Breathe easy: Chrome in Belmont

NEW YORK — California Chrome beat out an idiosyncratic racing rule — by a nose.

The colt is back on track for the Belmont Stakes after an only-in-New York equipment ban appeared ready to put a kink in his bid for the Triple Crown.

California Chrome, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, was cleared to wear the nasal strip he has worn during a six-race winning streak that has set him up for a chance to be horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner.

New York racetracks have a rule prohibiting any equipment not specifically approved by stewards, and nasal strips were not on their list. A statement from the New York Racing Association and the state’s Gaming Commission yesterday said the track’s three stewards unanimously agreed to lift the ban.

The strip worn by California Chrome is thought to assist airflow through the nostrils — something that should come in handy on June 7 for Belmont’s grueling 11⁄ 2- mile run.

“I think it opens up his air passage and gives him that little extra oomph that he needs, especially going a mile and a half,” trainer Art Sherman said. “Any time you can have a good air passage, that means a lot for these thoroughbreds.”

Other states allow equine nasal strips while racing.

Racing hasn’t had a Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, and the sport’s popularity has waned in the nearly four decades since. But it gets a boost every time a horse heads to the Big Apple with a Triple Crown on the line.

Sherman raised the possibility that his horse wouldn’t run in the Belmont if barred from using a nasal strip, but the problem was solved in about 24 hours, clearing the way for big crowds and plenty of betting at Belmont on June 7.

Two years ago, I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness while wearing a nasal strip. New York officials told trainer Doug O’Neill his horse couldn’t wear one in the Belmont. The issue became moot when I’ll Have Another was scratched the day before the race because of a leg injury.

This Belmont Stakes is shaping up as a possible 11-horse race, including the secondthrough fifth-place finishers in the Kentucky Derby: Commanding Curve, Danza, Wicked Strong and Samraat.

Preakness runner-up Ride On Curlin and third-place finisher Social Inclusion also could be in the field.

Two newcomers are joining the Triple Crown trail: Commissioner, sixth in the Arkansas Derby, and Tonalist, the Peter Pan Stakes winner.

Other probables include Intense Holiday, 12th in the Derby, and Kid Cruz, eighth in the Preakness.