Muted celebrations to mark 50th anniversary of Secretariat's iconic Triple Crown triumph at Belmont Park

This was supposed to be the year thoroughbred racing celebrated the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s magnificent Triple Crown triumph as the current crop of three-year-olds finished their run on center stage.

Heading into the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday, the racing has become almost an afterthought as the public has focused on a recent spike in deaths of horses at racetracks and air quality problems in the northeast caused by wildfires in Canada.

And there is no Secretariat on the scene to make everyone forget the issues.

A highly competitive field of nine led by 2-year-old champion Forte and Preakness winner National Treasure is set to run in the 2,400 metre test of champions on a card that features almost all stakes races.

This year's renewal of the Belmont, which seems to be the most competitive of this year's Triple Crown races, even with Derby winner and Preakness third-place finisher Mage not running.

Jockey John Velazquez, who rode National Treasure to victory in the Preakness, said he would not mind seeing racing stretch out the Triple Crown races, which are run in a six-week span. That would give the horses more time to recover. He also talked about more scans to detect injuries sooner.

“I love the idea of tweaking things,” he said. “Every sport out there has changed for the better. And I think we a little bit stuck in tradition and everything else. If this is going to make it for the better of the sport, I am all for it. And, obviously, for — good for the horses, good for the fans, and good for everybody.”

Forte, the 2-year-old champion, will get his first Triple Crown taste after missing the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with a foot injury detected on the morning of the Derby.

Baffert, who missed the Derby because of a suspension related to 2021 Derby winner Medina Spirit's failed drug test, will go for two in a row with National Treasure, while Brad Cox's threesome is led by Tapit Trice and Angel of Empire, who both ran well in Kentucky. Jena Antonucci also is expected to become the 11th female trainer to have a horse in the Belmont if Peter Pan Stakes winner Arcangelo runs.

And that brings us back to 50 years ago, when Secretariat and jockey Ron Turcotte blew away the field in the Belmont with a 31-length win in record-setting time to nail down the Triple Crown.

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“He was the type of horse that you’ll never see again,” Turcotte said Wednesday, nearly 50 years to the day since riding Secretariat in the Belmont. “He was doing something that you’ve never seen before and will probably never see again.”

Post time for the Belmont this time around is expected shortly after 7 p.m. EDT.

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