Early 2018 Belmont Stakes Betting Preview

We’re just over a week away from the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes, which are set for Saturday, June 9, at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Pre-race coverage will be on NBC Sports from 3-5pm Eastern time, and then the coverage moves to NBC, with post time for the main race at 6:37pm. Justify enters as the 4/5 favorite after delivering wins at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, and looks to earn just the 13th Triple Crown ever. However, the Belmont Stakes is the longest of the three courses, at a mile and a half, and the Preakness victory appeared to take a good bit out of the favorite. There will be other horses who did not run at Pimlico who have more rest. Let’s take a look at your horse racing odds for each of the competitors as well as some insights as to your best picks.

Early 2018 Belmont Stakes Betting Preview

We’re ready when you are, #Justify. #BelmontStakes150: https://t.co/4yQnJRWFI3 pic.twitter.com/Od5fEeRGHA

— Belmont Stakes (@BelmontStakes) May 20, 2018

• Justify                        4/5
• Bravazo                      9/2
• Tenfold                       6/1
• Hofburg                      7/1
• Blended Citizen        12/1
• Vino Rosso                12/1
• Free Drop Billy          30/1
• Gronkowski               35/1
• Enticed                       40/1

Justify may have used a lot of energy at Pimlico, but he still appears as one of the more special horses to emerge in recent years. The Kentucky Derby featured a wet, sloppy track, and the Preakness Stakes took place in fog that was so thick that television viewers lost sight of the horses at one point. So he has won two races at an elite level despite going through race conditions that were difficult at best. At the Preakness Stakes, Justify held Good Magic at bay until he fell off, but Bravazo and Tenfold pushed hard at the end to place and show. Justify never had an easy time — but still rolled to a win. With that said, the Belmont Stakes is the biggest hurdle for contenders looking to win the Triple Crown. Since 2000, eight horses have come to Elmont having won both the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown, but only one (American Pharaoh in 2015) has completed the triple. Why? The course is longer, as we mentioned, and many of the challengers did not appear at Pimlico. Bravazo was picking up ground on Justify at the end, which could mean that he could finish the job at Belmont. Hofburg did not race at the Preakness Stakes and enters as the freshest contender. At Churchill Downs, he took seventh place, and he has only raced four times overall. However, the long training time has given him the chance to improve his speed and finishing. The Kentucky Derby saw Hofburg get caught up in some early traffic, and he still had a lot in the tank at the end. Bravazo, Tenfold and Justify all raced at the Preakness Stakes, so Hofburg does have the advantage in terms of rest. Bravazo had the big finish at Pimlico, finishing just a half-length behind Justify. Of course, you could use the same arguments against him that you would use against Justify — that he took a lot out of the tank in that runner-up performance and won’t have enough to come out and win on the longer course. He has eight races in his career, with a sixth-place finish at the Kentucky Derby and then that “place” finish at the Preakness Stakes. Tenfold came on strong at the end at Pimlico as well, roaring back to take third place, showing that he also has some courage and stamina in less than ideal conditions. He won two races in February and March and brought that “show” finish at Pimlico. He is looking better in every race, so he could deliver at Belmont as well. I liked what I saw out of Justify in both races, and he held off challenges at both the beginning and the end. My money’s going on Justify to complete the Triple Crown. In addition to his performance on the track, wouldn’t it be fitting for the horse that ended Apollo’s Curse to get the 13th Triple Crown?