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Essential Quality Wins 2021 Belmont Stakes

    Up until the final furlong, it looked like Hot Rod Charlie was going to win the Belmont Stakes, after setting a blistering pace in the first half-mile, pushed on by Rock Your World and  France Go de Ina.  But Essential Quality started his move just before the final turn  and slowly worked his way to the front, finishing ahead of a dogged and determined Hot Rod Charlie by 1 1/4 lengths.  Essential Quality finished the 1 and 1/2 mile race in 2:27.11, only 3.11 seconds slower than the great Secretariat in 1973.  

   Essential Quality was the betting favorite in both today's Belmont and in the Kentucky Derby.  But the Kentucky gave him a lot of bad racing luck, and he finished 7th, the first defeat in his racing career.  Taking a rest after the Derby, he came roaring back in the Belmont, taking home $800,000 of the $1.5 million in purse monies.

   Hot Rod Charlie, who was third in the Kentucky, and also by-passed the Preakness, took home $280,000 for finishing 11 1/4 lengths in front of Rombauer, the winner of the Preakness Stakes three weeks ago.  Rombauer, who finished 3/4 length ahead of Known Agenda, received $150,000 in purse money for his third-place finish.

Essential Quality wins the 2021 Belmont Stakes

   The rest of the field finished in the following order, with the amount of purse winnings in parentheses: Known Agenda ($100,000); Bourbonic ($60,000); Rock Your World ($45,000); Overtook ($35,000); and France Go de Ina ($30,000).

   With a small field and only three entries in double-digit odds, the payouts for bets were on the small side.  As usual, I always post the payouts for a $2 bet...  Essential Quality paid $4.60 to win; Hot Rod Charlie paid $4.10 to place; and Rombauer paid $3.50 to show.  The Perfecta paid $15; the Trifecta paid $43.40; and the Superfecta paid $121.40.

  *** The only question in this year's Triple Crown now, is whether the Kentucky Thoroughbred Racing Commission will vote to strip Medina Spirit of his win in the Kentucky Derby after testing positive in two separate blood tests for a banned race day drug, namely betamethasone.  Churchill Downs Incorporated has banned trainer Bob Baffert and any horses under his care for racing at their tracks for two years - through the end of Spring racing in 2023. ***

Baffert's Lawyer Confirms Second Split Blood Test Is Positive For Illegal Race Day Drug In Medina Spirit

    W. Craig Robertson III, attorney for thoroughbred trainer Bob Baffert, confirmed the news that the second split of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit blood sample tested positive for betamethasone.  Betamethasone is a corticosteroid that is not allowed in horses racing in Kentucky on a race day.  Bob Baffert is standing by his statement that Medina Spirit was treated for dermatitis with the topical cream Otomax, which was recommended by his veterinarian in California.  According to barn records, the colt was treated with this ointment daily from the day after the Santa Anita Derby until the day before the Kentucky Derby.  It is claimed that Baffert and his barn staff were not aware that Otomax contained betamethasone.

   With this information in the open, Churchill Downs Incorporated has suspended Bob Baffert's training and racing privileges at their tracks for 2 years - through the end of Spring racing in 2023.  CDI stated that Bob Baffert trainees have tested positive five times for illegal substances since 2 May 2020, and that was a major cause of concern for them.  Bill Carstanjen, the CEO of CDI, stated:  "CDI has consistently advocated for strict medication regulations so that we can confidently ensure that horses are fit to race and the races are conducted fairly.  Reckless practices and substance violations that jeopardize the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable and as a company we must take measures to demonstrate that they will not be tolerated.  Mr. Baffert's record of testing failures threatens public confidence in Thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby.  Given these repeated failures over the last year, including the increasingly extraordinary explanations, we firmly believe that asserting our rights to impose these measures is our duty and responsibility."

Medina Spirit at right, leads Mandaloun across the finish line at the

2021 Kentucky Derby.  Now Mandaloun may be declared the winner.

   If the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC)  accepts these findings, the winner of the Kentucky Derby will be announced as Mandaloun, with all other finishers moved up one place, and Medina Spirit placed last for the drug disqualification.

   The KHRC has the sole authority to disqualify Medina Spirit as the winner of the Kentucky Derby, and it is pursuing the completion of its own investigation of the drug test matter in accordance with its own rules and regulations.  Following today's confirmation of the failed test, the stewards will schedule a hearing at which attorneys will be permitted to present information connected to the case.  Chief state steward Barbara Borden could not be reached for comment regarding the scheduling of the hearing.

   If Medina Spirit's win is overturned due to the drug test, he will be only the second "winner" of the Kentucky Derby disqualified for an illicit drug.  Dancer's Image was disqualified in 1968 after testing positive for  "bute" - phenylbutazone - an anti-inflammatory medication.

A Timeline of COVID-19 Around the World, From News Resources, For June Through December 2021 - Updated On the 1st and 16th of Each Month

As you can see from the title, I am now updating this information twice a month for the rest of the year.  The end of the year will mark 17.5 months since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and much of the United States essentially shut down.  It has been very taxing for me, personally.  I have had no problem staying home and going out only for essential needs.  I have had no problem wearing a mask anytime I was outside my home.  It did take a long time for me to get my vaccinations - I just had my second injection of the Moderna vaccine on 28 May, and I won't be considered "fully covered" and able to go out without a mask until 12 June.  My best friend and apartment sharer will get her second injection on 5 June and will be able to un-mask in public on 20 June.

