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<p>NEW YORK &#8212; The mystery surrounding the Japanese horse that is the early 4-1 second choice to win the Belmont Stakes has gotten deeper.</p><p>Epicharis didn&#8217;t train on Thursday, hours after the 3-year-old dark brown colt was treated with an anti-inflammatory for lameness in his right front hoof, calling into question whether he will be fit to run in Saturday&#8217;s final leg of the Triple Crown.</p><p>The Belmont already lost expected favorite Classic Empire on Wednesday because of an abscess in his right front hoof. The $1.5 million race also is without Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and Preakness winner Cloud Computing. A field of 12 is set to run the 1&#189;-mile race, with Irish War Cry as the early 7-2 favorite.</p><p>Epicharis was treated intravenously with Butazolidin, commonly known as bute, on Wednesday night, according to veterinary records from the New York State Gaming Commission. The vet treating the horse cited &#8220;possible foot&#8221; as the issue.</p><p>&#8220;He looked a little different favoring his right front yesterday afternoon, so we treated his hoof and gave him bute,&#8221; trainer Kiyoshi Hagiwara said Thursday through a translator. &#8220;It looks like it&#8217;s getting better and I think there is no problem running him in the race. We still have time, so we will give him the best care we can.&#8221;</p><p>Epicharis walked around his barn on Thursday, two days after he had his last serious workout. Hagiwara is hopeful he will return to the track on Friday.</p><p>The New York Racing Association surely hopes he runs on Saturday. It is offering a new $1 million (110,289,555 Japanese yen) bonus to Epicharis if he wins as part of an effort to recruit a Japanese horse to the Belmont. The winner&#8217;s share of the purse is $800,000 (88,236,744 yen).</p><p>&#8220;When you make such a long trip with the horse, you need confidence in your horse,&#8221; said Christophe Lemaire, his French jockey. &#8220;For sure, the connections studied the form very well, and the opportunity to come here. If they decided to bring the horse, it&#8217;s because they think he&#8217;s able to win. I think so too, especially this year with no Derby winner, no Preakness winner. I think he&#8217;s got a good chance.&#8221;</p><p>Last year, Japanese-trained Lani ran in all three Triple Crown races. His best finish was third in the Belmont.</p><p>Belmont Park&#8217;s sweeping turns and deep, sandy track is similar to those in Japan. However, the 1&#189;-mile distance is a question for every entrant since most horses have never run that far and will never be asked to again.</p><p>&#8220;A mile and a half is a long way to go, but in his previous races he has shown us some stamina,&#8221; Lemaire said. &#8220;He should stay the trip.&#8221;</p><p>Epicharis was undefeated as a 2-year-old in his homeland, winning his first three starts in Japan by a combined 25 lengths. This year, Epicharis won another race in Tokyo before losing for the first time by a nose to Thunder Snow in the UAE Derby in March.</p><p>His sire, Gold Allure, is a son of 1989 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Sunday Silence.</p><p>The colt arrived in New York on June 1 after a 24-hour journey from Japan that included a layover in Alaska. He cleared quarantine last weekend.</p><p>Hagiwara trained 2009 Japanese Derby winner Logi Universe, the only Group 1 winner so far in his career. The 58-year-old trainer has never raced in the U.S. before.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m hoping for a good result because he&#8217;s getting good support from Japan, the horsemen, and the other connections, so I&#8217;m sure that Japan is hoping for a good result,&#8221; he said.</p><p>There is great interest in Japan surrounding the 149-year-old Belmont, the oldest of America&#8217;s Triple Crown races. For the first time, a Triple Crown race will be available for pari-mutuel wagering in Japan through a separate, non-comingled pool.</p><p>&#8220;Every time a Japanese horse competes abroad, it&#8217;s a big event for Japanese fans and the Japanese horse racing world,&#8221; Lemaire said. &#8220;If Epicharis could win the Belmont, it would be a big shocking wave in Japan. A big tsunami maybe.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Epicharis will be one of 12 horses competing in the 149th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_Epicharis-CMYK-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Epicharis will be one of 12 horses competing in the 149th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Julie Jacobson | AP photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Beth Harris</p><p>AP Racing Writer</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>ON TV</strong></p><p><strong>Belmont Stakes</strong></p><p><strong>Saturday</strong></p><p>NBCSN &#8212; Belmont Park prep races, at Elmont, N.Y., 3 p.m.</p><p>NBC &#8212; Belmont Stakes, at Elmont, N.Y., 5 p.m.</p></factboxMeta></div>

Japanese horse Epicharis treated for lameness before Belmont