The race for the Eclipse Award in the 3-year-old male division resumes in earnest when just-missed Preakness Stakes runner-up Blazing Sevens heads the field in the Curlin Stakes on Friday at Saratoga Race Course before Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve winner Mage swings into action in the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth Park.

The spotlight will remain on sophomores the following Saturday at Saratoga with Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa victor Forte as the expected heavy favorite in the Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by DK Horse. And, of course, all of the top contenders in the wide-open division are targeting the Aug. 26 Travers Stakes, the celebrated “Mid-Summer Derby.”

As the serious running begins in the second half of the season, here is a look at the leading 3-year-old males in a race that just might come down to the Nov. 4 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park.

2022 champion 2-year-old male Forte (Eclipse Sportswire)

FORTE: Can it be that he remains the leader of the pack without capturing one of the spring classics? It sure can. He has to be rated ahead of Mage after defeating him in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and then displaying tremendous heart in running Mage down in a Florida Derby in which he sure appeared to be beaten. The 2-year-old champion suffered the misfortune of being scratched from the Kentucky Derby with a bruised foot. His late charge that barely missed catching Arcangelo in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets represented something of a victory in defeat because he entered the “Test of the Champion” off a 10-week layoff. Few horses could have run so well at such a distance after being away from the races for that long. A second consecutive Eclipse Award appears to be his to lose.

MAGE: He has the cachet of being the Kentucky Derby winner but he has work to do because his two losses to Forte are damaging. So is the closer’s third-place finish in a Preakness that lacked pace. He caught a bad break when Stonestreet Lexington Stakes winner First Mission, who was expected to show early foot, had to be scratched from the middle jewel of the Triple Crown with a left-hind issue. Not surprisingly, Mage’s connections bypassed the Belmont. He will prep for what may be a pivotal Travers in Saturday’s Haskell Stakes.

ARCANGELO: His rousing Belmont triumph will long be remembered because it allowed Jena Antonucci to make history as the first woman to train the winner of a Triple Crown race. The Arrogate colt took the Peter Pan Stakes in his first test against graded-stakes company in his start before that. His other win this season occurred when he broke his maiden on March 18 at Gulfstream Park. He shows every sign of being a runner who needed plenty of time to figure out things. Recall that Arrogate was a late bloomer who announced his presence with a record-setting Travers. Antonucci expects Arcangelo to shine brightest when he is 4.

NATIONAL TREASURE: It is impossible to dismiss him because he is, after all, the Preakness winner. But many negatives accompany that. He opposed only one Derby starter in Mage. He handled the shortest Preakness field since 1986, defeating only six opponents. He was allowed to set a plodding pace that was more a testament to Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez’s skill than the ability of his mount. That being said, National Treasure is trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who has swept two Triple Crowns and won more Triple Crown races than anyone. That alone means National Treasure cannot be dismissed.

Angel of Empire (Eclipse Sportswire)

ANGEL OF EMPIRE: No horse earned a more impressive victory during the Kentucky Derby prep season than this Pennsylvania-bred. He dusted his competition by 4 1/4 lengths in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park and inherited the favorite’s role when Forte was unable to go to the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. Angel of Empire ran well – but not well enough – in closing for third in the run for the roses. He was asked to stay closer to the pace in the Belmont and ran evenly in finishing fourth. He can help himself in the Jim Dandy before facing a must-win situation in the Travers.

TAPIT TRICE: He appears to have all the ingredients for success. He is by Tapit, an outstanding sire. Whisper Hill Farm saw so much to like that it purchased him for $1.3 million as a yearling. He showed considerable promise during the Derby prep season by winning the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby and the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, but he has not stepped up when so much was expected. He was hurt by his customary slow start when he finished seventh in the run for the roses. With many believing he was ideally suited for the Belmont marathon, he came in a nonthreatening third.

BLAZING SEVENS: This Good Magic colt could easily have won the Preakness with a better trip. He lost considerable ground around the first turn and was wide turning for home, making all the difference in a narrow defeat. He had a legitimate excuse, but voters can only go by results. Trainer Chad Brown will look to boost the confidence of Blazing Sevens in the Curlin Stakes ahead of what would be an all-important Travers. Time is growing short for Blazing Sevens to turn around his campaign. And he is hardly alone in that.