Here Come the Babies

- Just as I wrote that the two-year old races aren't filling at Belmont, we have two full fields of juveniles on tap for today. The fillies go in the second, and Ride With the Herd (6-1) fits the profile of debut runners that we've seen have some success the last couple of years. By the first year sire Candy Ride, who stands for a modest fee of $12,500, this filly brought a winning bid of $220,000 at Ocala in February after blazing a furlong in 10 1/5. She debuts for trainer Richard Violette, five for 25 with debuting juveniles in 2007; two of those here last spring meeting (Fed Watcher and Phantom Income - talk about prescient hunch bets), for the same ownership of Klaravich Stable and William Lawrence. Some nice morning drills too, and Candy Ride is off to a quick start at stud, already with two winners.

Baffert starts Miss Bodine (2-1) off the usual, for this barn, slate of fast workouts. She's by Vindication, 19% with debut winners (this is his second crop). She's a half to the graded winner Icecoldbeeratreds, and to the dam of Bear Now. Pletcher promises a better two-year crop than last year's, and Floating Heart (3-1) is quite well-bred; she's by Giant's Causeway, out of the Grade 1 winner Love Lock, and a half sister to stakes winner Love Locket. However, Velazquez ends up on stablemate Wildcat Wonder (Forest Wildcat).