Ten Reasons Why Materiality Could Play Triple Crown Spoiler

1. After getting off to a poor start, and then having no room to advance from way back early in the Kentucky Derby, Materiality showed plenty of class and courage to do something he had never done before, rallying from way back to finish a fast closing sixth.

2. While American Pharoah will be getting ready for the Belmont Stakes at Churchill Downs, Materiality is preparing over the Belmont Park track, growing accustomed to the track’s unique characteristics.

3. His trainer, Todd Pletcher knows how to prepare his horses for the Belmont. He has finished first or second in five of the last eight editions. None of those five were favored, and last year he just missed by a head with Commissioner at odds of 28-1.

4. After his run in the Kentucky Derby, Materiality skipped the Preakness to wait for the final leg of the Triple Crown. Each of the last nine winners of the Belmont also did not run in the Preakness.

5. Bravery goes a long way in the Belmont Stakes stretch, and Materiality has already proven to be a tough horse to pass, having faced a strong challenge from Upstart, before repulsing that one in the Florida Derby.

6. Likely rider Javier Castellano is not only the leading rider in America, and at Belmont Park, but he is hot, collecting stakes victories at an alarming rate of late.

7. As a son of Afleet Alex, the runaway winner of the 2005 Belmont, there is good reason to believe that Materiality will stay the demanding trip of the Test of the Champion.

8. In the Kentucky Derby, Materiality came in as the least experienced horse in the race with only three previous starts. The amount of experience gained in his first loss should be invaluable in his next big test.

9. While American Pharoah undoubtedly has the most speed of any Belmont entrant, Materiality has the tactical speed to be involved and ready to pounce if the dual classic winner shows a chink in the armor after a demanding schedule over the past two months.

10. Much like Jazil, Summer Bird, Union Rags, and Palace Malice, the last four Belmont winners that ran in the Kentucky Derby, and then skipped the Preakness, Materiality also did not finish in the money in Louisville. Perhaps this trend means they did not have too much taken out of them in the Kentucky Derby, for a full assault at Belmont.