News and notes from around the Thoroughbred racing world, compiled by Thoroughbred Racing Communications, Inc. (TRC) (212.371.5911..)

SILVER CHARM DRAWS POST POSITION 2 FOR BELMONT

Triple Crown hopeful Silver Charm drew post position number 2 for the June 7 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. The complete field for the race is as follows (post positions are followed by (each horse's number in the race), horse, jockey and morning line odds).

PP1 (1) Touch Gold, Chris McCarron, 2-1; PP2 (2) Silver Charm, Gary Stevens, 6-5; PP3 (3) Crypto Star, Pat Day, 6-1; PP4 (1A) Wild Rush, Jerry Bailey 2-1; PP5 (4) Mr. Energizer, Manuel Ortega, 30-1; PP6 (5) Free House, Kent Desormeaux, 5-2; PP7 (6) Irish Silence, John Velazquez, 50-1.

VISA TRIPLE CROWN BONUS WOULD MAKE SILVER CHARM SECOND TO CIGAR IN EARNINGS

If Silver Charm wins the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, he will be the 12th Triple Crown winner and the first horse ever to collect the $5 million Visa Triple Crown Challenge bonus (plus $1,620,750 in purses from the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes). Those earnings, plus his pre-Triple Crown earnings of $444,150, would place him second only to Cigar, North America's leading money-winner, whose earnings total $9,999,815. Three-year-old Silver Charm's earnings, in just 9 starts, would be $7,064,900 if he wins the Triple Crown. Cigar started 32 times and raced through his six-year-old season.

VISA, TRIPLE CROWN SPONSOR, STANDING BY WITH NEW AD IF SILVER CHARM WINS BELMONT

If Silver Charm completes his Triple Crown sweep by winning Saturday's Belmont Stakes, Visa, U.S.A., which is sponsoring a $5 million bonus for the Triple Crown, will immediately begin airing a special commercial celebrating the first Triple Crown since 1978.

The spot would be the first time that Visa has produced a commercial to instantly congratulate a winner of a sporting event, and would air immediately following ABC Sports' telecast of the Belmont, which airs from 4:30-6:00 p.m. (EDT). A national print ad would debut on Monday, May 9.

After Silver Charm won the Preakness, Visa began airing a Triple Crown-themed commercial with its tagline, 'It's Everywhere You Want to Be.' Visa committed approximately 50 percent of its television advertisement schedule to the Triple Crown ad from April to June.

Visa became the title sponsor of the Triple Crown in 1996 and its contract extends through 2000. To bolster its support for the event, Visa also enhanced its bonus payment to the Triple Crown winner, to $5 million plus any purses won by the Triple Crown winner. The previous bonus package called for a total of $5 million, including the purses.

TRIPLE CROWN FIELDS

In the 11 Belmonts that have produced Triple Crown winners, the average field size has been 5.4, with the largest field being eight horses (1948 and 1977) and the smallest being three (1919 and 1943). A field of seven will assemble for Saturday's Belmont, in which Silver Charm will attempt to become the 12th Triple Crown winner.

The Triple Crown winners, years and the size of their respective Belmont fields are as follows: Sir Barton, 1919-3; Gallant Fox, 1930- 4; Omaha, 1935-5; War Admiral, 1937-7; Whirlaway, 1941-4; Count Fleet, 1943-3; Assault, 1946-7; Citation, 1948-8; Secretariat, 1973-5; Seattle Slew, 1977-8; Affirmed, 1978-5.

The largest field ever for the Belmont Stakes was 15 in 1983. The smallest was two in 1887, 1892, 1910 and 1920.

THE TRIPLE CROWN: TRADITION IN THE MAKING

A lot has changed since the first Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton, won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in 1919.

For one thing, the Triple Crown was recognized as a racing series and given its current name. But the term 'Triple Crown,' coined by 'Daily Racing Form' writer Charles Hatton, only came into popular use in 1930, when Hatton described Gallant Fox's wins in the three events.

