While Belmont Park’s reconstruction continues, the lucrative Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes will be held away from Long Island for the second consecutive year as a group of top-class turf 3-year-olds will race at historic Saratoga Race Course.

This race’s history goes all the way back to 1929 and it was called the Jamaica Handicap. In 2014 it was renamed the Belmont Derby Invitational, and its purse was raised. The race is normally held at 1 ¼ miles but since it’s at Saratoga this year the race will be one furlong shorter at 1 1/8 miles on the Spa’s outer Mellon turf course.

1. Tank (12-1 morning line odds): Enters off of three consecutive stakes wins, all on turf at Florida tracks. Could be the pacesetter, and while it’s tough to see him winning, he could hang around for a minor award if the early fractions are modest.

JOCKEY: Luis Saez; TRAINER: Carlos David

2. Early Adopter (12-1): Won an allowance race at Keeneland with a closing surge two starts back but then finished a non-threatening fifth recently in the Audubon Stakes on turf at Churchill Downs. Will be coming from off of the pace and his connections must be respected.

JOCKEY: Jose Ortiz; TRAINER: Chad Brown

3. Luther (6-1): Makes first North American start after some limited success in Europe, where he competed in French classic races in his two recent races. He finished a solid fourth in the French Two Thousand Guineas but then was 15^th of 18 in the French Derby. Appears to prefer a firmer turf course and should get it Saturday.

JOCKEY: Kieran Shoemark; TRAINER: Charlie Fellowes

New Century. (Eclipse Sportswire)

4. New Century (3-1): Winless in three starts since taking last fall’s Grade 1 bet365 Summer Stakes at Woodbine but enters off of a rallying third in the Grade 1 American Turf Stakes Presented by Ford and could be primed for a career-best effort here. Another European-bred who relishes firm turf. 

JOCKEY: Oisin Murphy; TRAINER: Brendan Walsh

5. Test Score (4-1): Finished second in the American Turf Stakes last out when he edged New Century by a nose and impressively won the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select before that. Has been in good form since last fall and rates a win chance if he can work out a good trip.

JOCKEY: Manny Franco; TRAINER: Graham Motion

6. Final Gambit (5-2): Makes his return start on turf after debuting on this surface last fall and then thriving on all-weather tracks and holding his own on dirt. Won the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks with a late charge and also gained ground late to nab fourth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. He’s bred to run all day but is a one-dimensional closer and might not get the right pace setup here.

JOCKEY: Flavien Prat; TRAINER: Brad Cox

World Beater. (Coady Media)

7. World Beater (10-1): Coud be overlooked in the pari-mutuel pools due to the presence of several other contenders with graded stakes experience. He’s moving up in class after two sharp wins on the Churchill Downs turf course, including a rallying neck victory in the $273,000 Audubon Stakes. His speed figures keep ascending and another increase could make him an upset winner.

JOCKEY: Jaime Torres; TRAINER: Riley Mott

8. Flying Mohawk (SCRATCHED): Both of his career wins have come on turf and he’s back for more after finishing second behind Final Gambit in the Jeff Ruby Steaks on an all-weather track and then 18^th of 19^th in the Kentucky Derby on a sloppy dirt track. Expect a much better effort here as he adds blinkers and gets Frankie Dettori back in the saddle for the first time since last September. Update: Co-owner Jayson Werth announced on X that Flying Mohawk had emergency colic surgery and was recovering well, forcing him to be withdrawn from the Belmont Derby.

JOCKEY: Frankie Dettori; TRAINER: Whit Beckman

THE PICK: New Century

LIVE LONGSHOT: World Beater

SUPERFECTA: 4-7-5-2