Asmussen, Baffert scratch Chip Honcho and Potente from Belmont Stakes

Two of the Belmont Stakes’ more interesting moving parts came off the board at once, and the ripple effect was bigger than two scratches. Steve Asmussen said Chip Honcho would not run June 6 at Saratoga Race Course, and Bob Baffert removed Potente from the 158th Belmont, trimming both the pace map and the race’s star power as the final leg of the Triple Crown took another turn.

For horseplayers, the loss of Chip Honcho matters because he was not just a name on a probable list. The son of Connect had been active all winter at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, won the Gun Runner Stakes, ran second in the Risen Star Stakes and then finished third in the Preakness Stakes. Asmussen had already handled him carefully, skipping the Kentucky Derby after the Risen Star and sending him to Baltimore instead. That kind of campaign loads a 3-year-old with hard miles, and Asmussen said the Belmont was too soon off a hard race.

Potente’s exit carried a different kind of logic. Baffert said the colt was lightly raced, had been rushed into the Kentucky Derby and needed a reset after the Run for the Roses. Potente had earned his way into the picture by winning the San Felipe Stakes and running second in the Santa Anita Derby, but instead of Saratoga he was pointed to the $500,000 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 7 over 1 1/16 miles. Before the withdrawal, some Belmont preview lists had Potente with Juan Hernandez aboard, which would have added another recognizable rider to the race-day script.

The immediate effect is a Belmont that looks a little less crowded and a little cleaner tactically. NYRA had listed the race as a $2 million, 1 1/4-mile dirt stakes for 3-year-olds with a maximum field of 14, and the draw was set for June 1 at 5 p.m. ET. Chip Honcho and Potente were still on the probable list as of May 27 alongside Golden Tempo, Renegade, Commandment, Chief Wallabee, Emerging Market, Growth Equity, Ocelli, Ottinho and Powershift. With those two gone, the likely pressure points ease, especially for horses such as Commandment, Powershift and Ottinho, for whom NYRA and BloodHorse had already tracked rider assignments like John Velazquez, Luis Saez and Dylan Davis.

Saratoga’s third straight Belmont already altered the race by shortening it from the traditional 1 1/2 miles at Belmont Park to 1 1/4 miles. Losing Chip Honcho and Potente strips away two of the more credible 3-year-old tested horses in the field, which makes the race a shade weaker in depth but potentially sharper in shape. The final leg still has a chance to deliver a signature showdown, but now it leans even harder on Golden Tempo, Napoleon Solo and the rest of the remaining class to carry the weight.