at 2/3 on the 2009 Belmont Stakes odds.

His runner-up finish at Pimlico earned him a 106 Beyer, his career best, and qualifies as a sharp prep and a stakes win this year to go with his Kentucky Derby victory. Although he has rallied from off the pace in the first two legs of the Triple Crown trail, he won using a stalking trip during his championship juvenile season in Canada so we awarded him the point for running style, as stalking the pace 1-5 lengths behind is preferable in the Belmont over front-runners or…

For the second time in this year’s Triple Crown trail, one horse is pulling the entire ”to run or not to run” fiasco on horse racing fans.

Yup, after Mine That Bird hinted that he’ll be missing the second leg of the Triple Crown, that being the Preakness Stakes, after winning the Kentucky Derby, it is now Rachel Alexandra’s turn to pull the same sick joke because after winning the Preakness, she is flirting with a NO SHOW for the 141st Belmont Stakes on June 6.

How come? Well, for some reason, Rachel Alexandra has her owners wondering if getting her to run at Belmont Park would still be necessary considering that the quest for the Triple Crown this year is once again, gone, after Mine That Bird failed to win the second leg at Pimlico.

Rachel Alexandra’s owner Jess Jackson feels getting the filly to compete for the 2009 Belmont Stakes is unnecessary considering that she wasn’t suppose to run for the Preakness Stakes anyway and since Rachel Alexandra already proved that she can run with the big boys when the filly won the Preakness, there’s not much to prove anything else on June 6.

”What else does she have to prove?” Jess Jackson said. ”The Preakness was a gamble. We don’t have to gamble anymore.”

Jackson claims that Rachel Alexandra, despite the stunning win at Pimlico…

Apparently, BetUS.com thinks so.

Then again, they probably just want to squeeze out the last drop of money you might still have in you with the last leg of the Triple Crown series, that being the 141st Belmont Stakes, set this June 6 at Belmont Park in New York City.

So who the heck is this jockey BetUS.com is claiming to have a shot of winning the 2009 Triple Crown title?

In case you didn’t know, jockey Calvin Borel made a name for himself in this year’s Triple Crown trail after winning the Kentucky Derby riding Mine That Bird. Then, he surprised everyone when he decided to abandon the Derby champ and decided to ride Rachel Alexandra for the Preakness, a move many horse racing fans felt reckless and disloyal since he virtually abandoned a shot of winning the Triple Crown.

When Borel won the Preakness Stakes with Rachel Alexandra, those horse racing fans who were cursing at him for leaving Mine That Bird, all of a sudden, were singing a different tune and Borel was a hero again.

You really can’t blame them. After all, Calvin Borel just became the very first jockey to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown trail on different horses. If he stayed on top of Mine That Bird and won the Preakness Stakes, he would’ve been overshadowed by…

Because we know some of you would rather watch a steaming pile of horseshit and like it.

If you are one of these people and if you’re wondering who to put your money on for the 134th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, we have you covered. Of course, we don’t guarantee wins here but since you’re probably dumbfounded at this point, you need all the advice you can get.

While Mine That Bird resumes his quest to become the 2009 Triple Crown champion, the rest of the field will be looking to put an abrupt end on the horse’s Triple Crown trail. One of which is Papa Clem. And yes, there is a lot to like about the thoroughbred.

Papa Clem comes into the 2009 Preakness Stakes with odds that seem to indicate he’ll play a big part amongst top finishers in this race. The Kentucky Derby was a decent enough race for the three-year old and you should keep an eye out for this horse at the finish line because he has a legitimate shot of taking home the 134th Preakness Stakes title.

Papa Clem started off pretty slow with 6th and 5th place finishes at Maiden Special Weight races but has since turned it on quite a bit. In his last 5 starts, he has two 1st place finishes to go along with two 2nd place finishes. And after finishing at Churchill Downs fourth fastest, riding Papa Clem’s bandwagon could prove to be…