When handicapping a classic race, you should not throw out a horse saddled by Lukas

This time last year, D. Wayne Lukas was being hailed as a master. Too bad the vast majority of fans at Belmont Park on June 10 have such short memories. How else do you explain the fact that a colt he trains for Bob and Beverly Lewis paid $39.60 to win the Belmont Stakes (G1)?

The Triple Crown of 1999 was Lukas's oyster. He was named as an inductee into the Racing Hall of Fame several days before the Kentucky Derby (G1) and then sent out the Lewises' Charismatic to post a big upset in the race, paying $64.60 to win. Lukas called it his best training job. Charismatic then captured the Preakness Stakes (G1). We all know how Charismatic's attempt to become the 12th American Triple Crown winner ended, but everyone came away from the 1999 Triple Crown with a better appreciation of exactly how good of a trainer Lukas is. How soon we forget.

After Commendable ran a noncompetitive 17th in this year's Derby, the colt was written off as a cut below the best of his division.

But, once again after a classic race, Lukas is standing in the winner's circle. Lukas has done this a remarkable number of times, 13 to be exact, tying him with Racing Hall of Fame trainer James E. "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons for trainer with the most classic victories. As some people will no doubt point out, Lukas reached the same pinnacle with a lot more starters, more than twice as many as Fitzsimmons, who won three Derbys, four Preaknesses, and six Belmonts. Lukas has won four Derbys, five Preaknesses, and four Belmonts. Fitzsimmons trained two Triple Crown winners.

Still, no matter how you look at it, Lukas proved once again that he is not just a numbers guy but knows the flesh and blood of the horses in his barn. Commendable may not be a great horse, but Lukas got the most out of his talent and had him at his best on the right day.

Some other thoughts on the 132nd running of the Belmont:

• Without the winner of either the Derby or Preakness in the Belmont, the race was a rather pedestrian affair. The Belmont field was not very distinguished. There was not a single Grade 1 winner in the field; only three had won a race as high as a Grade 2 stakes; only one other as high as a Grade 3 stakes. Four of the horses, including the winner and runner-up, favored Aptitude, were eligible for nonwinners of two races lifetime.
• Running time of the Belmont provides an indication of the quality of the field. The final time of 2:31.19 is the second slowest since 1970 (Thunder Gulch took 2:32 in 1995). Probably not coincidentally, 1970 was the last time the Belmont field had neither the Derby nor Preakness winner. It is the fourth-slowest Belmont in 60 years.
• After three straight years, 1997, '98, and '99, featuring a horse that was attempting to complete the Triple Crown, this year's Belmont offered little prerace drama or a household name to generate a lot of interest. The New York Racing Association thus deserves a lot of credit in being able to attract 67,810 fans to the track for this year's event. That is the sixth-highest ever, behind only the last three years, 1977 (Seattle Slew), and 1971 (Canonero II's failed attempt). More fans turned out this year than came to see Sunday Silence and Easy Goer in 1989. In 1996, the last previous time the Belmont did not have a Derby-Preakness winner, only 40,797 attended.
• This year's Triple Crown events quite likely will yield something the last three years did not: Interesting races in the division in the summer and fall. After losing the 1997 Belmont, Silver Charm did not race again until December 26, in the Malibu Stakes (G1). After losing the 1998 Belmont, Real Quiet did not start again as a three-year-old. And Charismatic never raced again after the 1999 Belmont. The division now has three classic winners. If they can stay sound and meet on the track, for once it could be interesting past the month of June.
• That said, we do not think Fusaichi Pegasus and Red Bullet have a lot to worry about in their division other than each other.