Max Player
Honor Code—Fools In Love, by Not For Love
Owner: George E. Hall and Sport BLX Thoroughbreds Corp.
Breeder: K & G Stables (KY)
Trainer: Linda Rice
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Belmont Park – Photo Courtesy of NYRA
Belmont Stakes Horses:
Max Player was part of the Lane’s End consignment at the Keeneland September yearling sale in 2018 but failed to meet his reserve at $150,000. Lane’s End stands his sire, Honor Code, and Max Player is among the best from the stallion’s very promising first crop, having won the Withers Stakes in just his third career start. Honor Code made three starts over Belmont Park’s main track, winning the Met Mile, finishing second in the Champagne Stakes and third in the Kelso Stakes. Honor Code is from the final crop by leading sire A.P. Indy, who won the 1992 Belmont Stakes.
George E. Hall, in partnership with his wife Lori, has been represented by two previous Belmont Stakes starters. Ruler on Ice won in 2011 and My Adonis finished eighth in 2012.
Trainer Linda Rice has saddled one previous Belmont Stakes starter: Supervisor was fifth in 2003.
Belmont Stakes Odds:
“It would be great to win a Belmont or any Triple Crown race,” Rice said. “(The Withers) was on February 1, so we’re looking at four and a half months. He has improved dramatically in his training the past 60 days. I’m excited about running him this week.”
Joel Rosario has been aboard eight previous Belmont Stakes starters, two were winners: Tonalist (2014) and Sir Winston (2019).
** The 152nd Belmont Stakes will be held this Saturday, June 20, and for the first time will be the anchor leg to the Triple Crown. This year the race will be contested at 1 1/8 miles, three furlongs shorter than the traditional Belmont Stakes distance of 1 ½ miles. The weather in New York on Saturday is expected to be warm and possibly even wet with afternoon thunderstorms likely. The day’s high temperature will reach into the lower 80s. First post at Belmont Park is 11:45 p.m. ET and the Belmont Stakes field will break from the gate at 5: 42 p.m. ET.
Miriam Lee has always been a horse racing fan thanks to trips to the tracks in her home state of Maryland with her father as kid. She owns an OTTB and is an advocate for promoting the sport among her peers. Miriam studies communication arts at Hood College and will receive her master’s degree in 2021, which she plans to use for a career in screenwriting.
