ELMONT, N.Y. – It could be a fun summer in the 3-year-old division. With three different winners of the Triple Crown races, seven different winners of Grade 1 stakes, and several other talented runners in the division, Grade 1 summer races such as the Haskell at Monmouth Park on July 22 and the Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 26 should be pivotal in defining a division leader. Arcangelo’s victory in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes meant for the fifth straight year – including 2020, when COVID forced a change in typical spacing of the races – there were different winners of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont. Mage won the Kentucky Derby before finishing third to National Treasure in the Preakness. Mage skipped the Belmont, while National Treasure finished sixth to Arcangelo. There also were different winners of the Grade 1 stakes run for 3-year-olds this year. Angel of Empire won the Arkansas Derby. Tapit Trice won the Blue Grass. Practical Move won the Santa Anita Derby. Arabian Lion won Saturday’s Woody Stephens. A case could be made that 2022 juvenile champion Forte, who was second in the Belmont Stakes off a 10-week layoff, could be the current division leader. He won the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and Grade 1 Florida Derby, defeating Mage in both races. Forte was scratched out of the Kentucky Derby the morning of the race due to a bruised foot. :: Get ready for summer racing with a DRF Formulator Quarterly PP plan “I don’t think he lost any respect [Saturday] for sure, but I think worrying about divisional leaders in the middle of the year is kind of a waste of time because everyone’s going to look at what happens the last race or two anyway,” said Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Forte. Pletcher is pointing both Forte and Tapit Trice to the Travers, with the Haskell and Jim Dandy in play beforehand. Arcangelo’s Belmont Stakes win came four weeks after a hard-fought victory in the Grade 3 Peter Pan. Trainer Jena Antonucci said how the horse is doing will dictate whether he runs in the Jim Dandy (July 29), the Travers, both, or neither. The horse will be based in Saratoga for the summer. “You get in trouble when you start chasing – in everything in life,” Antonucci said. “In horse racing, you can’t start forcing stuff. Those things happen organically.” Arcangelo is by Arrogate, who in 2016 won the Travers by 13 1/2 lengths, running the 1 1/4 miles in a track-record time of 1:59.36. Arrogate did not participate in the Triple Crown, but also won that year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old. Arrogate was trained by Bob Baffert, who will have National Treasure and Arabian Lion join him back in Southern California this week. The 109 Beyer Speed Figure earned by Arabian Lion in the Woody Stephens is the highest figure earned by a 3-year-old, at any distance, this year. Three weeks earlier, Arabian Lion won the Sir Barton at Pimlico, a two-turn, 1 1/16-mile race, by four lengths with a 103 Beyer. Arabian Lion is the first Grade 1 winner sired by Justify, the 2018 Triple Crown winner. Baffert also has Arabian Knight, the exciting colt who has won both his starts impressively but who hasn’t run since winning the Southwest on Jan. 28 at Oaklawn. Baffert said Monday that Arabian Knight, who has been breezing regularly, is his first preference to run in the Haskell, but if he doesn’t feel like that horse could make it, Arabian Lion would be considered. Baffert said he would not run the two against each other in that race. :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  Kentucky Derby winner Mage has been based at the Thoroughbred Center in Lexington since the day after the Preakness. He went 17 days without having a saddle on his back following his third-place finish in the Preakness, according to part-owner Ramiro Restrepo. He returned to the track on June 7 and could return to the work tab in two weeks. Restrepo said the Haskell, on July 22 at Monmouth, and the Jim Dandy, on July 29 at Saratoga, are both being considered. Training up to the Travers is not ruled out either, according to assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. Restrepo noted that at Gulfstream Park, Mage and Arcangelo were stabled in the same barn. “Jena, she’s a neighbor at Gulfstream and a very classy lady,” Restrepo said. “It’s always cool to see the unusual suspects win a couple of races.” Two Phil’s, the Kentucky Derby runner-up, is pointing to the Ohio Derby on June 24, and trainer Larry Rivelli said Monday that the Travers is the main summer goal. Blazing Sevens, the Preakness runner-up trained by Chad Brown, is pointing toward the Jim Dandy. Brad Cox will regroup with his 3-year-olds Hit Show and Angel of Empire, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Belmont. Trainer Steve Asmussen won Sunday’s Matt Winn Stakes at Ellis Park with Disarm, fourth in the Kentucky Derby. He also won a first-level allowance race Saturday at Ellis with Extra Anejo, a horse who was most impressive winning his debut last October at Keeneland. Both horses are owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds. Disarm, who earned a 102 Beyer for the Matt Winn, is a “real possibility” for the Jim Dandy, said David Fiske, racing manager for owner Ron Winchell. Disarm did win his maiden by 6 1/4 lengths last summer at Saratoga. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.