Even horses can endure performance anxiety and nervousness. Dunkirk posted an 11th-place Kentucky Derby finish, stumbling twice in the first 50 yards amid the 153,563 fans at Churchill Downs.

Dunkirk skipped the Preakness but still garnered favorable 4-1 odds for the Belmont Stakes, making him the third choice for the 14st “Test of Champions” race Saturday. With nearly 100,000 people expected at Belmont Park, jockey John Velazquez said his colt should be able to deal with the pressures and crowd noise that come with a Triple Crown race.

“They get very nervous but I think he got it out of his system now,” Velazquez said instead the grandstand Thursday morning. “He’ll be more prepared for this race with that many people around.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher and Velazquez teamed up two years ago to forge racing history as the latter rode filly Rags to Riches to a Belmont Stakes victory in 2007. Pletcher did not run Rags to Riches in the Preakness that year. Since 2000, four horses have won the Belmont after running in the Derby but bypassing the second leg at Pimlico and Dunkirk’s team is hoping history repeats.

With more than 4,000 career victories to his credit, Velazquez earned the Eclipse Award as the country’s top jockey in 2004 and 2005. Pletcher won the same award for top trainer four straight years from 2004-07 and will be looking to upset favorite Mine That Bird and jockey Calvin Borel’s quest for a personal Triple Crown on two horses.

Dunkirk, the $3.7 million son of Unbridled Song, won his first two races and posted a second-place finish to winner Quality Road in the Grade 1 Florida Derby. The jockey-trainer tandem will look to parlay that quick start into the $1 million payout for the winner.

“We’ve been together since 1999 and we’ve been fortunes that we’ve had a lot of good horses,” Velazquez said. “It’s a relationship that’s grown for many years and it’s definitely a special one when we get to win these kind of races.”

A statute of Secretariat stands in Belmont Park’s paddock area, serving as a tribute to the record 31-length victory that made him the sport’s ninth Triple Crown winner in 1973. Seattle Slew and Affirmed added their names to that illustrious list in 1977 and 1978, respectively. But there will not be a 12th Triple Crown this year as the wait for another Triple Crown winner hits 31years.

Instead, Borel is going for his person history and added prerace excitement with his victory guarantee for Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird. Yet Velazquez said the boasts won’t serve as extra motivation to go for the upset.

“You definitely have to laugh that off,” he said. “I think he [Borel] is very positive about his horse. He’s very confident but horse racing never has guarantees.

“Horses are like people. You don’t know when they could have a headache or something that we don’t know about. That’s just an example of what can happen. There are never guarantees to win.”

Velazquez learned the business under Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. The two still speak regularly, though Velazquez said the conversations are less about strategy. With more than 900 New York riding titles compiled from 2001-2004, a Triple Crown victory and the aforementioned yearly accolades, the current West Hempstead native is past the point of needing constant advice on how to lead horses to victories.

“He doesn’t say much now,” Velazquez said. “In the early stages of my career, we talked a lot… before the races. I’ve grown into myself and been fortunate that I’ve been successful, so he lets me do my own thing.”

Zito’s name is well known to casual racing fans, a byproduct of two victories each in the Belmont Stakes and the Kentucky Derby as well as a Preakness win. The 2005 Hall of Fame inductee is a mainstay in Triple Crown competitions and is the trainer of Miner’s Escape and Brave Victory, which comprise one-fifth of the field for the 14st Belmont Stakes Saturday.

Both colts carry 15-1 odds. At 20-1, Luv Gov is the longest long-shot. But Zito’s propensity for upsets was reaffirmed with Da’Tara’s upset victory here last year and there’s a chance that another Zito-trained horse can thwart favorite Mine That Bird and take the million dollar purse.

“They are both interesting because they don’t have what I would call Triple Crown credentials,” Zito said. “But they were up-and-coming two year olds. As three-year olds, they are approaching rapidly into this league.

“They both come into this race not quite with the credentials of the top-three year olds but right underneath them. Maybe Saturday, they just get good for that day. We’ll see what happens.”

Part of Belmont’s charm is the uncertainty of a 1 ½ mile track. No horse has raced on a track that long, which is conducive to upset victories. Da’Tara exemplifies that uncertainty, preventing Big Crown from becoming the 12th Triple Crown winner last year despite 38-1 odds.

Robert LaPenta owned Da’Tara and also bought Zito’s two horses, giving the team a chance to repeat history. Miner’s Escape struggled at the start of his career, not winning his first race until his sixth start before recording a 4 ½-length Frederico Tesio Stakes victory.

Unlike Dunkirk and his $3.7 million price tag, Brave Victory was bought for $200,000. The horse took a liking to Belmont Park, breaking his maiden there in September 2008 by surging to a 7 ¼-length victory.

“The Belmont is a unique race,” Zito said Thursday morning from inside Belmont Park’s grandstand. “It’s a race where a horse looks like he’s making a move, he makes a move.  “It takes a special horse pedigree-wise. He has to to have something in his genes to make him go a mile and a half.”

Mine That Bird jockey Calvin Borel guaranteed victory and is looking to become the first jockey to win a personal Triple Crown riding two different horses. After winning the Derby and coming a close second at Pimlico, Zito said the favorite’s identity is clear.

“It’s Mine That Bird’s race to lose,” he said Wednesday. “Other than that, it’s pretty wide open. You can make a case for anybody.

“It all depends how the race shapes up. If it’s difficult for him, with his running style, he could be second or third.”

Freshness should benefit Miner’s Escape and Brave Victory since both horses skipped the Triple Crown’s first two legs. The two horses will start side-by-side, with Miner’s Escape drawing post nine and Brave Victory starting on the outside of post 10 in the 10-horse field.

Zito, a Queens native who currently lives in Garden City, also said the rules should not be changed to make it easier to snag a Triple Crown title. Affirmed’s 1978 run is the last time the feat was accomplished. He said the venues and the distances and duration between races should not be altered.

“The Triple Crown is a very hard thing to do and right now, we have to leave it that way,” Zito said. “Kentucky, Maryland and New York are the perfect destinations.”

The gelding didn’t even enter the Kentucky Derby or Preakness. But both Charitable Man and jockey Alan Garcia established a comfort level in Elmont last year, which could stymie favorite Mine That Bird on Saturday at Belmont Park.

In his first Belmont Stakes appearance in June 2008, Garcia rode 38-1 shot Da’Tara to victory in the mile-and-a-half race. Born in Peru, Garcia now lives in Elmont and is looking to post another victory in front of his adopted hometown crowd.

Outlasting Derby winner Mine That Bird will require Charitable Man to record an upset in the “Test of Champions,” though Garcia said last year’s experience gives him confidence he can go two-for-two at Belmont.

“I won with a long-shot last year. I was so happy to run that horse,” Garcia said. “This year, I have a good shot. I know and love the racetrack. I have an excellent shot to win this race.”

Garcia isn’t the only part of the rider-horse tandem to take a liking to a park originally opened in 1905. With only four races to his credit, Charitable Man owns three victories, including both times he raced at Belmont. That includes a sizable win in the nine-furlong Grade II Peter Pan Stakes on May 9 as a win in a Grade II race as a two-year-old last September.

“It makes my job easier because he knows how to be professional,” Garcia said. “He knows the track.”

Bloodlines make Charitable Man an interesting choice. He is the son of 1999 Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid. Charitable Man is also going for a piece of history, bidding to become the eighth horse to win the Peter Pan/Belmont Stakes double and the first to accomplish the feat since A.P. Indy in 1992.

“I don’t think it matters,” Garcia said about his horse’s championship lineage. “The horse has to be good enough to win the race.”

Only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown and No. 12 will not come this year thanks to filly Rachel Alexandra winning the Preakness. Mine That Bird did not race at Pimlico, though jockey Calvin Borel won the Derby with Mine That Bird and rode Rachel Alexandra to her victory.

Borel will ride his Derby winner at Belmont, where he almost guaranteed a victory that would make him the first jockey to win all three Triple Crown legs abroad different horses.  Mine That Bird Trainer Chip Wolley Jr. said he echoes Borel’s confidence but also is aware of a challenging field.

“You’ve got to respect Charitable Man, no doubt,” Woolley said. “That horse is a real monster, and he loves that racetrack.”

Kiaran McLaughlin, Charitable Man’s trainer, didn’t use as strong a language as Borel. McLaughlin did say he’s been impressed by the workouts in anticipation of the big day.

“Our horse couldn’t be doing any better,” McLaughlin said. “We’re very confident.”

Like Charitable Man, Garcia also comes from a racing history. His father and grandfather were jockeys. Wearing a light-colored suit inside Madison Square Garden’s Club Bar and Grill, Garcia said his success at Belmont last year was extra special.

“It was emotional. Everybody in my family wanted to be in America,” Garcia said. “My father always wanted to come here and win races, so I was really proud.”

“I love my work and love being with horses and animals,” he added. “My dad wants me to keep doing better and better and keep my focus on my job.”