Bet on The Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes, also often known simply as The Belmont, is run over 1 ½ miles (twelve furlongs) on the dirt at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, New York. The race is open to three-year-old colts, geldings, and fillies. As a true “test of the champion”, the Belmont is the longest of the three races. The 2023 edition is scheduled for Saturday, June 10.
World-famous as part of the Triple Crown championship for American-based three-year-old horses, the Belmont Stakes holds the distinction as the third leg of the Triple Crown series. If a horse who won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs and the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico comes to the Belmont, then the whole world watches the Belmont Stakes in hopes that there will be another champion for the ages.
Belmont Stakes Racebooks
With a possible Triple Crown title for the winner, the Belmont Stakes is often the most-watched and wagered on race in the US thoroughbred season. Even when there isn’t a Triple Crown at stake, the demanding distance and the classy horses make sure that it is both a thrilling race and a great betting opportunity.
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Belmont Stakes Betting Odds
With the challenge of racing a tough 1 1/2 miles, even a Kentucky Derby winner is no sure bet to handle the Belmont, and often a new challenger steps up to contend for the win. That makes the chance of a good payday at long odds even better, and for the savvy handicapper, the fun of the Belmont is in finding that unknown longshot to score the upset. Look to our #1 recommended racebook at Bovada to find your favorite!
Belmont Stakes Odds Table
For those that are wanting to bet on the Belmont Stakes online, we have a variety of great oddsmakers providing betting lines for the big day. The Belmont Stakes odds were last updated on May 18, 2023:
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mage | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Tapit Trice | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Arcangelo | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Bishops Bay | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Kingsbarns | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Make sure to keep watching the odds as the race gets closer. The field tends to firm up after the Preakness Stakes finishes, and that is when bettors can start making smart choices about who provides the best value in the race.
In terms of how to bet on the Belmont Stakes, we'll delve into that momentarily. Throughout this Belmont Stakes betting guide, we'll also explain previous years' races and how to find value in the odds.
Belmont Stakes Handicapping
When handicapping the Belmont Stakes race, you can use trends that other Belmont Stakes winners have had in common in order to separate the contenders from the pretenders.
Stamina Pedigree
Horses in the Belmont Stakes have not gone 1 1/2 miles before, so you won’t be able to tell if they can stay that distance based on race form alone. If their form keeps improving as they have tried longer distances, that is a strong point in their favor, but to find those diamonds in the rough you have to look at the pedigree.
Look for horses whose sires, dams, or close relatives have done well over long distances. Especially if the horse is proven on dirt, then having close relatives who run well long on grass or dirt is fine. Some sires are very well known stamina merchants: four Tapit sons have won the Belmont Stakes, and others like Uncle Mo, Curlin, and Awesome Again have also produced recent winners.
Checking out the horses’ siblings out of the same dam can point out live runners, too. For example, in 2006 and 2007, Jazil and Rags to Riches won the Belmont. They were by different sires, Seeking the Gold and A. P. Indy, but both were out of the same mare named Better Than Honour!
Pace Makes the Race
A lot of times, handicappers get in the trap of thinking that a horse who keeps falling short will improve if he gets more distane in the Belmont Stakes. And, that is a recipe for failure. Perhaps distance will improve the horse, but pace is an important factor as well.
If the horse keeps falling short, even if there is a hot pace in front of them, it is more likely that the horse just does not like to win than the horse actually needs more distance. And, if the horse is not going to get much of a hot pace? Consider that horse for third or fourth place in trifectas or superfectas, but lean on horses with more tactical speed as your win bet candidates.
Class Matters
Even if the Kentucky Derby winner or Preakness Stakes winner does not always win the Belmont Stakes as well, a Belmont winner is typically a horse who has a lot of racing class. In addition to Triple Crown races, looking at horses who raced well in Grade 1 events like the Blue Grass, Florida Derby, Arkansas Derby, or even the Kentucky Oaks can point you to Belmont Stakes winners.
Belmont Stakes Bets
As is the case with all major horse racing events, you will have a large range of wagers to choose from in the Belmont Stakes. The most classic bets are the straight wagers: win bets, place bets, and show bets. These are excellent if you have a strong opinion about a single horse. If your horse wins, you cash a win bet. If he runs first or second, the place bet hits. If he runs third or better, the show bet cashes.
Some bettors also like to go after exotic wagers. Those can offer life-changing scores, though they are also more difficult to hit since they depend on more horses.
If your opinions are strong about multiple horses in the Belmont Stakes, consider building an intra-race exotic like an exacta, trifecta, or superfecta wager. You have to pick the first two, three, or four finishers in exact order but if you’re right, it pays! If you like horses in other stakes races before or after the Belmont, try a multi-race bet like a Daily Double, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, or Pick 6!
2023 Belmont Stakes Contenders
The field for the 2023 running of the Belmont Stakes will be drawn Tuesday, June 6. On that day the post positions, morning lines, trainers, and jockeys will be final.
Before that, however, the field will start to take shape in a preliminary fashion. Between horses who do well in other Triple Crown races and horses who move forward in Prep races like the Peter Pan (G3), the Belmont can be a great place to find longshots. Just ask anyone who had a win bet on a horse like 70-1 winner Sarava or 38-1 winner Da’ Tara!
Triple Crown Trail
If Mage wins the Preakness or even runs a good second or third, he will probably come to New York as the favorite, and maybe odds-on if he does have a live Triple Crown bid. He is still lightly-raced and improving, he has an excellent stamina pedigree, and he impressed in the Kentucky Derby. He is also versatile enough to run potently from a stalking or closing style, though some more maturity at the start will help him at Belmont Park.
Two others from the Kentucky Derby who are worth watching are a pair from the Todd Pletcher barn. Pletcher ran 1-2 in the 2022 Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 11, 2022 with Mo Donegal and Nest, who reigned supreme over the likes of Skippylongstocking, Rich Strike, Creative Minister, and Barber Road. Pletcher has two more interesting Belmont prospects this year: Tapit Trice and Kingsbarns.
Tapit Trice has an excellent pedigree for distance, and the smaller field in the Belmont compared to the Kentucky Derby will help him get a better trip. However, Kingsbarns will also be very interesting if he goes. He has the tactical speed that shines at Belmont Park, and he also has a nice stamina pedigree, being by Uncle Mo (the same sire as Mo Donegal).
New Shooters
As the Belmont draws closer, new horses who plan to take a shot will emerge. The Peter Pan is the traditional local prep race for the Belmont Stakes, and the top two horses in that field both look like interesting contenders for the test of the champion: Arcangelo and Bishops Bay.
Arcangelo and Bishops Bay had a hard-fought stretch battle in the Peter Pan, with Arcangelo narrowly getting the best of it and both horses finishing far ahead of the rest of the field. Arcangelo has the most upside going forward, too. The son of Arrogate has a stronger stamina pedigree. Also, he is trained by Jena Antonucci, an experienced trainer who often goes off as a longshot on the national stage. On the other hand, Bishops Bay is trained by the strong but also often-overbet Brad Cox.
Did you know?
Between Triple Crown winners Affirmed in 1978 and American Pharoah in 2015, 11 horses went into the Belmont with a shot at the title, only to falter in the race. In 2004, more than 120,000 fans crowded into the track to watch Smarty Jones take his shot, but were disappointed by a second-place finish. In 1998, Real Quiet lost his chance at immortality when he lost in a photo-finish nose to the hard charging Victory Gallop, the only Canadian-born horse to ever win, and the last foreign-born horse to do so.
