Belmont Stakes Expert Predictions and Betting Advice

Tacitus Odds to win the 2019 Belmont Stakes with Expert Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 5/29/2019

Tacitus is the most heavily-hyped horse in the prospective Belmont Stakes field as I write this almost two weeks before the race, and he is very likely to be the favorite by post time. As much as our job here today, then, is to figure out if he is any good, it is to figure out if he justifies the hype that is around him. We know he is good, in other words, but is he good enough?

War of Will Odds to Win the 2019 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 5/29/2019

We have yet to see the Kentucky Derby winner, or the one who was disqualified, return to the track since that race. But at least we have the Preakness winner here for the Belmont. War of Will is on track to be the only horse to have run in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year, and he has a real chance to add a second title to his trophy room in this spot.

Where to Bet on the Belmont Stakes in 2019
by Trevor Whenham - 5/29/2019

The 2019 Belmont Stakes is not likely to go down as the finest edition of the race ever, and it certainly doesn't present as the most compelling ever. Twice in the last four years we have had Triple Crowns on offer - and claimed - so we have been spoiled, and a letdown is inevitable. But it is still a race that will have a big crowd, a big handle, and plenty of opportunities to make some money.

How to Place a Bet on the Belmont Stakes in 2019
by Trevor Whenham - 5/24/2019

A lot of you who are reading this article are probably much more sports bettors than avid horseplayers. But when the Triple Crown comes along - even a Triple Crown as uneven and frankly underwhelming as this one has been - people get drawn to the sport. Betting on the Belmont is no different in many ways than betting on any sport - you just need to understand the basics, evaluate the opportunities, and make your best decision.

2019 Belmont Stakes Trivia Questions and Answers
by Trevor Whenham - 5/24/2019

The Belmont Stakes is the last leg of the Triple Crown, and in many ways it is the toughest. It only makes sense, then, that the trivia quiz for this leg of the Triple Crown is also the toughest. The quiz for the Derby this year was tough - tougher than the one for the Preakness. But this will be on a whole new level. There is one very easy question at the end - but you have to get there first. This set of Belmont trivia questions and answers will prove what you are made of.

2019 Belmont Stakes Betting Trends with Expert Wagering Analysis
by Trevor Whenham - 5/23/2019

Over the last 35 years or so, it has been quite common that I have felt like picking the winner in the Belmont was going to be easy. And there have just been three times that it has actually turned out that way. Coincidentally, all three of those horses were trained by Bob Baffert - Point Given was a stone-cold lock back in his day, and I was extremely confident about both American Pharoah and Justify.

Expert Belmont Stakes Handicapping: Early Look at Field
by Trevor Whenham - 5/22/2019

The Belmont Stakes is still more than two weeks away, and a lot will change between now and the time that horses are being loaded into the gate. But at this point, we have a first indication of what the race might look like and which horses will have a shot at claiming the third jewel of the Triple Crown.

Betting Advice and Handicapping for the 2018 Belmont Stakes Undercard
by Trevor Whenham - 6/7/2018

The undercard of all of the Triple Crown races are strong and intriguing, but the lead-up to the Belmont Stakes is always the deepest and most competitive. It's really an embarrassment of riches, with five Grade 1 races and three Grade 2 contests on offer starting with the Ogden Phipps in Race 3, and that doesn't even account for the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes. It is a little bit of heaven for race fans, and it features a whole lot of big-name horses at the top of their categories. Here's a look at each of the eight graded races on the undercard:

Vino Rosso Odds to Win the 2018 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/2/2018

Todd Pletcher did not have the Kentucky Derby that he was hoping to. As has too often been the case, he had plenty of quantity but lacked the quality on the day that he needed. He skipped the Preakness to regroup but is back with two of his Derby horses for another shot in the Belmont. Of the two, Vino Rosso is probably the more impressive and the readier for this spot. But is he good enough to be a factor in this edition of the Belmont? Pletcher is the defending champion in this race, so he's got a streak to defend.

Restoring Hope Odds to Win the 2018 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/2/2018

When everyone - likely including Bob Baffert himself - thinks about Baffert and the Belmont this year, all thoughts are directed to heavy favorite Justify, who has the chance to be Baffert's second Triple Crown winner in four years. But that's just half the story. Baffert will also have Restoring Hope, another lightly-raced colt he tried to get into the Derby but fell short. He is nowhere near the caliber of his stablemate, but his breeding is sound and he has shown flashes of significant potential.

