Belmont Stakes Preview

by Bodog Sportsbook | Jun 5 2009

The 2009 Triple Crown has been a record-setter. First off, a 50-1 longshot won the Kentucky Derby, then a filly won the Preakness Stakes, and now Calvin Borel is attempting to become the first jockey to win all three jewels of the Triple Crown in the same year aboard two different horses. It's also the first time that a 50-1 Kentucky Derby horse was the favorite for the Belmont Stakes.

All the hoopla this year has sparked the interest of lots of new bettors to horse racing. If you'd like to make a bet on the Belmont Stakes you have many options. Horse racing works a lot like an insurance company does - all the bets are pooled and the track takes a part of the action to cover costs and profit, then the rest of the money is paid out to winning players. Most tracks will retain between 15 and 25 percent.

A bettor has a number of different bets that will pay out at different odds. A bettor can wager on a horse to Win, Place, Show, on the Daily Double, Daily Triple/Pick Three, Pick Six, Exacta, Quinella, Trifecta, Twin Trifecta, Superfecta, and the Odd/Even bet. If you win a bet the board will display payouts based on the minimum $2 wager.

The Belmont Stakes will be run as the 11th race on a 13-race card. There are five graded stakes races before the Belmont Stakes, two of which are grade 1 races. Race #9 - Acorn is for three-year-old fillies over one mile. The horses that look the best in that race are Dream Rush and Cotton Blossom. The other consideration would be the Edgar Prado mounted Christmas Kid. Race #10 - $400,000 Manhattan Handicap is for three-year-olds and up over a mile and a quarter and will have one of last year's best turf horses in English Channel. He won three grade 1 races last year, and missed winning the '08 Manhattan by half a length.

There are lots of good options for betting on the Belmont this year. With the superstar filly Rachel Alexander out of the Belmont picture, Mine That Bird looks to be a good bet to at least show in the race. He will be tested against stamina-bred horses this time out, but his workouts this week point to him putting in a top effort on Saturday. Those stamina-bred horses will be represented by Dunkirk and Charitable Man. Either of those two horses could win the Belmont, and would be a good part of any trifecta bet for Saturday's race. The other horse to consider is Chocolate Candy, who looks to have improved over the last few weeks.

As it always is, this year's Belmont will be dictated by the early pace of the front runners. The distance of the race separates the fast horses from the distance horses, and if a fast pace is set Mine That Bird will have great difficulty in making his patented late run from far back. The pace setters are likely to be Miner's Escape and or Charitable Man. How fast those two horses run will have a big effect on what the field will have left in the tank down the final stretch.

When betting on a horse race one should also consider the freshness of the horses in the field. Mine That Bird will be running in his third race in five weeks, while the second favorite Charitable Man is coming off a long rest since he won the Peter Pan Stakes on May 9. He is also three-for-three on dirt and has won both his races at Belmont Park. Dunkirk is also coming off a layoff since his disappointing Kentucky Derby finish in early May. Both are likely to be close to the pace and will battle to see who has the most left down the final stretch.

The weather on race day will be cool and sunny, perfect for horse racing. The track will be rained on Friday, but is expected to be completely dry by Saturday afternoon. The dry track will make it easier for the horses that are used to running on synthetic surfaces. It will also be easier for horses to come from behind when the track is dry because the field won't be kicking up as much dirt into the faces of the horses that are behind them.

Find the combination of bet that works the best for you and try your luck on the Belmont Stakes. It looks like Mine That Bird and Charitable Man may share the same odds to win by race day, and Dunkirk is not far behind them. Most horse trainers are reporting good workouts this week for all horses, and none are reporting any injuries. No one will have any excuses come race day, when one horse manages to outrun the others to become the Belmont Stakes champion.