HORSE BETTING

• Fillies Perform Marvelously in Belmont Stakes

  Posted on Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT by Greg Melikov

  
  

  Fillies, it might surprise you, have done well in Triple Crown events dating back to the late 1800s. Overall, one-third of 114 female runners hit the board.
  
  In the Belmont Stakes, 10 fillies that ran in 22 races finished in the money since Ruthless captured the inaugural in 1867 – that’s 45 percent. The two other winners: Tanya, 1905, and Rags to Riches, 2007.
  
  Nearly 40 percent of fillies in 53 runnings of the Preakness hit the board, including this year’s winner Rachel Alexander. The other four victors: Florcarline, 1903; Whimsical, 1906; Rhine Maiden, 1915; and Nellie Morse, 1924.
  
  More than 25 ½ percent of the 39 Kentucky Derby runners finished in the money. The winners: Regret, 1915; Genuine Risk, 1980; and Winning Colors, 1988.
  
  The big question for the 141st Belmont: Will Alexandra the Great take on the boys again?
  
  After the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro worked on Monday for the first time since her Preakness victory May 16, co-owner Jess Jackson said a decision would be made by next Monday, when Rachel Alexandra is expected to work again at Churchill Downs.
  
  The filly went a half-mile in 50 1/5 over a sloppy surface in a driving rain. She is “right on course for being in top shape,” exercise rider Dominic Terry told BloodHorse.com. “Our lady is doing great,” Jackson added.
  
  Meanwhile, another decision promised Monday was put off until next week – naming a rider for Mine That Bird. Calvin Borel had until then to decide whether he’d get back on the Kentucky Derby champ.
  
  But on Monday, after the Preakness runner-up went four furlongs in 51 seconds over a sloppy Churchill Downs, trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. said:
  
  “We will hold off on naming a rider out of respect for Calvin. He won the Derby for us. He deserves the time it takes to make the right decision. I’d like to have closure on this, but it is the nature of the business.”
  
  Meanwhile, Borel is awaiting word on whether Alexandra the Great will go in the Belmont. He has been aboard for five consecutive victories.
  
  “You’ve got two good horses vying for the same rider,” Woolley said. “Nobody likes to be in this situation. Both horses are at the top of their game, and it is a tough choice for the rider and it is tough for the trainers.”
  
  Then he added Mine That Bird “worked super; he got over the ground good. I am tickled with where we are right now. He’s been a little on the hook, so we’re just trying to get him to settle.”
  
  During the past 13 years, nine winners of the Preakness lost in the Belmont, including Big Brown last year and Curlin two years ago when Rags to Riches triumphed. That’s a bad omen for Alexandra the Great.
  
  During the past 20 years, five Derby winners were defeated in the Belmont, including Giacomo, which lost to Afleet Alex in 2005. That’s not as bad an omen for Mine That Bird.
  
  Five Belmont winners since 1990 skipped the first two legs of the Triple Crown, including three in the 21st Century. That’s a good omen for Brave Victory and Miner’s Escape, but don’t bet your week’s paycheck on either.