Fourth of July signals start of second half of racing year

The Fourth of July signals the start of the second half of the horse racing season. There is less mystery this year though due to American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown.

There is 99.9 percent certainty that American Pharoah will be the Horse of the Year and top 3-year-old on every Eclipse Award voter’s ballot. I won’t say 100 percent. That’s because this is the horse racing business and some knucklehead may find a reason to not vote for the horse.

Regardless, we have a lot of great stakes this weekend and I thought I’d highlight a few of them.

The 3-year-old division earns the most focus due to the Los Alamitos Derby on Saturday and back east at Belmont Park the Dwyer, Belmont Derby and Belmont Oaks.

It is not a good idea to have competing stakes in the same division on the same weekend. But that’s what we have with the Los Alamitos Derby and Dwyer. Instead of having one fine race, we end up with two OK races.

The Derby is headed by Kentuckian who won the Laz Barrera at Santa Anita like a good thing. His trainer Jerry Hollendorfer knows how fast he is; now he’ll be tested for how far he can go.

It won’t be easy as he’ll face the top two finishers of the Affirmed in Gimme Da Lute and Prospect Park. These three are likely happy to see Texas Red ship to Belmont Park for the Dwyer.

Texas Red (9-5) has had bad luck since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita last fall. A nagging foot injury forced him to miss the Triple Crown series.

Texas Red has been training great for trainer Keith Desormeaux. The Dwyer is a richer purse, a likely easier spot and gets the colt well positioned for a potential run in the Jim Dandy and Travers.

I say easier in the fact that his three main rivals, Tommy Macho (4-1), Speighster (3-1) and Smart Transition (12-1) have never run in a stakes race. All three show enormous talent but the step up to a grade 2 stakes is a steep one.

The Belmont Derby also has a strong Southern California flavor in Bolo (7-2). He didn’t run so much as participate in the Kentucky Derby. Now with the dirt experiment behind him he can focus on turf, which is his preferred surface.

It won’t be easy as there are literally no throw outs in the eight horse field. I am intrigued by Juddmonte Farms import Postulation (10-1) who is making his U.S. debut. He rallied from last to beat an odds on favorite in Parish Hall last out at the Curragh.

The Belmont Oaks starts and ends with the undefeated champ Lady Eli (2-1). She has won all five career starts for trainer Chad Brown including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

It’s a very deep field including Spanish Queen (7-2) who won the American Oaks at Santa Anita last out. If you’re looking for a big price filly who can outrun her odds try Consumer Credit (12-1).

Consumer Credit is an uncoupled stablemate of Lady Eli. In the stretch run of the American Oaks, she was stuck on the rail in a tight pocket and could not get out until the final 100 yards. By then, it was too late.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick