The Belmont may lack the star horses that automatically create great stories, but the jockeys who will be taking part in the race provide plenty of stories to fill the time leading up to the race. The Triple Crown trail has been remarkable this year for all the family riders not here. Jerry Bailey is in the announcer’s booth, Gary Stevens, Laffit Pincay and Pat Day have been missed by their bodies. The names we have grown accustomed to are gone. However, that doesn’t mean talent has dwindled. The next generation of riders is taking the place of those old veterans, and the Belmont will be another notch in the belt for one of them. Here’s a look at five of the jockeys in the race and their stories:

Edgar Prado – Prado was probably sure he would be on the Belmont, but Deputy Glitters is definitely not the horse he was hoping to ride. Prado probably saved Barbaro’s life when he stopped him so quickly at the Belmont, but the injury has weighed heavily on Prado. He visited Barbaro this week and is trying to move on. A win over helper Glitters would help, but the horse will have to improve dramatically in his eighth-place finish in the Derby.

There is an interesting connection between the jockey and the trainer. If everything had gone as many expected, the Belmont would have been a showdown between Barbaro and Bernardini, the two horses that have proven to be the two best triañeros on the track. Instead, Barbaro’s jockey is riding another horse for Tom Albertrani, Bernardini’s trainer, while the two star horses are away from the race.

Prado’s Triple Crown dreams came to a premature end this year, but Prado has a history of crushing those dreams for others. In 2002, Prado led Sarava, an unlikely 70-1 shot, to victory when War Emblem proved it couldn’t manage the distance after a poor start. Two years later, Prado was aboard Birdstone when that horse defeated fan favorite Smarty Jones. Despite being happy to win, Prado felt so bad about beating Smarty Jones that he apologized to the television audience after the race.

Jeremy Rose – Returns to Belmont as the defending champion after piloting Afleet Alex to a win at Belmont following a Preakness win. Belmont’s win was almost effortless, causing fans to lament that the horse only managed a third-place finish behind Giacomo in the Derby. At the time, many people pointed to the 26-year-old jockey’s inexperience as the reason for the third-place finish. Several journalists called for him to be replaced by a veteran pilot. Rose proved that he could handle the horse and went on to ride it to become Champion Three Year Old.

It hasn’t been a completely smooth ride since. Rose no longer rides for Afleet Alex’s trainer Tim Ritchie after the two had a falling out. He hasn’t had much success this year, especially in classic races. He posted an amazing third-place finish for Nick Zito in Hemingway’s Key in the Preakness and will look to improve on that here.

With a resume of two wins and two third-place finishes in four Triple Crown races, Rose has shown that he definitely belongs. He’s not bad for a guy who had never been to a race track until 1998.

John Velázquez – No one has been riding as well as Velázquez in the last two years. He was the nation’s winningest jockey in both 2004 and 2005, and he has two Eclipse Awards to prove it. He is Todd Pletcher’s first named driver, and the two have combined to be nearly unbeatable. People call them the dynamic duo. 2006 was shaping up to be just as strong until a serious stroke at Keeneland in April left him with a broken shoulder and cracked ribs.

Velázquez was supposed to be recovering until at least July, but he quickly healed. He won his first mount at Belmont today, and promises to be 100 percent in the Stakes. Ramón Domínguez replaced Velázquez aboard Pletcher’s Bluegrass Cat in the Derby. He did a great job, finishing a solid second. Velázquez will take the reins again and hopes to move up a notch at the Belmont. A Triple Crown race is all that is missing from Velázquez’s resume. He has never won one, despite having had eight mounts in the Derby and nine in the Belmont. Interestingly, he has never ridden the Preakness.

The Espinoza brothers – Mama Espinoza will be the proudest woman in Mexico on June 10 because her two jockey sons have a mount on the Belmont. Older brother Jose will return to Platinum Couple after a sixth-place finish in the Preakness. Victor will come aboard the Holy Light. Although this is the first stop on the Triple Crown road for that horse, Victor was in the Derby this year, finishing a disappointing 16th with Sinister Minister. Both will be looking to outdo their brother and take home a win. Neither horse is particularly highly regarded, so a win would be an impressive feat for either jockey.

Although the brothers have almost equal opportunities at the Belmont, Victor has clearly had the best race thus far. He won the Derby and Preakness aboard War Emblem in 2002 and has won riding titles at several major tracks in California. He is Bob Baffert’s first callout pilot. Jose canvases on the other side of the country in New York. He’s had reasonable success, but he’s nowhere near the big-stakes success that Victor has.

Fans of the long shot will wait for Espinoza’s exacta to arrive. Not only would it make a great story, but any combination of Platinum Couple and Sacred Light would pay an absolute fortune.