On a routine Thursday at Belmont Park, a few of those involved in one of the most unusual day’s in the sport’s history were plying their trade in near anonymity.
Luis Saez at Belmont Park on Friday. By Chuck Culpepper Chuck Culpepper Reporter who covers national college football, college basketball, tennis, golf and international sports. Email Bio Follow May 10 ELMONT, N.Y. — Just after the fifth race Thursday at Belmont Park, the 26-year-old jockey who had spent the past five days starring in a giant swirl of national discourse trudged off the track alone. Flecks of dirt had joined his silks and cap.
Racing had begun at 3:05 on a workday. The other passenger walked the lonely outdoor concourse to the second-floor entrance to the 114-year-old track, only to find it locked. He muttered, then descended nearby stairs to open doors.Thursday counted as an extreme, with attendance almost countable — low triple digits? — and well more barren than a typical weekday. It also counted as a reminder.
Race 5, purse $70,000, New York-bred 3 years old and up: Aboard entry No. 1, San Juan Diego, sat Saez. Aboard No. 5, Real Dan, rode Velazquez, whose Derby mount, Code of Honor, crossed the wire third and wound up second. Aboard No. 6, Five Star Bunt, there was Irad Ortiz Jr., fifth and then fourth in the Derby aboard Improbable; and on No. 7, Sicilia Mike, Jose Ortiz, fourth and then third in the Derby aboard Tacitus.
As for seeing him come and go, he said: “Part of the game. It makes you keep going. In the claiming game, you’ve got to keep turning them over.” Velazquez said he had ridden through the spring in “Tampa, Oaklawn [Arkansas], Florida, Louisiana, New York, Kentucky and London.” To manage the grind, he recommended arriving at the track early to allow for 30-minute naps. He said a seasoned jockey feels zero difference between audiences of 150,000 and low triple digits.
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