While the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes, the so-called Test of the Champion, is the biggest attraction coming from Belmont Park on Saturday, the day also features a full slate of undercard races. Of the 19 total races under the Belmont Racing Festival umbrella, 10 of them will be featured on Saturday.
That slate includes six Grade I races, two Grade II races and one Grade III race. Including the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, a total of $23,750,000 will be up for grabs in the day's races. The Metropolitan Mile and the Manhattan Handicap are the two bigger non-Belmont races on the day.
The former, popularly known as the Met Mile, is a one-mile race for horses aged three years and up with $1.25 million up for grabs. Frosted is the horse to watch, and has been the favorite for much of the pre-race buildup, though not prohibitively so.
Noble Bird is just behind Frosted in the odds and is coming off an 11-length victory in the Pimlico Special just three weeks ago. Another horse to watch is Stanford, considered by many to be a potential pace-setter in this race. The horse is a noted front-runner, and while that is potentially a bad thing in the very long Belmont Stakes, the Met Mile may be the perfect length for the upset.
In the Manhattan, horses aged four and up will run the 1 1/4-mile turf with $1 million on the line. Flintshire, 6-year-old son of Dansili, is considered the favorite to win the race. Flintshire has had an impressive career, with more than $7.5 million in winnings from races all over the world.
But the big question for Flintshire is whether the horse can win the bigger races, with second-place finishes in notable races like the Breeders' Cup Turf and the Dubai Sheema Classic. In 19 race starts, Flintshire has just five career wins and a total of 10 second-place finishes.
Slumber, World Approval and Divisidero are among Flintshire's top competition. Those three horses were the top three finishers in the Turf Classic on the day of the Kentucky Derby. But when it comes to favorites, Divisidero is the only one close to Flintshire, with Big Blue Kitten and Ironicus rounding out the top four favorites.
Those two races will be among those from the undercard you'll be able to catch live on NBCSN. But not all races will be televised, with coverage picking up on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra at 3 p.m. ET and running for two hours. Below is a full list of Saturday's undercard races:
Metropolitan Mile (Grade I) -- $1,250,000 for 3-and-up, 1 mile
Manhattan Handicap (Grade I) -- $1,000,000 for fillies and mares 3-and-up, 1-1/4 miles turf
Ogden Phipps Handicap (Grade I) -- $1,000,000 for fillies and mares 4-and-up, 1-1/2 mile turf
Just a Game Stakes (Grade I) -- $750,000 for fillies and mares 3-and-up, 1 mile turf
Acorn Stakes (Grade I) -- $750,000 for 3-year-old fillies, 1 mile
Woody Stephens Stakes (Grade II) -- $500,000 for 3-year-olds, 7 furlongs
Brooklyn Invitational (Grade II) -- $400,000 for 4-and-up, 1-1/2 miles
Jaipur Invitational (Grade III) -- $300,000 for 4-and-up, 6 furlongs turf
Easy Goer Stakes -- $150,000 for 3-year-olds, 1-1/16 miles
Belmont Stakes undercard coverage
Time: 3-5 p.m.
TV: NBCSCN
Streaming: NBC Sports Live Extra, NYRA.com