Trainer Todd Pletcher, always dangerous in the Belmont Stakes, sends out a pair of long shots Saturday in the final leg of the Triple Crown.

The focus of attention will fall on two other horses — Tacitus, the 9-5 favorite, and War of Will, the Preakness winner and the close second choice at 2-1.

Bettors who ignore Pletcher do so at their peril.

Pletcher’s duo this year includes Spinoff, 15-1 after finishing 18th in the Kentucky Derby, and the lightly-raced Intrepid Heart at 10-1.

Pletcher owns three Belmont wins: the filly Rags to Riches (2007), Palace Malice (2013) and Tapwrit (2017).

None were favored in the wagering, ranging in price from 4-1 on Rags to Riches up to 13-1 for Palace Malice’s upset.

Even when he doesn’t win, Pletcher often lands a piece of the action. Since sending out his first Belmont runner in 2000, Pletcher has been second five times and three times finished third in the 1½ mile race.

Belmont Park is Pletcher’s base of operation, and he targets this race.

Like most trainers who develop 3-year-olds, Pletcher takes aim first at the Kentucky Derby. When that doesn’t pan out, Pletcher immediately turns his attention to the Belmont.

“It’s a race we really cherish,” Pletcher said. “It’s home for us. I think one of the advantages is most of our horses have trained five weeks at Belmont after the Derby. It helps, and it’s a race we really enjoy.”

Pletcher’s best Belmont hope this time probably rests with Intrepid Heart, running for only the fourth time. The gray colt stumbled at the start of his most recent outing, the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont, and ran third as the even-money favorite in his first career loss.

“We were disappointed in the outcome of the race for sure because going in he had a big chance to win,” Pletcher said.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm

TICTOC ON SOCIAL:
Follow TicToc on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tictoc
Like TicToc on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tictoc
Follow TicToc on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tictoc

Watch all of TicToc’s videos: https://www.tictoc.video/

Listen to TicToc’s podcast: https://apple.co/2D3Vta7
Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJ0oQZ

TicToc by Bloomberg is global news for the life you lead. We are a 24/7 news network that covers breaking news, politics, technology, business and entertainment stories from around the globe, supported by a network of Bloomberg’s 2,700 journalists across 120 countries