Wicked Strong and Kelvin Pahal. Photo credit NYRA/Susie Raisher

Every morning at 5:30, Kelvin Pahal arrives at work. Rain or shine, hot or cold, he travels the five minutes from his home in Queens Village to the backstretch of Belmont Park, where for the next five hours he rides horses, preparing them to race.

The life of an exercise rider can be fairly routine, but this year has been anything but for Pahal. He rides Wicked Strong — at 6-1, the second choice in this year’s Belmont Stakes —who will try on Saturday to stop California Chrome from becoming the first winner of the Triple Crown in 36 years.

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