Beating 'Bird' comes down to tactics

6/2/2009 8:43 PM  | sports.espn.go.com
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John Velazquez has one piece of very important advice for his fellow riders going into the June 6 running of the Belmont Stakes. Stay. On. The. Rail.

This is a tactical plan the jockeys will employ as they attempt to prevent Calvin Borel, aboard Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, from taking a trip up the inside path to victory. In the third leg of the Triple Crown, the race is not always to the swift … but it's all about the strategy...

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What the Nation is saying about Beating 'Bird' comes down to tactics...

Unless it rains.
For the Belmont, it's not as critical for Borel to come up the rail in the stretch. He'll be on that rail throughout and has an agile enough horse to weave through horses in the stretch drive. Going a bit wide in this race isn't Mine That Bird's key to success. It comes down to how slow they'll run early and whether or not MTB has lost any punch after two big performances.