Alpha will not be running at the 2012 Belmont Stakes next week due to a fever, according to the horse's trainer, Kiaran McLaughlin. The horse was running a fever of 103 and considering how close it is to the race the group around the horse felt it was unnecessary to take any chances. While the fever may hold Alpha out of the Belmont, the horses' general health is considering good.
Courtesy of the New York Racing Association's official website:
"He spiked a temperature on Tuesday evening," McLaughlin said. "103. He was fine by 11 p.m. that evening after treatment, fine yesterday, and he's fine today, but it's too high a temperature too close to the race. It's unfortunate."
Alpha was a 15-1 shot to win the Belmont Stakes in preliminary odds and had previous success at Belmont, coming in second in the Resorts World New York City Wood Memorial Stakes as well as two previous wins in the Count Fleet and the Withers before his also-ran performance at the Derby.
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