BELMONT STAKES THE LINEUP

Staff Writer Bill Christine takes a look at the field for today’s race. TV: Channel 4 (coverage begins at 2 p.m. PDT). Post time: 3 p.m. Purse: $1 million (first place: $600,000). Distance: 1 1/2 miles. Weights: 126 pounds.

1 INVISIBLE INK

Odds: 8-1

Jockey: John Velazquez

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owner: Peachtree Stable

Record: 8 starts-3 wins-2 2nds-1 3rd

Earnings: $385,560

Sire: Thunder Gulch (Gulch)

Dam: Conquistress (Conquistador Cielo)

Comment: The son of 1995 Belmont winner Thunder Gulch was 55-1 in the Kentucky Derby when he rallied from last place to finish second, 4 3/4 lengths behind Monarchos. “By skipping the Preakness, he’s had extra time and that should help him,” said Todd Pletcher, who also trains Balto Star. Invisible Ink is the only horse in the field that hasn’t won a stake.

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2 BALTO STAR

Odds: 15-1

Jockey: Chris McCarron

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owner: Anstu Stables

Record: 9-4-0-1

Earnings: $720,190

Sire: Glitterman (Dewan)

Dam: Miss Livi (Devil’s Bag)

Comment: This gelding was supposed to be the pacesetter in the Derby, but that plan didn’t work out and Pletcher has replaced Mark Guidry with Chris McCarron. “Chris is a great judge of pace and he’s won more purses than any other jockey,” Pletcher said. “I’d like to see my horse go out there in about 46 or 47 [seconds] for the first half-mile.” Creme Fraiche (1985) is the only gelding to win the Belmont.

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3 DOLLAR BILL

Odds: 6-1

Jockey: Pat Day

Trainer: Dallas Stewart

Owner: Gary & Mary West

Record: 10-3-2-1

Earnings: $503,696

Sire: Peaks And Valleys (Mt. Livermore)

Dam: Saratoga Dame (Saratoga Six)

Comment: The Daily Racing Form’s past-performance trouble lines for Dollar Bill’s last four starts read this way: “Clipped heels, stumbled . . . Bumped at start . . . Taken up sharply . . . Rough trip, 9-wide on turn.” Dollar Bill was favored in the Louisiana Derby in March, when all his troubles began. “I hope the wide turns and the longer distance will work to his advantage,” trainer Dallas Stewart said.

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4 THUNDER BLITZ

Odds: 10-1

Jockey: Jerry Bailey

Trainer: Joe Orseno

Owner: Stronach Stable

Record: 9-2-2-2

Earnings: $243,450

Sire: Holy Bull (Great Above)

Dam: Rasant (Assert)

Comment: When Thunder Blitz won the Flamingo, the consensus was that he wasn’t beating much, but in the Derby, at 25-1, he salvaged fourth place. His trainer, Joe Orseno, won last year’s Preakness with Red Bullet after bypassing the Derby, so this year he’s trying to win the Belmont after missing the Preakness. Jerry Bailey takes over as jockey for Edgar Prado.

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5 MONARCHOS

Odds: 5-2

Jockey: Jorge Chavez

Trainer: John Ward Jr.

Owner: John Oxley

Record: 8-4-1-2

Earnings: $1,605,630

Sire: Maria’s Mon (Wavering Monarch)

Dam: Regal Band (Dixieland Band)

Comment: The Derby winner has been running hard all year, and the question is whether he can reach down for another 1 1/2 miles. “I think this is going to be a race of luck: period,” trainer John Ward said. “Pedigree could make a difference at this distance, and the way the riders handle the pace will be important. In the Preakness [a sixth-place effort], we weren’t outrun so much as being outpositioned.”

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6 BUCKLE DOWN BEN

Odds: 30-1

Jockey: Corey Nakatani

Trainer: Wayne Lukas

Owner: Michael Tabor

Record: 8-3-1-2

Earnings: $178,340

Sire: Devil His Due (Devil’s Bag)

Dam: Flying Hill (Fllying Paster)

Comment: Since last year, when he was competitive in every race, Buckle Down Ben has been fifth and sixth, beaten by 35 3/4 lengths, in his two stakes races. Corey Nakatani rides him for the first time. Trainer Wayne Lukas inherited the colt two races back when his client, Michael Tabor bought the horse privately. Buckle Down Ben ran a mile in 1:34 4/5 while winning an allowance at Churchill Downs.

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7 DR GREENFIELD

Odds: 30-1

Jockey: Edgar Prado

Trainer: Gerald Butler

Owner: Team Valor

Record: 4-3-0-0

Earnings: $61,936

Sire: Dr Devious (Ahonoora)

Dam: Memory Green (Green Forest)

Comment: The plan that almost worked for the Team Valor syndication outfit in 1992 has been put in play again. Nine years ago, Barry Irwin and partners bought My Memoirs in England, supplemented him into the race for $50,000 and at the sixteenth pole he looked as though he was going to win. But A.P. Indy dug in and beat My Memoirs by three-quarters of a length.

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8 A P VALENTINE

Odds: 5-1

Jockey: Victor Espinoza

Trainer: Nick Zito

Owner: Ol Memorial Stable

Record: 9-3-1-2

Earnings: $568,170

Sire: A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew)

Dam: Twenty Eight Carat (Alydar)

Comment: Trainer Nick Zito’s colt was perfect at Belmont last year, breaking his maiden at the track and outfinishing Point Given to win the Champagne Stakes. Victor Espinoza got his first chance to ride A P Valentine in the Preakness, and their second-place effort left them 2 1/4 lengths behind Point Given. He’s worked fast twice at Belmont since the Preakness.

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9 POINT GIVEN

Odds: 8-5

Jockey: Gary Stevens

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owner: Thoroughbred Corp.

Record: 10-6-3-0

Earnings: $1,868,500

Sire: Thunder Gulch (Gulch)

Dam: Turko’s Turn (Turkoman)

Comment: “He’s tough in the mornings,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “He’s high maintenance. He has these little antics, and he’s aged me about 10 years.” But Point Given cleans up his act in the afternoons. Since Gary Stevens began riding him six races ago, the only clinker was the fifth-place finish in the Derby. Stevens adjusted to win the Preakness.