The spacing of the three races has also been standardized so that the Derby is always the first Saturday in May and is followed two weeks later by the Preakness, which is followed three weeks later by the Belmont. But that didn't occur until 1969.

In time for the second Triple Crown winner, Gallant Fox, the distances of the three races, 1 1-4 miles for the Derby, 1 3-16 miles for the Preakness and 1 1-2 miles for the Belmont, became standardized. They weren't uniform until 1926.

Purses for the races have, of course, increased over the years. Sir Barton took home a total of $57,275 for his three wins; Gallant Fox (1930), $169,100; Omaha (1935), $100,330; War Admiral (1937), $135, 670; Whirlaway (1941) $150,410; Count Fleet (1943), $139,255; Assault (1946), $268,420; Citation (1948), $252,970; Secretariat (1973), $375, 060; Seattle Slew (1977), $462,380; and Affirmed (1978), $433,680.

Silver Charm has already collected $1,188,150 from the Derby and the Preakness and stands to collect $432,600 from the Belmont if he wins, plus a $5 million bonus from the Visa Triple Crown Challenge, giving him a record total of $6.6 million for sweeping the three-race series.

TRIPLE CROWN NOMINATIONS, 1986-87

Since 1986, horsemen have been nominating horses to the Triple Crown race series. The first year's total, 452, has never been exceeded. Following is a year-by-year summary of the Triple Crown nominations (years in parentheses): 452 (1986); 422 (1987); 401 (1986); 394 (1988); 394 (1989); 348 (1990); 377 (1991); 407 (1992); 367 (1993); 363 (1994); 324 (1995); 361 (1996); 387 (1997).

THE 129TH BELMONT STAKES - TIDBITS AND TRIVIA

SCORES: The highest-priced winner was Sherluck, who defeated the 1-2 favorite Carry Back in 1961, paying $132.10. The shortest-priced winner was Count Fleet in 1943, who paid $2.10. There have been 16 horses sent off at odds of 100-1 or better since 1905, when betting records started. The longest-priced horse was Adobe Ed, who went off at 245.80-1 in 1971. He finished 12th in a 13-horse field. Two 100-1 shots finished in the top three, Bull Dandy (118-1) in 1944 and Wonderful (100-1) in 1917. Bull Dandy paid $19.30 to show; you couldn't cash a ticket on Wonderful, his was a three-horse race.

SELECTIONS: Betting favorites have won 45 percent of the time (58 for 128). Odds-on favorites have won 40 percent (12 for 30). In 1957, both winner Gallant Man (19-20) and third-place finisher Bold Ruler (17-20) were odds-on.

SENIORITY: The Belmont, first run in 1867, is the oldest of the Triple Crown events, predating the Preakness by six years and the Kentucky Derby by eight. It is the fourth oldest stakes race run in North America-only the Queen's Plate (1860), Travers (1864) and Jerome (1866) are older.

SEX: There have been 19 fillies to run in the Belmont Stakes with two winners. Ruthless won the first Belmont in 1867 and Tanya took the 1905 running.

SHADE: There have been 52 bay, 48 chestnut, 23 dark bay or brown, two black, two gray and one roan Belmont Stakes winners.

SHOWSTOPPERS AND SQUEAKERS: The widest margin of victory was Secretariat's 31-length win in 1973. The smallest margins were the nose victories of Granville (1936) and Jaipur (1962).

SIRES: Twelve Belmont Stakes winners have sired Belmont Stakes winners: Man o' War (1920) sired American Flag (1925), Crusader (1926) and War Admiral (1937); Commando (1901) sired Peter Pan (1907) and Colin (1908); Gallant Fox (1930) sired Omaha (1935) and Granville (1936). Count Fleet (1943) sired Counterpoint (1951) and One Count (1952); Seattle Slew (1977) sired Swale (1984) and A.P. Indy (1992); Duke of Magenta (1878) sired Eric (1889); Spendthrift (1879) sired Hastings (1896); Hastings (1896) sired Masterman (1902); The Finn (1915) sired Zev (1923); Sword Dancer (1959) sired Damascus (1967); Secretariat (1973) sired Risen Star (1988); Pleasant Colony (1981) sired Colonial Affair (1993).

