🐎 The Belmont Stakes Is Set To Make History

The famous horse race is this Saturday, and the Belmont Stakes should be as unpredictable an event as it is historic. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: A historic Belmont Stakes takes place this weekend, in what could be the most unpredictable running in its 152-year legacy ... the sports world commemorates Juneteenth ... and Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman gives us a fantastic, feel-good moment headed into the weekend. “This is not a year where anything has gone according to plan,” esteemed horse racing expert and TVG commentator Caton Bredar told me on Friday. “So … look for the unexpected.” She’s not wrong. As the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes approaches this weekend, things in the racing world are in just as much flux as the rest of American life. A sport where insiders and hopeful bettors alike pore over precedent and information to try to predict the future shifts to its very core when those helpful pointers are stripped away. [STORY IMAGE 1] Much like every sport has either implemented or dealt with significant change and upheaval during this extraordinary time in modern history, those who do their business at the tracks have also had to show flexibility and a knack for adaptation. The Belmont is grand and old and steeped in nostalgia, which is why the way its organizers have enforced change upon themselves is so striking. This year, the Belmont is the opening chapter of the Triple Crown, not its conclusion. It is still ensconced in Nassau County, of course, but there will be no fans, none of the loyal locals and distant travelers who make an annual pilgrimage to get a flavor of how New York and racing intertwine. Even the distance has changed, decreased from 1.5 miles to 1 1/8th, in a sensible move aimed at protecting horses that have not been able to get the usual amount of competitive mileage in their legs. [STORY IMAGE 2] “It used to be that the Belmont was a little bit more predictable,” Bredar said, via telephone. “The horses have always had half a year of racing behind them, and the distance was the great separator. Not so this time.” Not everyone likes it. Any sport that has done things a certain way for a long time and revels in its pageantry will have those who don’t care for any tinkering with the established order. The nastier of the detractors have intimated that this year’s rendition should not be regarded as a true Triple Crown at all, or least be poisoned with that gloomiest of sporting symbols, an asterisk. Bredar is not one of them, and insists some credit should be given to how racing has rolled with the restrictions imposed by quarantine and still been able to put out a consistent product for the viewers these past months. [STORY IMAGE 3] The return of big-time events like the Belmont does come as a relief to the hardcore, but at least there has been something to watch even during much of the tensest moments of the global pandemic. Tiz The Law, trained by 82-year-old Barclay Tagg and coming out of the No. 8 stall, is the strong favorite, but accurately predicting this year’s race is a trickier proposition than ever, and the field has also been afflicted by mishap, with several elite horses forced to withdraw. “There was a point where it was going to be an All-Star field,” NBC analyst Jerry Bailey said on a conference call this week. “Nadal was going to be in there. There was a good chance Charlatan was going to be in there. A horse called Maxfield was going to be in there. Those were probably in the top four horses in the country, (as) three-year olds. It’s just like any sport. Injuries happen.” Were there to be a shock winner, it would perhaps feel somehow appropriate, given that we have conditioned ourselves to accept unpredictability. [STORY IMAGE 4] It is also worth noting that the distance change is not unprecedented; the race was run over various lengths in its earliest stagings, but has remained uniform since 1926. “Our racing committee looked at it and basically unanimously said, Let's go in June at a mile and an eighth,” Martin Panza, senior vice president at the New York Racing Association told NBC Sports. “Let's not stress these horses and try to get them to go a mile and a half when they might not be prepared to do that.” As racing gets ready to enjoy its moment in the sun, it also feels right that it is at Belmont, where the show revolves heavily around the racing, as opposed to the social craziness of the Kentucky Derby or at the Preakness, where Pimlico’s infield hosts all kind of festivities and concerts and other forms of entertainment. Whether you are the most occasional of fans watching one of your only races of the year, or a lingering consumer of the sport, Saturday will be a special day, for all manner of reasons. Coming off an unimaginable sports drought one of the highlights of the calendar is upon us, not the same as always, but arguably more intriguing than ever. