RACING

the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Derby before Exaggerator ended the streak in the Preakness. Nyquist did not run in the Belmont; Exaggerator finished 11th.

The rest of the Haskell field is American Freedom (3-1), Gun Runner (4-1), Awesome Slew (151) and Sunny Ridge (20-1).

American Freedom is trained by Bob Baffert, who last year was on top of the racing world when he came to the Haskell and won with Triple Crown champion American Pharoah. The Hall of Fame trainer is looking for his ninth Haskell win. The lightly-raced American Freedom missed the Triple Crown races, but comes into the Haskell off wins in the Sir Barton Stakes and the Iowa Derby.

“We’ve been quite high on him from the moment he arrived in the barn,” Baffert’s assistant Jimmy Barnes said.

This is the 49th running of the Haskell, and nothing tops American Pharoah’s exhilarating run. But the Jersey Shore’s signature race features the first three Derby finishers in Nyquist, Exaggerator and Gun Runner. And it’s the first time since 2010 the Derby winner has gone against the Preakness winner. Six years ago, Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky won over Derby winner Super Saver.