Free Drop Billy: On one hand, he’s a Grade 1 winner with no distance questions as a son of Belmont winner Union Rags. On the other, he’s been beaten 70 lengths in his two most important career starts – the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. You could look at Free Drop Billy as a glass half-full or half-empty heading into the Belmont. His connections no doubt are optimists, which is great for the sport, and willing to take a chance. Until he shows me otherwise at 3, Free Drop Billy will continue to be a horse who appears to be an early developer who has not ascended along with the others of his crop. Recent Belmont winners Creator (2016) and Palace Malice (2013) rebounded off a break following Derby finishes of 12th or worse.