Tenfold Odds to Win the 2018 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/2/2018

Steve Asmussen didn't have this lightly-raced colt rolling in time to qualify him for the Kentucky Derby, so he aimed for the Preakness instead. And it went as well as he could realistically have hoped - third-place pays nicely, and the horse earned some respect. So now the colt makes just his fifth career start in the longest race there is for three-year-olds. He's got the breeding for it, and he has some momentum coming into the race. So, how much can he build on that last outing? Can Tenfold shock the world in the Belmont Stakes?

Seahenge Odds to Win the 2018 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/2/2018

The Belmont Stakes always draws a strange and interesting mix of horses. An iron horse or two - including one aiming for a Triple Crown win, of course - along with several horses that ran in the Derby and skipped the Preakness, and then they are joined by comers from all sorts of different corners. Some of the new comers are often surprising, and Seahenge definitely fits into that category.

Blended Citizen Odds to Win the 2018 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/2/2018

Doug O'Neill is a controversial character in the sport. The trainer has won three Triple Crown races since 2012, so he knows how to have success at the high level. He also has had far more drug suspensions than any other high-level trainer currently in the sport, though. Some people defend him, saying it is overblown. Others regard him with cynicism and distaste. Every time he has a horse in a high-profile race like this, though, those discussions keep coming up. It is a bit of a dark mark for a colt here that has shown some talent and could be a factor in the Belmont if things break his way.

Justify Odds to Win the 2018 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/1/2018

Every time I think of Justify over the last couple of weeks I think of Big Brown. Like Justify, that colt was a total freak who was in an entirely different class than the rest of the horses around him. After dominant wins in the first two legs, I went into the Belmont in 2008 as confident as I could possibly be. I watched the race in a cancer ward where my mom was, and I was sure that what would wind up being her last Belmont would be a historic one. I knew it, in fact.

Hofburg Odds to Win the 2018 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/1/2018

Tonalist, who won the Belmont in 2014, was a son of Tapit. So was Creator in 2016. And Tapwrit last year. So, it's no surprise that Hofburg, the only son of Tapit in the Belmont field this year, is getting more attention from bettors than he would likely get if he had his same record and lesser breeding. Hofburg is well-situated to be the second betting choice in the Belmont Stakes by post time - he's there right now in the futures betting. It's a low price for a lightly-raced horse that has yet to have a real breakthrough in a major race. But he is well-bred enough and seemingly talented enough to, if you'll pardon the pun, justify the attention.

Bravazo Odds to Win the 2018 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/1/2018

D. Wayne Lukas, the trainer of Bravazo, has won 14 Triple Crown races, with his last in 2013. He's 82 but showing no signs of ever slowing down. Calumet Farm, which owns and bred this colt, has won the Kentucky Derby a record eight times, the Preakness a record seven, and has produced two Triple Crown winners, but the last Derby came in 1968. The two legends of the sport came together to win the Preakness in 2013 with Oxbow. Can they recapture some magic - and relive old times -- here with an upset in the Belmont?

Gronkowski Odds to Win the 2018 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/1/2018

As I write this I don't yet know if Bandua is going to be entered in the Belmont Stakes or not. That is relevant to a Belmont preview of Gronkowski for one reason - If Bandua is entered than Gronkowski will no longer be the most head-scratching, toughest-to-judge horse in the field. The Kentucky Derby made the decision to open a spot in the gate for the winner of a series of races in Britain this year.

Free Drop Billy Odds to Win the 2018 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/1/2018

Some previews are easier to get excited about than others. This falls into the less-excited category for me. This is a horse that I just didn't like heading into the Derby, and he rewarded my pessimism by being just as underwhelming as I expected. His jockey would be close to the last guy I would pick to ride a top horse. And I just don't see how this horse is a real factor in the Belmont - or really why he belongs here at all.

Noble Indy Odds to Win the 2018 Belmont Stakes with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/1/2018

Noble Indy offered us a sight we don't often see heading into the Kentucky Derby. He had won three of four career starts for one of the world's best stables, and had won a major Derby prep race, the Louisiana Derby, as the favorite. Yet he went off in the Derby at 59/1, the kind of price typically reserved for truly hopeless runners who barely scraped their way into the field. It was strikingly odd. Except unfortunately he ran to that price, fading horribly to finish 17th in the race.

2018 Belmont Stakes Expert Handicapping: Fresh Horses
by Trevor Whenham - 5/31/2018

We hear a lot of talk about fresh horses in the Belmont Stakes and the threat they can potentially be. For the sake of this discussion here, let's define fresh horses simply as horses that have not run in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes - every horse other than Bravazo and Justify, in other words. It's always an interesting discussion to look at fresh horses - and especially so when a Triple Crown is on the line and an inevitably tired horse is trying to summon one more great race from deep within.