SITES: The Belmont Stakes has been run at four different New York race tracks. It was inaugurated in 1867 at Jerome Park, moved to Morris Park in 1890, to Belmont Park in 1905, to Aqueduct Racetrack in 1963 while Belmont was being rebuilt, and back to Belmont again for its 100th running in 1968. Belmont Park covers 430 acres in two counties, Nassau and Queens. It can hold up to 90,000 people and has parking for 18,500 cars. Total seating capacity is 32,491.

SIZE: The largest field to start was 15 in 1983, the smallest was two in 1887, 1888, 1892, 1910 and 1920.

SLOP: There have been 33 off-tracks, the last occurring in 1986 when Danzig Connection triumphed on a track labeled sloppy.

SONG: The theme song for the Belmont, until this year, was 'Sidewalks of New York,' written by Charles Lawlor and James Blake in 1894. In 1997, the theme will be 'New York, New York.'

SPEED: The fastest first quarter mile in the Belmont was 23 seconds by Another Review in 1991. The fastest first half-mile (46 1-5), three-quarter mile (1:09 4-5), mile (1:34 1-5), 1 1-4 miles (1:59) as well as the final 1 1-2 miles were all set by Secretariat in 1973 as he ran to a 31-length triumph in a world-record 2:24.

SPELLING: The most popular first letter of a Belmont winner is C with 19 champions, the last being Colonial Affair in 1993. There have been 16 victories by horses with names starting with an S and 10 with a P. There have been no winners whose names started with a U, X or Y.

START: Post position one, with 21, has produced the most Belmont champions.

STEPHENS: Woody Stephens has trained the winners of five Belmont Stakes, all consecutive, winning from 1982-1986 with Conquistador Cielo, Caveat, Swale, Creme Fraiche and Danzig Connection. James Rowe has saddled the most Belmont winners, eight, while Sam Hildreth had seven and 'Sunny' Jim Fitzsimmons, six.

STOPPED: The Belmont has halted 12 potential Triple Crown winners after their triumphs in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness: Pensive (1944), Tim Tam (1958), Carry Back (1961), Northern Dancer (1964), Kauai King (1966), Forward Pass (1968), Majestic Prince (1969), Canonero II (1971), Spectacular Bid (1979), Pleasant Colony (1981), Alysheba (1987) and Sunday Silence (1989).

STRUTTING: The first post parade in the United States came in the 1880 Belmont. Before that the horses went directly from the paddock to the post.

SWARM: The largest crowd ever for the Belmont was the 82,694 who turned out to watch the unsuccessful Triple Crown bid of Canonero II in 1971.

SWEEPS: Eleven horses have won the Derby and Belmont. Zev (1923), Twenty Grand (1931), Johnstown (1939), Shut Out (1942), Middleground (1950), Needles (1956), Chateaugay (1963), Riva Ridge (1972), Bold Forbes (1976), Swale (1984) and Thunder Gulch (1995). Nine horses have won the Preakness and Belmont: Bimelech (1940), Capot (1949), Native Dancer (1953), Nashua (1955), Damascus (1967), Little Current (1974), Risen Star (1988), Hansel (1991) and Tabasco Cat (1994). Seven horses have won the Preakness and Belmont without having run in the Derby.

THIS DATE IN RACING HISTORY

June 5, 1943: Count Fleet ended his racing career by winning the Belmont Stakes by 25 lengths. He was the sixth American Triple Crown winner.

June 5, 1969: Jockey Mary Bacon won her first race, at Finger Lakes. Among apprentices, she finished 23rd in the races won category that year, with 55 victories in 396 starts and purses of $91,642. Bacon was the first female to join the list of leading apprentices.

June 5, 1985: Steve Cauthen won the Epsom Derby aboard Slip Anchor and became the only American jockey to win both the English and Kentucky Derbies. Cauthen had previously ridden Affirmed to victory in the 1978 Kentucky Derby.

