Through the vagaries of scheduling, the New York Handicap Triple may remain one of horse racing's most exclusive clubs, having nine fewer members than the Triple Crown.
Fit to Fight, in 1984, was the last horse to sweep the Metropolitan Handicap (Met Mile), Brooklyn Handicap and Suburban Handicap in the same year. Although a racing millionaire, Fit to Fight is the only non-Hall of Fame member in a four-horse field including Whisk Broom II (1913), Tom Fool (1953) and Kelso (1961).
The New York Racing Association now holds two of the three classics on the Belmont Stakes undercard. The oldest race in the series, the Suburban, has its 135th running today with Oaklawn contestants poised to sweep the 2021 Belmont Park races.
Mystic Guide, the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap winner in February and ranked No. 1 in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association poll, is the even-money favorite against five opponents. The 4-year-old Ghostzapper colt, bred and owned by Godolphin Stable, won the Dubai World Cup in his last out.
Here, he is rematched with undefeated 4-year-old Happy Saver, who beat Mystic Guide by three quarters of a length last fall in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont. Luis Saez rides Mystic Guide for trainer Mike Stidham; three-time Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz Jr., back in the saddle after an injury sidelined him on Belmont Stakes weekend, handles Happy Saver (5 for 5) for soon-to-be Hall of Fame inductee Todd Pletcher.
Both the Suburban and Gold Cup are a mile and a quarter on dirt, same distance as the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic Nov. 6 at Del Mar, for which the Suburban winner qualifies.
Also in the Suburban is 5-year-old Moretti, winner of a May 2, 2020, allowance on Oaklawn's Arkansas Derby card. A son of Medaglia d'Oro trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Moretti ran third to Lone Rock, an April 11 Oaklawn winner for Robertino Diodoro, in the 12-furlong Grade 2 Brooklyn.
Also on June 5 at Belmont, three-time Oaklawn stakes winner Silver State won the Met Mile. Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen trains the 4-year-old Hard Spun colt, winner of the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap, Essex Handicap and Fifth Season at Oaklawn in a six-race streak since last fall. Silver State, co-owned by Marshall horseman Willis Horton, is No. 4 in the latest NTRA poll.