FOX Sports will provide extensive coverage of the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., beginning Wednesday and extending through Sunday.

Wednesday (12:30-6 p.m. ET) and Thursday (12:30-6:30 p.m.) programming will air on FS2. Friday coverage starts on FS2 from 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday before shifting to FOX (5-6 p.m.) and FS1 (6-8 p.m.). Coverage of the 158^th Belmont Stakes kicks off Saturday from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on FS2 and moves to FOX (3-7:30 p.m.) and FS1 (4-7:30 p.m.) before closing on FS2 (7:30-8:15 p.m.). FOX Sports will present two different programs Saturday afternoon focusing on the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets – one for general audiences on FOX, and one geared toward avid fans and horseplayers on FS1.

Post time for the Belmont is set for 7:04 p.m. ET. The final leg of the Triple Crown is being run at a mile and a quarter this year due to Saratoga’s configuration. The famed “Test of the Champion” will return to its customary mile and a half next year at rebuilt Belmont Park.

The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival concludes Sunday. Viewers may tune into FS1 from 12-5:30 p.m. before the wrap-up on FS2 (5:30-6 p.m.). FOX analyst Jonathon Kinchen discussed this year’s top contenders, the Triple Crown format and the expected impact of a new Belmont Park during a wide-ranging interview conducted on behalf of America’s Best Racing.

PEDULLA: Do you view Kentucky Derby runner-up Renegade as a deserving favorite?

KINCHEN: Yeah. If you think about how he won going into the Derby, the way he ran in the Derby despite the fact that he and Golden Tempo got a pretty good set-up, I think favoritism for him here makes sense.

PEDULLA: Does Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo still have much to prove?

KINCHEN: I do think he does. When you take into account the way (the Derby) unfolded and you watch the first part of the race, Renegade, Golden Tempo and (third-place Derby finisher) Ocelli are in the back. To me, anytime, anywhere, any race when that happens, you walk away from it saying the race melted down. I’m not going to treat this Derby any different than that.

PEDULLA: Did Chief Wallabee run better than his fourth-place Derby finish would suggest?

KINCHEN: Absolutely. He was close enough to that pace and that definitely should count for something.

PEDULLA: Who do you like the most among trainer Chad Brown’s three Belmont starters?

KINCHEN: Emerging Market, for sure. He was actually closer than Chief Wallabee to that pace. I thought he middle-moved a little bit into that pace. His knock going into the race was that he was not seasoned enough, lightly raced. Well, I think now, running in a 20-horse field and the way that he ran gave him the seasoning he needed.

PEDULLA: Is Commandment something of a forgotten horse here?

KINCHEN: Yeah. I think the hard part for me with him is that he had a little bit of trouble but he was back there with those horses and he didn’t make the run that they did. I was a little disappointed in that. But I do believe he is a little forgotten and he can certainly win.

PEDULLA: Do you anticipate a very different pace from the one we had in the Derby?

KINCHEN: Certainly. I don’t think this pace will be nearly as quick.

PEDULLA: There is a lot of talk about changing the Triple Crown format of three races in five weeks. Where do you stand on that?

KINCHEN: I like it like it is. One of the things I’ve learned as a horseplayer as it pertains to horse racing and in life is that you cannot be too results oriented and get away from what you believe to be true in the big picture. I think the lack of Preakness Stakes runners that have run in the Derby as of late has been very circumstantial. It’s either been some horses that are not very good, like Rich Strike, or it’s been situations where a little more conservative trainers had Derby winners. I think when the race returns to a mile and a half, you’ll see trainers decide to take that shot two weeks later in the Preakness and skip the Belmont. It is what it is because it is what it is. I’ll never say that change can’t help, but I think it’s fine the way it is.  

PEDULLA: What is your takeaway from three years of having the Belmont at Saratoga?

KINCHEN: That it’s a really special place. The people appreciate it, they support the product, and it just feels special. I think it’s been sensational.

PEDULLA: How important to the industry is the new Belmont Park going to be?

KINCHEN: I had the opportunity to tour it for a FOX feature. It’s going to be the nicest racetrack I ever stepped in. What they did from the racing point with the racetracks is going to make it the most state-of-the-art racetrack in the country. With Saratoga being three hours north, Aqueduct being old and Belmont having an empty feeling, I don’t think (the New York Racing Association) has had an opportunity to showcase our sport to the biggest city in the world. Now, with this state-of-the-art facility, it’s going to be a lot easier to get corporate events there and to get days out from folks who don’t always come to the races, very similar to what we see in Saratoga but just a little bit closer.

PEDULLA: May I ask you for a live longshot?

KINCHEN: I don’t think Growth Equity or Powershift can win, but they are certainly in the trifecta.

PEDULLA: May I ask you for your top four?

KINCHEN: I would say Emerging Market, Chief Wallabee, Renegade and Golden Tempo.