Classic Empire to Begin Belmont Training May 26

John Oxley's Classic Empire, who finished second in the May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1) by a head two weeks after finishing fourth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), is scheduled to begin preparations for the June 10 Belmont Stakes (G1) with a morning jog May 26 at Churchill Downs.

"We are really proud of his Preakness effort," said assistant trainer Norm Casse. "He came out of the race in great shape and we're excited to get him back to training."

The Casse's are unsure as to when Classic Empire will ship to New York.

"We'll have to look into the plane schedule," Casse said. "We have a lot of horses at our Churchill division who will run in stakes races that weekend, so there are some logistical questions we need to figure out first."

After he took a blow at the start of the Kentucky Derby and ran 12 lengths off of the early pace at the half-mile pole, Classic Empire was forwardly placed in the Preakness, where he tracked Derby winner Always Dreaming. Classic Empire opened a three-length lead at the top of the stretch but was caught in the final stages by Cloud Computing.

J Boys Echo, also based at Churchill, added his name to the Belmont probable field. Owned by Albaugh Family Stables and trained by Louisville-native Dale Romans, the 3-year-old son of Mineshaft   finished 15th in the Derby.

The possible Belmont Stakes field includes: Classic Empire, Conquest Mo Money, Epicharis, Gormley, Irap, J Boys Echo, Lookin At Lee, Meantime, Multiplier, Patch, Senior Investment, Tapwrit, and Twisted Tom.