text: Belmont set for June 20 without fans, leads off Triple Crown | Coronavirus | bendbulletin.com
  Sir Winston (7), with jockey Joel Rosario up, crosses the finish line to win the 2019 Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York. The Belmont has been rescheduled for June 20. Usually the last of the Triple Crown races — including the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness — the Belmont will now be the first. The last time the Triple Crown was run out of the traditional order was in 1931.
  The Belmont Stakes will be run before the Kentucky Derby and Preakness for the first time and take place at a shorter distance. It will lead off the Triple Crown on June 20 in New York with no fans in attendance and at a distance of 11/8 miles instead of the 11/2-mile "test of the champion" that has been the race's trademark for nearly a century.
  An out-of-order Triple Crown presents another set of challenges and would be a different kind of accomplishment than the one completed by the 13 past champions. The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont are usually run during a six-week span in the spring, and 3-year-olds are more mature by the summer and fall.
  The race will also offer Kentucky Derby qualifying points instead of being the culmination of the Triple Crown that has been won by just 13 horses.
  Doing so will be a different kind of challenge this year, and Baffert hopes to build up his horses to still take a Run for the Roses in September with the Belmont in the leadoff spot.