Looks like Elliott Walden has narrowed his handicapping down to six.  Carpe Diem\'s made the cut.  

Walden Q&A article

Interesting article with the list of trainers proposing to phase out Lasix starting as early as 2015.  Quotes from both sides of the fence


U.S. Trainers respond to proposal supporting furosemide phase-out on Thoroughbred Racing Commentary - thoroughbredracing.com

Saturday\'s Belmont Stakes card is truly awesome. I\'ll get into the Manhattan and Belmont Stakes now and will follow up with more later.

Belmont Stakes

Nobody would love to see a Triple Crown winner more than me. I think we are all in store for a treat, it should be a fantastic race. I\'m not going to deny that CALIFORNIA CHROME has a big chance to win this race, but I have two reasons to bet against him – 1) he has a target on his back and the added distance certainly won't do him any favors, and 2) his odds will be low, 3/5 at best. Chrome\'s \'breakaway\' move in the early stretch is uncanny and a valuable weapon in Espinoza\'s arsenal, but the longer journey to that point will be draining and have an impact on how much he has left approaching the wire. In a measure of feet, the final stretch run to the wire at Belmont is a shorter distance than that at either Churchill Downs or Pimlico, so if Chrome has the same ridiculous burst in him that we are getting accustomed to seeing, then he wins. But my hunch is that he will not get another perfect trip and that combined with the added distance will prevent him from winning the Triple Crown.

With that said, WICKED STRONG had an awful post in the Derby but still managed to pick up a check. He enters the race well meant after five weeks off; he is working well and has shown that he can run all day. This horse calls NY home and Jimmy Jerkens will have him ready to go; he wins if we can get a clean trip, relax about 4-5 lengths off the lead and run a new top figure. COMMANDING CURVE will set out to prove that his second-place finish in the KY Derby was no fluke and he ships in with a real chance to make some noise in this race. He has yet to regress in his career and I believe he has a solid chance to score the upset if Bridgmohan can time his move well. Curve would be my top choice but trainer Dallas Stewart is 0 for his last 9 at Belmont going back to 2011. However, this horse is fit and dangerous.

Selections:

Wicked Strong
Commanding Curve
California Chrome

Wager thoughts:

- I will look to play one or both Wicked Strong and Commanding Curve WP, but will be watching the board and the horses in the paddock closely in the minutes leading up to the race.

- Exacta 4,9 / 2,4,7,9

- Trifecta 4,9 / 2,4,9 / 2,4,7,9

Finally, I do think that horses that run in all three legs in the Triple Crown are at a disadvantage in the Belmont Stakes, as this great article on Thoroughbred Racing Commentary shows ThoroughbredRacing.com


The G1 Manhattan
Earlier on twitter (my handle is @TRCTomQ), I mentioned that one of my favorite angles in turf routes is horses making their third consecutive turf start in their form cycles. Five contenders fit that profile here - Rookie Sensation, Boisterous, Five Iron, Real Solution, and Kaigun. Seek Again will be tough in this race, but I\'m going to hope that the winner comes out of the aforementioned 5 horses. Their morning line odds range from 5-1 to 15-1. Of the five, I like Real Solution and Five Iron the best. A pace duel with Imagining will not help Five Iron though, so I\'m hoping that Real Solution can buck his losing trend and get to the wire first here.  More later...