Gutierrez chooses Belmont experience over first pitch
I’ll Have Another’s jockey, Mario Gutierrez, will get a chance to experience the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes route today when he rides 12-1 shot Boxeur des Rues in the 124th running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Brooklyn Handicap, the last race on the 10-race card.
“It’s very important,” Gutierrez said. “any help I can get before the race, it’s going to be really good for me. I can go and see how it feels like to be on this kind of track and long-distance race.”
The I’ll Have Another connections, owner Paul Reddam and trainer Doug O’Neill, brought Boxeur des Rues to New York specifically for this purpose. because the Brooklyn doesn’t go off until 5:44, they had to cancel plans to throw out the first pitch at tonight’s Subway Series game at Yankee Stadium.
Adding to the fiasco of the overcrowding in the Belmont Stakes detention barn, a couple of trainers, including O’Neill, were told by state regulators they could not cook the oats they feed their horses. The issue was quickly corrected.
NBC has arranged for Giants coach Tom Coughlin to give the “riders up!” call in the paddock for the Belmont Stakes.
TVG will air an hour-long Belmont Stakes Preview show today at 8:30 p.m. One of the handicappers on the show is former Mets catcher Paul LoDuca.
Manny Azpurua, who trains 50-1 rank outsider Ravelo’s Boy, would be the oldest trainer ever to saddle a Belmont winner; he is 83.
Gutierrez chooses Belmont experience over first pitch