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here's what others have said... Andrew Gross, Newsday: “The Mark Casse-trained Tap It to Win will provide speed breaking from the rail. Dr Post, breaking from the ninth post, just outside of Tiz the Law, also is a serious contender. The Patrick Biancone-trained Sole Volante, who did not ship from Florida to Belmont until Tuesday, also could be a strong factor in the race. ‘The only horses right now that I can think of off the top of my head that are in training that we can say, ‘Oh man, it’s really too bad these horses aren’t in the Belmont,’ would be Honor A.P. and Authentic, the one-two finishers of the Santa Anita Derby,’ said NBC Sports analyst Randy Moss. ‘The only reason they’re not in the Belmont is because Santa Anita got back running before Belmont Park did and scheduled the Santa Anita Derby sort of in conflict with the Belmont Stakes, for whatever reason.’” Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press: “If this race was going to be a typical Belmont and run at a mile and a half, Tap It to Win would probably be the call — his sire, Tapit, has already seen three of his progenies win the Belmont. And the short turnaround from his last start makes it tough to see Sole Volante finding a way to win this one. But at this distance, Tiz the Law will get the job done. And Knowlton and Tagg will get the Belmont they wanted together 17 years ago.” Christina Moore, America’s Best Racing: “This year’s Belmont Stakes will be different than any other, with a new date, distance, and track regulations, but it will still draw the attention of sports fans from across the nation as well as some of the best 3-year-old Thoroughbreds in the country.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - [Athletes, teams, leagues and more are commemorating]( today’s Juneteenth holiday, which marks the anniversary of the news of the Emancipation Proclamation reaching the people in Texas. - San Antonio Spurs star DeMar DeRozen joins [Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks]( and opens up about his experience as a black man and what “America” means to him. - Panthers star Christian McCaffrey has teamed up with his dad to provide a Father’s Day surprise to members of the military. [Bill Bender of the Sporting News chronicles]( how the two partnered with USAA and the USO of North Carolina to surprise an active-duty father and daughter. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( We’re always on board to highlight a professional athlete making a difference in his community. Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman did just that as he surprised a little league baseball team this week when he dropped by their practice. Stroman joined the Tampa Heat 9u baseball team, offering some pitching tips and addressing the whole team with some words of wisdom. But the best part of Stroman’s surprise visit came at the end of practice when he raced a member of the team around the bases. This is the definition of a “feel good” piece of content! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] WWE Friday Night Smackdown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Bray Wyatt finally ends his silence as the “Firefly Fun House” returns to SmackDown, AJ Styles rolls out the red carpet for his Intercontinental Championship presentation, and Mandy Rose is set to appear on Miz TV. RBC Heritage: Rounds 3 & 4 (Saturday, CBS, 3 p.m. ET & Sunday, Golf Channel, 1 p.m. ET) The 2020 RBC Heritage concludes this weekend from Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina, with Saturday’s coverage on CBS before moving over to the Golf Channel for Sunday’s final round. 2020 Belmont Stakes (Saturday, NBC, 5:45 p.m. ET) For the first time ever, the Belmont Stakes will be the first leg of the Triple Crown due to scheduling changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be no spectators allowed at the event, so TV and online coverage will be the only way to tune-in to the race. NASCAR Cup Series: GEICO 500 (Sunday, FOX, 3 p.m. ET) NASCAR will make its first visit of the year to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend as Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski lead a star-studded field of drivers. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( 2020 Cleveland Browns to make the playoffs: No: -167 Yes: +137 Following a disappointing 6-10 finish in 2019, the Cleveland Browns find themselves in a “must-win-now” situation heading into the upcoming NFL season. All eyes are on third-year quarterback Baker Mayfield, who holds the keys to the Browns’ offense. This week, former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook appeared on First Things First, [stating that “if the Browns don’t make the playoffs, it’s the end of Baker Mayfield.”]( a lot of pressure to put on a 25-year-old who is expected to be your franchise QB, but history is not on Cleveland’s side. The Browns have not made a playoff appearance since 2002 and have posted just two winning seasons over the past quarter century. If you are a strong believer when it comes to betting on past history, then taking a wager on the Browns missing the playoffs yet again sure seems like a good pick. A new FOX Sports app and website is coming. [Click here]( to be notified when the reimagined app is available. [WHAT THEY SAID] “Life is not a spectator sport. 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