Barn Report, Sunday June 6

Hot topic of conversation on the rail at the Belmont training track this morning: Uptowncharlybrown’s disqualification from a 5^th-place finish, and a $30,000 share of the purse, in yesterday’s Belmont Stakes.

Uptowncharlybrown was on or near the lead early in the race, then hung on through the stretch for 5^th. But when jockey Rajiv Maragh weighed in after returning to the unsaddling area, he was eight pounds too light. It turned out that a lead weight from the saddle had fallen out near the turn, heading into the stretch. Trainers on the rail this morning, including Bruce Levine, Tim Ritvo and Heriberto “Ocala” Cedano, couldn’t recall when something similar had last happened. They said that so few races now require the jockey to carry a lot of extra weight – the Belmont weight was 126, but most everyday races are at weights of 115-118 pounds -- that hardly anyone needs the eight-pound lead weights that Maragh was carrying. Maybe trainers have forgotten how to secure them in the saddles.

Too bad for the 60 New Jerseyans who are partners in Uptowncharlybrown. Tough way to lose a pretty big piece of change.