Casino Drive is out of the same mare as the last two Belmont winners, Jazil and Rags to Riches. He was born and bought in Kentucky but moved to Tokyo to race under leading trainer Kazuo Fujisawa. After numerous delays in getting him to the racetrack because of a knee injury as a 2-year-old, then some influenza outbreaks and quarantine issues, Casino Drive finally picked up his maiden win in his first career start in Kyoto earlier this year, routing the field by nearly 12 lengths.

Casino Drive has run only two career races - his racing debut Feb. 23 in Japan at Kyoto and Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont on May 10 and - both wins, but he turned in the same sort of scintillating performances that announced Big Brown’s greatness at Saratoga last September and the Florida Derby this spring. That explains why Casino Drive is seen as the only threat to stop Big Brown’s sprint to immortality.

Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont