The 156th Belmont Stakes (G1) is Saturday, June 8, at Saratoga Race Course. The 1 ¼-mile race, shortened from 1 ½ miles due to the change of venue as the Belmont Park rebuild continues, is the final leg of the Triple Crown. usracing.com is publishing profiles of the contenders.
SIERRA LEONE
This deep closer is two noses away from being 5-for-5, and Sierra Leone might end up as the best 3-year-old of 2024. A Belmont Stakes win would improve his resume considerably.
Sierra Leone cost himself the Kentucky Derby by veering inward three paths in deep stretch. If he hadn’t crossed over three lanes while bumping and bothering Forever Young, one of them surely would have caught upset winner Mystik Dan.
Sierra Leone (left) gets nosed out by Mystik Dan at the wire in the Kentucky Derby. Coady Photo
Sierra Leone will have new jockey Flavien Prat aboard for the Belmont Stakes
Veering left also cost standout Tyler Gaffalione the mount. Replacing him is Flavien Prat, a brilliant tactician who rarely makes mistakes. Trainer Chad Brown said, “Tyler worked out a very good trip … and I thought his decisions were good. I think not winning bothered Tyler even more than it bothered me.”
But …
“I’m moving forward with the change (to Prat), and we’ll see how it goes.”
Because of the configuration of Saratoga Race Course, whose circumference is 1 1/8 miles, the Belmont Stakes will be run at 1¼ miles instead of its usual 1½. Last-to-first runners usually are at a disadvantage going 12 furlongs at Belmont Park, a 1½-mile oval, so the changes should help Sierra Leone.
Brown is upbeat that Sierra Leone gives him a good chance for his first Belmont victory. He breezed 5 furlongs in 1:02.64 with stablemate Domestic Product May 25 over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track.
“I want to maintain where I’m at with Sierra Leone,” Brown said, “and I’m thrilled with how he’s moving.”
2024 Preakness Stakes Contenders, Odds, and Post Positions: Sierra Leone
Belmont Stakes Betting advice: There should be enough pace to set up Sierra Leone’s big finish, and he belongs on all your tickets. Likely favorite is a serious win contender.
Post position: 9
Odds: 9-5
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Trainer: Chad Brown
Owners: Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook T. Smith
Career record: 5-3-2-0
Career earnings: $1,918,000
Most recent race: Kentucky Derby, May 4 (2nd)
Top Equibase speed figure: 109
Pedigree: Gun Runner-Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Deep closer
Notes: Gun Runner, a Hall of Famer and the 2017 Horse of the Year, is among the world’s leading dirt sires. His son Early Voting won the 2022 Preakness for Brown, and Sierra Leone could be Gun Runner’s first Belmont champion … Brown has been leading trainer at Saratoga six times, including last year, when he tied with Linda Rice. He grew up in Mechanicville, N.Y., only 16 miles south of Saratoga Springs.
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SEIZE THE GREY | Jaime Torres | D. Wayne Lukas | MyRacehorse | 8-1 |
| 2 | RESILIENCE | Junior Alvarado | Bill Mott | Emily Bushnell & Ric Waldman | 10-1 |
| 3 | MYSTIK DAN | Brian Hernandez, Jr. | Kenneth McPeek | Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing LLC & Daniel Hamby III | 5-1 |
| 4 | THE WINE STEWARD | Manny Franco | Mike Maker | Paradise Farms Corp. and Staudacher, David | 15-1 |
| 5 | ANTIQUARIAN | John Velazquez | Todd Pletcher | Centennial Farms | 12-1 |
| 6 | DORNOCH | Luis Saez | Danny Gargan | West Paces Racing LLC, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding LLC, Two Eight Racing LLC & Pine Racing Stable | 15-1 |
| 7 | PROTECTIVE | Tyler Gaffalione | Todd Pletcher | Repole Stable | 20-1 |
| 8 | HONOR MARIE | Florent Geroux | Whit Beckman | Ribble Farms LLC | 12-1 |
| 9 | SIERRA LEONE | Flavien Prat | Chad Brown | Magnier, Mrs. John, Tabor, Michael B., Smith, Derrick, Westerberg, Rocket Ship Racing, LLC and Brant, Peter M. | 9-5 |
| 10 | MINDFRAME | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Todd Pletcher | Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC | 7-2 |