June 5, 1993: Julie Krone became the first female rider to win a Triple Crown race when she won the Belmont Stakes with Colonial Affair.

June 6, 1919: Man o' War won his first race ever, a 5-furlong contest over a straightaway at Belmont Park. He won by six lengths, running the distance in 59 seconds, and went off at odds of 3-5. In each of his 20 subsequent races, Man o' War was the odds-on favorite.

June 6, 1972: In preparation for his colt's July 4 racing debut, trainer Lucien Laurin put blinkers on two-year-old Secretariat for the first time. Secretariat responded by working a half-mile at Belmont Park in 47 3/5, the fastest work of his life up to that date.

June 6, 1987: Bet Twice became the first horse to receive a Triple Crown bonus after winning the Belmont Stakes over rival Alysheba. He earned $1 million in addition to the first-place money.

June 6, 1992: Carl Gambardella won his 6,000th career victory, aboard Nip of Gin, at Rockingham Park.

June 7, 1941: Whirlaway won the 73rd running of the Belmont Stakes and became the fifth horse to win the Triple Crown.

June 7, 1947: Owner William Helis had three stakes wins in three different states. Rippey won the Carter Handicap at New York's Aqueduct; Jobstown won the Absecon Handicap at New Jersey's Atlantic City and Elpis won the New Castle Handicap at Delaware Park.

June 7, 1980: Genuine Risk became the first filly to compete in all three Triple Crown races. She won the Kentucky Derby and finished second in both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

June 7, 1986: Trainer Woody Stephens saddled Danzig Connection to win his fifth consecutive Belmont Stakes. Woody won the previous races with Conquistador Cielo (1982), Caveat (1983), Swale (1984), and Creme Fraiche (1985).

June 8, 1985: Brushwood Stable's Creme Fraiche became the first gelding to win the Belmont Stakes.

June 8, 1991: Julie Krone became the first female rider to compete in the Belmont Stakes. Her mount, Subordinated Debt, finished ninth as the third-longest shot in the field. Also on that date, Mane Minister became the only horse to finish third in all three Triple Crown events.

June 9, 1888: James McLaughlin set the record for most number of wins by a jockey in the Belmont Stakes, six, when he rode Sir Dixon to a 12-length victory. McLaughlin's record was matched by Eddie Arcaro in 1955.

June 9, 1887: Only two horses competed in the Belmont Stakes. It was the smallest field in the race's history, which again had only two starters in 1888, 1892, 1910, and 1920, the year Man o' War won the Belmont by 20 lengths.

June 9, 1945: Hoop Jr. won the Kentucky Derby, which was run one month after a national wartime government ban on racing was lifted.

June 9, 1973: Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths -- the longest winning margin in the race's history -- while setting a track record of 2:24, which has not been surpassed. The time was 2 3- 5 seconds faster than the mark set by Gallant Man in 1957. Secretariat's victory made him the ninth Triple Crown winner and first since Citation had swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1948.

June 9, 1979: Spectacular Bid lost his chance for the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, finishing third to winner Coastal. Trainer Bud Delp alleged that the colt had sustained a foot injury after stepping on a safety pin the morning of the race.

June 9, 1984: Riding Swale in a wire-to-wire victory, Laffit Pincay Jr. won his third consecutive Belmont Stakes, becoming the only rider in this century to accomplish that feat. Pincay rode Caveat to victory in 1983 and Conquistador Cielo in 1982; all three of his mounts were trained by Woody Stephens. Jockey James McLaughlin also rode three consecutive Belmont winners, once from 1882-84, and again from 1886-88.

June 10, 1890: The Preakness Stakes was run outside Baltimore, at Morris Park in New York, under the auspices of the New York Jockey Club. Suspended for three years, the race was next run at the Brooklyn Jockey Club's Gravesend Course, 1894-1908.

June 10, 1938: Hollywood Park opened. In its inaugural year, Hollywood Park attracted such racing stars as Lawrin, who had given jockey Eddie Arcaro his first Kentucky Derby victory, as well as Ligaroti and Seabiscuit, whose rivalry later reached its pitch in a match race contested at Del Mar Racetrack on August 12, 1938.

