Belmont Stakes Betting Preview
The horse racing world will turn to Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs on Saturday to watch the third leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. There’s no Triple Crown on the line this year; Mystik Dan pulled an upset and won the Kentucky Derby, and Seize the Grey did the same at the Preakness Stakes. This leaves the betting field wide open. In the 10-horse field, five horses are within the +1000 range on the Belmont Stakes betting board.
Race officials drew post positions on Tuesday, and the favourite, Sierra Leone got Gate No. 9. As for Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey, he got stuck with the inside post. Horses line up at 6:41 PM ET; you can tune in to Fox Sports for TV coverage or YouTube TV for live streaming. Our Racebook has many betting options, with everything from straight bets to exotics. We’re outlining the top five contenders on the odds board heading into the race.
Sierra Leone +175: Post No. 9
At the top of the odds board is Sierra Leone, the Chad Brown-trained colt who finished a nose behind this year’s Kentucky Derby winner. Brown had no intention of entering Sierra Leone in the Preakness after that heartbreaking loss, opting instead to focus on the Belmont.
After recovering from the Kentucky Derby, Sierra Leone went straight to Saratoga to begin his prep work. He was able to put in three workouts one-week apart from each other and should benefit from five weeks of no racing.
Brown decided to replace jockeys, putting Flavien Prat on the saddle instead of repeating with the Kentucky Derby jockey Tyler Gafflione. Prat has won two Triple Crown races: the 2019 Kentucky Derby and the 2021 Preakness Stakes. Brown also provided the colt with a new bit that should improve maneuverability, as Sierra Leone has struggled when unable to run a straight course.
This will be a special opportunity for Brown, as he’ll competing at the Belmont on his home track. He’ll be keen to score what would be his first Belmont Stakes win in his local area.
Mindframe +325: Post No. 10
The Todd Pletcher-trained colt, Mindframe has garnered a lot of attention in his two outings. On March 30, he broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park, where he won by an astounding 13 ¾ lengths, clocking a Beyer Speed Figure of 103 in the process. His second outing was an Allowance Optional at Churchill Downs, which saw the colt run 1 1/16 miles. Unfazed by the distance, Mindframe won gate-to-wire, finishing 7 ½ lengths ahead of Cornishman.
It’s clear that Mindframe has an immense amount of talent, but with just two outings under the saddle, he’s the least tested horse on the field. Pletcher described the colt as “super-impressive in his two races” considering the ease of the wins, and the speed.
5X Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz will be at the helm. The Puerto Rican jockey has won the Belmont Stakes twice before; he won by a nose in 2016 on Creator and again in 2022 on Mo Donegal, another Pletcher trainee.
Mystik Dan +600: Post No. 3
This year’s Kentucky Derby winner came very close to winning the Preakness Stakes, which would have set up a Triple Crown possibility. Breaking from Gate No. 3 at Pimlico, Mystik Dan held a stalking position behind the frontrunners for the majority of the race and surged in the homestretch, where he came close to the frontrunner but then faded to finish second by 2 ¼ lengths. Mystik Dan has finished third or better in all four of his graded stakes races.
Trainer Kenneth McPeek made history in 2002 when Sarava pulled the biggest upset in Belmont Stakes history, winning as a 70-1 long shot. His Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado has since retired, so now he relies on jockey Brian Hernandez, who’s had an incredible month. The day before winning the Kentucky Derby with Mystik Dan, Hernandez won the Kentucky Oaks on Thorpedo Anna.
Hernandez and Mystik Dan will be starting from Gate No. 3 once again when they line up at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday.
Seize the Grey +600: Post No. 1
After pulling off an upset win at the Preakness Stakes as a 15-1 long shot, Seize the Grey will be the centre of attention at the Belmont Stakes. At Pimlico, he broke from Gate No. 6—the post that has produced the most winners in Preakness Stakes history. He went straight to the front of the pack and held the lead, finishing 2 ¼ lengths ahead of the favourite, Mystik Dan.
Seize the Grey has the most starts out of all the horses on the field. He’s already raced at Saratoga twice, including his maiden run. Two weeks before lining up for the Preakness, he raced at the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard, winning by 1 ¼ lengths.
Arrogate is Seize the Grey’s sire; the gray stallion collected victories at four Grade 1 stakes races in his time, including the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Seize the Grey’s Hall of Fame trainer Wayne Lukas has won the Belmont Stakes four times in his career.
Resilience +1000: Post No. 2
Resilience has risen from humble beginnings that saw him fail three times when trying to break his maiden, albeit against tough competition. He did eventually do it at Gulfstream Park with a 4 ¼-length victory. After that, he had a fourth-place finish at the Grade 2 Risen Star in sloppy conditions.
His trainer William Mott put blinkers on him for the Wood Memorial and there was significant improvement; the bay colt won by 2 ¼ lengths, which got him the points needed to compete at the Kentucky Derby. At the Derby, Resilience took a stalking position until the one-mile mark where he got within a head of the leader, but then faded to sixth.
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