BELMONT STAKES Bluegrass Cat favorite

With no Triple Crown try, a field of 12 horses will battle on Saturday.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Nick Zito did his best to put a positive spin on Saturday's $1 million Belmont Stakes.
Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro and Preakness winner Bernardini are not running, meaning no Triple Crown try, no rematch, no rivalry, no buzz.
But there was Zito, plugging away for the biggest race of the year in New York -- the longest and most grueling of the Triple Crown races.
"It's a competitive field, an interesting field," the Hall of Fame trainer said Wednesday. "The favorite ran second in the Kentucky Derby, the second favorite won the Peter Pan and you have horses running around here and there and they are not running bad."
The last time the Derby and Preakness winners missed the Belmont was 2000, when Commendable won.
Seeks second Belmont win
Zito will try to win his second Belmont with Hemingway's Key, a 15-1 long shot in a 12-horse field with Derby runner-up Bluegrass Cat the morning-line favorite at 3-1.
Asked if the colt's owner, Yankees boss George Steinbrenner, might not feel great about winning a race missing the top 3-year-olds, Zito shrugged and smiled.
"I don't think the owner will be sad if we won," he said. "He deserves it, too. George puts up a lot of money. He's a very good sport when it comes to racing."
Zito always seems to have an impact on the Belmont. His horses have finished second six times, and his breakthrough win came with Birdstone, who spoiled Smarty Jones' Triple Crown bid in 2004. Last year, his Andromeda's Hero finished second to Afleet Alex.
Winless this year
Hemingway's Key, meanwhile, is 0-for-5 this year after winning both starts as a 2-year-old. Until the Preakness, his best finish this year was sixth in the Lane's End at Turfway Park on March 25. But his Preakness effort earned him a shot at the Belmont.
"We always thought he was a distance horse, and this is the race we actually picked out for him," Zito said. "Hopefully, this will be his best race, so we're looking forward to a good race Saturday."
So is Todd Pletcher, the nation's top trainer looking for his first win in a Triple Crown race. Not only does he train Bluegrass Cat, but he'll also saddle 4-1 second choice Sunriver, winner of the Peter Pan at Belmont Park on May 20, the same day as the Preakness.
Pletcher doesn't care who's running. After all, $600,000 goes to the winner, and Pletcher is just looking to add a Belmont winner to his resume.
"I'd say it would look pretty good, hopefully, if it ever happens," he said.
Velazquez on favorite
Bluegrass Cat would be Pletcher's first favorite in a Triple Crown race. The colt will be ridden by John Velazquez, who returned to riding last week after recovering from a cracked shoulder blade and bruised ribs in a spill on April 20.
"He's recovered quicker than we could have hoped for," Pletcher said. "He's ridden well in the last week."
Bluegrass Cat is 0-for-3 since winning Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, finishing second in the Tampa Bay Derby and fourth in the Blue Grass Stakes. With Ramon Dominguez subbing for Velazquez, Bluegrass Cat finished 61/2 lengths behind Barbaro in the Derby.
Sunriver may be on the rise. After missing the Derby because of insufficient graded stakes earnings, the colt won the Peter Pan by a neck with Rafael Bejarano aboard.
Missing the Derby could end up as a good thing.
"It probably sets us up better for the Belmont, but we would have liked to take a shot at the Derby -- there's only one chance to it," Pletcher said. "It was out of our control so we went to plan B and fortunately he ran very well in the Peter Pan."