Free Drop Billy confirmed for Belmont 2018, a 'tough challenge'

Jason Loutsch, racing manager for Free Drop Billy owner Albaugh Family Stable, confirmed Tuesday morning that the colt will run in the upcoming 2018 Belmont Stakes.

Free Drop Billy punched his ticket Monday with a five-furlong breeze at Churchill Downs that Loutsch said showed “he has a lot of energy” and is “a happy horse.”

“This is a huge race,” Loutsch said, with Justify going for a Triple Crown sweep June 9 at Belmont Park. “This is a big stage, and this is what we’re in the game for — to run big races. This is a good opportunity.

“We know it’s going to be a tough challenge, but if we can get a piece of it even — hit the board — it would be a huge accomplishment, and we’re excited for the opportunity.”

Free Drop Billy was a Grade 1 winner at age 2 and has hit the board in all but two of his starts, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Kentucky Derby, in which he was 16th in his most-recent start. Loutsch said connections, including trainer Dale Romans, are choosing to draw a line through that last-out performance. Why he ran so poorly still stumps them.

“We feel he’s a better horse than that,” Loutsch said.

The prospective field appears to measure 10 horses. In addition to Justify and Free Drop Billy, Bravazo and Tenfold enter off board-hitting runs in the Preakness Stakes; Hofburg, Vino Rosso and Noble Indy also ran in the Derby; and Blended Citizen, Gronkowski and Restoring Hope will be new shooters to the Triple Crown series.

An early line by Horse Racing Nation co-founder Mark Midland, founder of Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager, projects Free Drop Billy at 30-1 in that field. In the end, considering the pros and cons with owner Dennis Albaugh, Loutsch said the decision came quickly to run.

Albaugh’s message to Loutsch: ’This horse only gets one chance to run the Belmont. He deserves the opportunity. Let’s give it to him.’”

After all, when purchasing Free Drop Billy for $200,000 as a yearling, they figured the son of 2012 Belmont winner Union Rags may make his best run in the 1 1/2-mile “Test of a Champion.”

“He’s bred to go the distance,” Loutsch said, “and that’s when we bought him what we thought he was. We just hope he runs to his breeding.”