   I say I have had a hard time due to people who don't wear masks, don't believe the threat of COVID-19 is real, and who continue to believe that the former resident of the White House - the 45th one - was illegally removed from office.  I have been physically attacked 3 times since the 1st of June last year - punched, slapped, dragged around by my shirt, and spat upon - just for wearing a face mask in public.  I have been verbally abused more than 40 times since April 2020.  I have made police reports, but no one has been caught.  Nothing has been acted upon with the verbal assaults.  Because the police are overwhelmed with violence everywhere.

   The extent of my travels since the pandemic was announced was one drive through Rocky Mountain National Park last summer, to Grand Lake and back.  I have read a lot and have done tons of genealogy research for other people.

   Last year, we did not even try to have any plants on the balcony.  This year, we have a new baby ivy plant, Creeping Jenny, a salmon Begonia pot with purple/blue Speedwell in the center, and I planted catnip seeds that  have just begun to show teeny green leaves above the soil.  I can't express how happy that makes me.

   Pony Penning on Chincoteague Island has been cancelled, as it was last year.  The auction of the foals will be held on-line this year, as it was last year.  As of this afternoon, 61 foals have been born to the herds that live in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.  The ponies who live in Maryland on the Assateague National Seashore do not belong to the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, and do not receive any care.

   As stated in the first paragraph, will will be updating the COVID-19 numbers and news headlines only twice a month - on the first and sixteenth days of each month.  I will include my usual numbers:   world-wide, US, and the state of Colorado - for number of cases and deaths.  The first two sets are from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Mapping database, and the third set is from the Colorado Department of Public Health.  I will also pass along the weekly WHO Epidemiological Report for countries reporting those numbers, along with the most important headline (to me, anyway) news stories of each week.

Crested Butte, Colorado in late May 2021

1 June 2021  -   

From the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Report for the world:

       171,028,157 cases         3,557,144 deaths

From the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Report in the US:  

        33,286,427 cases           595,205 deaths   

Colorado COVID-19  Report (from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment):

          543,581 cases              6,741 deaths

1 June  -  WHO Weekly Epidemiological Report (for most countries):  

  https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/weekly-epidemiological-update-on-covid-19---1-june-2021

WHO News:

   WHO Validates Sinovac COVID-19 Vaccine For Emergency Use And Issues Interim Policy Recommendations

https://www.who.int/news/item/01-06-2021-who-validates-sinovac-covid-19-vaccine-for-emergency-use-and-issues-interim-policy-recommendations

   New $50 Billion (US) Health, Trade and Finance Roadmap To End the Pandemic and Secure a Global Recovery

https://www.who.int/news/item/01-06-2021-new-50-billion-health-trade-and-finance-roadmap-to-end-the-pandemic-and-secure-a-global-recovery

US News: 

   For the First Time In Over A Year, the US Records a Daily Average Of Fewer Than 20,000 New Covid-19 Cases

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/01/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html

   Masks, Distancing Still Important Even With Vaccination, Study Suggests

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/01/health/pandemic-precautions-vaccination-impact/index.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Fact-Checking Sidney Powell's Claim Trump Could Be Re-Instated

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/01/politics/powell-trump-inauguration-fact-check/index.html

Field and Odds For the 2021 Belmont Stakes

Before the weekend, it looked as if there would be 11 entries in Saturday's 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes.  Rebel's Romance, owned by Godolphin Stables, and winner of the UAE Derby in March, had Mike Smith signed as a jockey, when the colt developed an infection in his hind leg, and was not entered.  Two other hopefuls, Brooklyn Strong, who ran in the Derby, and Keepmeinmind, who ran in both the Derby and Preakness, were also not entered in the third leg of the Triple Crown.

   So a field of eight Kentucky-bred colts will contest the longest race in the Triple Crown series.  The Belmont Stakes is scheduled to start at 6:49 pm EDT on 5 June, with a guaranteed purse of $1.5 million.  The course is one complete trip around the 1 1/2 miles (12 furlongs) of the track known as "Big Sandy."  All of the three-year-old colts will carry 126 pounds in the race.  As usual, this will probably be the longest race in each colt's career.

Essential Quality, the 2-year-old Champion of 2020 and Kentucky Derby

betting favorite, is installed as the first betting choice for the Belmont Stakes

   This year, all of the colts were bred in Kentucky, and they represent seven stallions, with Curlin the sire of both Known Agenda and Overtook.  Coat colors comprise one gray or roan (Essential Quality), two chestnuts (France Go de Ina and Known Agenda), and five bays.  Six trainers are involved, with Todd Pletcher having three entries: Bourbonic, Known Agenda and Overtook.  All of the colts raced in one other Triple Crown race, with Rombauer the winner of the Preakness; except Overlook, who has finished second and third in two Graded Stakes.  Rombauer and France Go de Ina last raced in the Preakness Stakes three weeks previously, while the other colts are much fresher.

   Here are the entries for the 2021 Belmont Stakes, with the Post Position and entry name, followed by the morning-line betting odds, the sire, and the dam.

1.  Bourbonic                 15 to 1       Bernardini      Dancing Afleet

2.  Essential Quality       2 to 1        Tapit      Delightful Quality

3.  Rombauer                  3 to 1        Twirling Candy      Cashmere

4.  Hot Rod Charlie        7 to 2         Oxbow      Indian Miss

5.  France Go de Ina     30 to 1        Will Take Charge      Dreamy Blues

6.  Known Agenda         6 to 1         Curlin      Byrama (GB)        

7.  Rock Your World      9 to 2         Candy Ride (ARG)      Charm the Maker

8.  Overtook                 20 to 1         Curlin      Got Lucky