Belmont Derby Invitational Preview and Picks

Irish trainer Aiden O'Brien holds a big hand in the Belmont Derby, shipping in two colts that have made some noise in Group racing across the pond. Last start for Deauville (4-1) faced the best in the UK in the 1 1/2-mile Epsom Derby, and the cutback in distance here should be beneficial. Prior to that he ran second in a Group 2 race where the winner has come back to win again. The other O'Brien entrant, Long Island Sound is the morning line favorite for the race at 7-2. He only started his racing career this year, and promptly won his first three races, until finishing third most recently in a Group 3 race. Both horses will get first-time lasix, as will the other Irish shipper, Humphrey Bogart (5-1) who has come close but has yet to get into the top three in group-level racing.

Big field gives lots of options in a wide-open race

Facing them in the full field are 10 US-based colts, including Chad Brown's Camelot Kitten (4-1), whose only bad race came in last year's Breeder's Cup Juvenile Turf. Outside of that he's been first or second in five other tries, last out winning the (G3) Pennine Ridge running on the Belmont inner turf. There he just managed to hold off a fast-closing Highland Sky (8-1) who will be trying 1 1/4 miles for the first time, and who should benefit from the added distance. Also in the field is Mark Casse's Airoforce (10-1), who has struggled to follow up on the promise he showed winning three races as a juvenile. There have been positive signs for him lately, as he took second last tme out in the Penn Mile, showing a willingness to close that could get him on the bottom of the ticket here.

OTB New York Picks

1) #13 - Deauville

2) #4 - Highland Sky

3) #6 - Camelot Kitten

7) #8 - Airoforce