The demanding 1 1/2 miles of the Belmont Stakes calls on a Thoroughbred to use everything they are built upon – and that includes pedigree. This year’s cast appears particularly well-suited to the task. Three of the eight entrants have Curlin – second in the Belmont Stakes and already the sire of a Belmont winner – in their immediate pedigree as sire or grandsire. Meanwhile three more count Tapit, the most successful sire in the modern history of the Belmont, as their grandsire. Kentucky Oaks runner-up Nest is by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, while Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike is from the first crop of the stallion’s son Keen Ice, and Skippylongstocking is by another young son, Exaggerator. Curlin won four Grade/Group 1 races at 10 furlongs, the Preakness Stakes just shy of that distance, and placed in another three Grade 1 events at 1 1/4 miles or beyond, including his hard-fought second to the champion filly Rags to Riches in the 2007 Belmont. The consistent classic sire has been able to pass on that extra dose of stamina. He had a Belmont winner from his first crop in 2013 winner Palace Malice and also is the sire of 2017 runner-up Irish War Cry and 2015 third-place finisher Keen Ice. :: Get Belmont Stakes Day Betting Strategies for exclusive wager recommendations, contender profiles, and more. Nest also has a female family well-suited to the task at hand. She is out of a stakes-winning mare by 1992 Belmont Stakes winner and Horse of the Year A.P. Indy, who is a reliable stamina source, and, in fact, sired Rags to Riches. Nest is a full sister to Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap winner Idol, and this is the extended family of dual classic winners Real Quiet and Majestic Prince. Going into the Kentucky Derby, Rich Strike's stamina-laden pedigree was one of the best attributes the longshot could boast. The upset Derby winner's lines don't give any cause for pause moving forward to 1 1/2 miles. Not only is Rich Strike by the aforementioned Keen Ice, he is out of a Canadian classic-winning mare by Smart Strike, giving him two doses of that classic sire close up in his pedigree. :: Belmont Stakes Day Headquarters: Get the latest news, info on contenders, past performances, picks, and more  Curlin performed well on sloppy tracks, winning the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic and 2008 Jockey Club Gold Cup on such surfaces. His offspring, like many from the Smart Strike line, also tend to handle wet tracks well. Most notably, Exaggerator, the sire of Skippylongstocking, won the 2016 Preakness Stakes and two other Grade 1 routes that year on wet tracks. Tapit is the sire of four winners of the Belmont Stakes in Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016), Tapwrit (2017), and Essential Quality (2021). That is a record in the modern era, matched only by the great Lexington, who sired four winners of the classic in the 1800s. Tapit is the paternal grandsire of morning-line favorite We the People, whose sire, Constitution, is already represented by 2020 Belmont winner Tiz the Law. However, that race was the first leg of the COVID-shuffled 2020 Triple Crown, and was held around one turn at 1 1/8 miles. Tiz the Law did win the Travers Stakes and finish second in the Kentucky Derby at 1 1/4 miles. Constitution is the sire of Chilean champion Breakpoint, a Group 1 winner at 1 1/2 miles in his home country. Tapit is represented by another son with an entrant in the Belmont Stakes in Race Day, the sire of Barber Road. :: Bet the Belmont Stakes with confidence! Join DRF Bets and get a $250 deposit match bonus, $10 free bet, and access to FREE DRF Formulator! Tapit also is the maternal grandsire of Preakness Stakes third-place finisher Creative Minister, out of Tamboz. That colt is by 2012 Preakness third-place finisher Creative Cause, a full brother to Destin, second by a nose in the 2017 Belmont and winner of the Grade 2 Marathon Stakes at 1 3/4 miles. Both of those runners are by Giant’s Causeway, generally regarded as another stamina source. Tapit is just one of the classic sires produced by the late Pulpit, an influential son of the aforementioned A.P. Indy. Pulpit also is represented in this race as the broodmare sire of Mo Donegal, by young classic sire Uncle Mo.