June 10, 1944: The only triple dead heat for first in a stakes race occurred at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Carter Handicap. The three winners were Brownie, Bossuet and Wait a Bit.

June 10, 1953: Trainer Charlie Whittingham, at age 40, saddled his first stakes winner when Porterhouse, ridden by Bill Boland, won the National Stallion Stakes at Belmont Park. Porterhouse was later named champion two-year-old of 1953.

June 10, 1972: Laffit Pincay Jr. won his 2,000th victory while riding at Hollywood Park.

June 10, 1978: Steve Cauthen, at age 18, became the youngest jockey ever to win the Triple Crown when his mount, Affirmed, won the Belmont Stakes. Also on that day, Alydar became the only horse to finish second in all three Triple Crown races.

June 11, 1898: Willie Simms became the only African American jockey to win the Preakness Stakes when he rode Sly Fox to victory.

June 11, 1921: Grey Lag, under Earl Sande, won the first Belmont Stakes ever to be run counter-clockwise. Previous Belmonts had been run clockwise over a fish-hook course that included part of the training track and the main dirt oval.

June 11, 1955: Jockey Eddie Arcaro tied James McLaughlin's record of six Belmont Stakes wins when he rode Nashua to victory.

June 11, 1966: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. recorded his first American stakes victory, taking the Christiana Stakes aboard two-year-old Hermogenes at Delaware Park.

June 11, 1973: Triple Crown winner Secretariat simultaneously made the covers of 'Time,' 'Newsweek' and 'Sports Illustrated.'

June 11, 1977: Upon winning the Belmont Stakes, Seattle Slew became the 10th Triple Crown winner and the first Triple Crown winner to remain undefeated, with a career record of 9-for-9.

June 12, 1920: Man o' War won the Belmont Stakes, which was then run at a distance of 1 3-8 miles, in 2:14 1-5. He shattered the existing world record by 3 1-5 seconds and also set the American dirt-course record for that distance.

June 12, 1926: The August Belmont family first presented their permanent commemorative Tiffany trophy to the winner of the Belmont Stakes. The silver trophy was created in 1869 in recognition of Fenian's win in the Belmont.

June 12, 1948: After riding Citation to victory in the Belmont, jockey Eddie Arcaro became the only rider in history to have won two Triple Crowns. His previous Triple Crown was with Whirlaway, in 1941.

June 12, 1960: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. rode his first race at El Comandante in Puerto Rico.

RACING ON TELEVISION

June 5, Belmont Stakes Draw, 5:00-5:30 p.m., espn2
June 6, Silver Charm Special, 10:30-11:00 p.m., espn2
June 6, Triple Crown Challenge, 11:00-midnight, espn2
June 7, Racehorse Digest, 6:00-6:30 a.m., ESPN
June 7, Belmont Stakes Special, 3:30-4:30 p.m., ESPN
June 7, Belmont Stakes, 4:30-6:00 p.m., ABC
June 7, 2Day at the Belmont Stakes, 6:00-6:30 p.m., espn2
June 8, 2Day at the Races, 7:00-7:30 p.m., espn2
June 11, Racehorse Digest, 3:30-4:00 p.m., ESPN
June 12, Racehorse Digest, 3:00-3:30 a.m., ESPN

Belmont Stakes, 3yo, $721,000, 1 1-2 miles, Grade 1, Belmont
Silver Charm tries to win the Triple Crown and the Belmont Stakes while defeating his rival, Free House. The two have met five times, with Silver Charm winning three times, including their last two meetings, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Touch Gold, who finished fourth to Silver Charm in the Preakness, is given a chance to redeem himself after a trouble trip and a minor hoof injury that requires a patch.

Just a Game II Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3&up, (f&m), $150,000 1M (Turf), Grade III, Belmont

Molly Pitcher Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3&up, (f&m), $200,000, 1 1-16M, Grade II, Monmouth

The Running Horse (http://www.isd1.com/)