Empire Dreams wins Belmont's $300,000 Empire Classic

NEW YORK (AP) Empire Dreams beat Royal Posse by three-quarters of a length Saturday to win the $300,000 Empire Classic, the richest of the 11 races for New York breds at Belmont Park.

It was the biggest victory for the 4-year-old gelding, who improved to 3-4-0 in eight Belmont starts.

Trained by Tom Albertrani and ridden by Manny Franco, Empire Dreams rallied six wide in the stretch for his fifth win in 17 starts. The winner covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.35 on a fast track.

Empire Dreams paid $9.70, $4.20 and $3.40. Royal Posse returned $4.10 and $3.60 while Full of Mine, a 71-1 shot, showed at $23.