Belmont Stakes Betting Preview and Trends

The 149th running of the Belmont Stakes may be hard pressed to get a lot of attention outside the regular horse betting crowd this weekend. With no thoroughbred having a shot at the Triple Crown and the winner from both the Kentucky Derby, Always Dreaming, and the Preakness Stakes, Cloud Computing, skipping the Belmont, the race could be a bit of a dud.

However, a dud race could open things up for an upset win, which could mean a bigger payout for bettors. Even without Always Dreaming and Cloud Computing there is still a 12-horse field in the Belmont. The favorite at the Bovada Sportsbook is Irish War Cry at +300. He was also among the favorites in the Derby, but stumbled to a disappointing 10th place finish. He did not race in the Preakness.

Including Irish War Cry there are six horses from the Derby that will run in the Belmont and only three horses from the Preakness. Only one horse will be running all three legs of the Triple Crown this year, Lookin at Lee. He finished second in the Derby and was fourth in the Preakness. He’s trained by Steven Asmussen who also trained last year’s Belmont winner Creator. Lookin at Lee is listed at +550 at the Bovada Sportsbook.

Stuck in between Irish War Cry and Looking at Lee on the Belmont Stakes odds list is a new challenger, Epicharis at +350. Bred in Japan, he’ll be making his North American debut after winning three races at home. He last raced in Dubai in the UAE Derby in March where he finished second. If Epicharis can run his way into the winner’s circle this weekend he would become the 10th foreign-born horse to win the Belmont and first since Victory Gallop from Canada won in 1998.

Along with Lookin at Lee the other horses from the Preakness that will line up in the Belmont are Senior Investment and Multiplier. Senior Investment finished third in the Preakness and is a +650 underdog this weekend. Multiplier came in sixth in the Preakness and is a +1600 longshot to win the Belmont.

When looking at post positions, the No. 1 post has historically been the most successful with 23 winners starting there. That may bode well for Twisted Tom, but he is a +2000 underdog. The No. 3 and 5 positions are next with 13 winners each. The 3 belongs to Gormley at +1200 and the 5 to Hollywood Handsome at +3300.

Looking at the contender’s posts, Irish War Cry is at No. 7 where 11 winners have started, Epicharis is at No. 11 which has had only two winners, and Lookin at Lee starts at No. 6 which has belonged to seven past winners.