SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Mindframe entered the 156th Belmont Stakes as a colt with bright potential, winning his first two races by a combined 21 1/4 lengths.
But neither was in company, and here he was making the jump to the final race of the Triple Crown series for trainer Todd Pletcher, running the longest distance of his young career.
And, although he didn’t know it, Constitution’s 3-year-old son from Walk of Stars was carrying the Maryland flag. Entering Saturday, Caveat, the 1983 Belmont winner, was the last horse born in the state to win any of the races that make up the Triple Crown, the most famous series in American thoroughbred racing.
Mindframe nearly broke its 41-year winless streak on Saturday, finishing second in a field that included Kentucky Derby winner Mysitk Dan, Derby runner-up Sierra Leone, Preakness winner Seize the Grey, and six other runners at the historic Saratoga Race Course.
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Dornoch, not raced since the Kentucky Derby, finished first by a half-length at odds of 17-1.
Bettors seemed to doubt Mindframe due to its short resume, its odds increasing from 7-2 to 5-1.
Mindframe broke away from the No. 10 spot and was overtaken by 8-5 favorite Sierra Leone, who then knocked off No. 8 Honor Marie. But the Maryland-bred was able to get to the front of the pack without any problems.
On a Saratoga dirt track that favored early speed all day, Preakness winner Seize the Gray took an early lead heading into the clubhouse turn, followed by Dornoch and Mindframe.
The trio maintained that order down the stretch, with Seize the Gray and Dornoch separating themselves from the rest of the field entering the far corner.
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It was at the turn where Dornoch took the lead and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. asked Mindframe to leave. Down the stretch, Seize the Gray tired and was soon overtaken, effectively turning this race into a two-horse race.
Mindframe briefly had a lead near the pole of 3/16, but Dornoch regained the lead as he moved up the lane along the rail.
While traveling down the center of the field, Mindframe appeared to veer to the outside as Ortiz used the crop with his left hand, causing the jockey to switch to his right hand to urge his mount to make another bid. The Maryland-bred advanced toward his enemy but could not arrive in time.
Pletcher said Ortiz told him the colt briefly lost concentration during the stretch.
“If I could have run straight down the lane, that would have been the difference,” he said.
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Late-running closer Sierra Leone took third but never threatened the lead in this 1 1/4-mile edition of the Belmont. The final time was 2:01.64.
The race was moved to Saratoga while Belmont Park undergoes a $455 million renovation, prompting the New York Racing Association to hold the race over a shorter distance. If it had been run at its traditional 1 and a half miles, the result could have been completely different.
Amateurs and the disabled will have weeks to debate it. But the result will still be there in black and white: Dornoch crossed the line first, and the Maryland breeding industry will have to look for its next Triple Crown contender in 2025.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK – JUNE 8: Luis Saez is on Dornoch defeating Mindframe with Irad Ortiz Jr. during the 156th running of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. (Photo by Al Bello//Keynote USA/Getty Images) (Al Bello//Keynote USA/Getty Images)
Mindframe was bred by R. Larry Johnson of Virginia, but foaled in May 2021 on the Eastern Shore farm of veterinarian Dr. Thomas Bowman and his wife, Chris, prolific breeders in their own right. Because Johnson continued to maintain breeding stock in Maryland, he was able to register his foal as a Maryland bred.
Johnson has bred and owned Maryland horses for years, and from 2017 to 2023 he has been one of the most successful breeders in the state. During that period, he has led the state each year in bonus money from the Maryland Fund, a program to boost the industry in the state by offering rewards for locally bred horses that finish first, second or third in certain state races.
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One of his homebreds, the 4-year-old filly Future Is Now, won the Grade 2 Intercontinental Stakes here on Friday.
Seeing the value realized by other horses sired by Constitution, Johnson sent the horse to the Keeneland Association’s 2022 September Yearling Sale. Mike Repole (co-founder of beverage brand Glaceau) and Vincent Viola (founder of Virtu Financial) submitted the winning bid of $600,000.
Even before Saturday’s race, raising a Belmont runner was its own reward, an accomplishment that people outside the racing world can grasp.
“I’ve been lucky enough to breed some pretty good horses, but none that have gotten to this level,” he said in the run-up to the Belmont.
His work was more reflected in the lineage of Mindframe’s dam, Walk of Stars, which dates back to one of the first fillies he purchased, Ran’s Chick. She was injured and never raced, and Johnson said she actually had no pedigree.
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However, he decided to use her as a broodmare because he didn’t know any better, he said, and it paid off with 40 quality relatives.
Reached by phone, Johnson said he thought Mindframe was the winner at the top of the stretch. So did all the screaming attendees at his watch party.
“It looked like he was going to run past those horses and get in front,” he said. “And then when Ortiz hit him left-handed, he dodged seven or eight ways and lost momentum and still he came back and got close.
“I think it’s just misfortune and inexperience,” he continued. “I think he reacted to receiving a hit with his left foot and it cost him the race. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he wins the race if he doesn’t.”
Johnson said he believes Mindframe is just getting started. There are still several big races left in the summer, including the Travers Stakes at Saratoga.
“I think he would be very, very difficult to beat with the experience he has now and what he showed today,” he said. “I mean, going further than he ever has, against horses that have a lot more experience and accomplishments, and, frankly, running a great race, I think shows how talented he really is.”
Brandon Weigel is the assistant sports editor at The Baltimore Banner.
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