2011 Belmont Stakes Betting Preview
This Saturday, June 11 marks the 143rd running of the Belmont Stakes from Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. This is the third and final race on this season’s Triple Crown schedule and is shaping up as one of the best with a strong field of contenders. The Belmont Stakes is the longest of the three races at a mile and a half, and a true test of stamina and endurance for these three-year old Thoroughbreds.
BetOnline.com has opened Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom as the early favorite at 5/2. This horse was just a half a length away from competing for an elusive Triple Crown with a second-place finish in the Preakness Stakes. Trained by H. Graham Motion and ridden by John Velazquez, he went off at 21/1 in the Kentucky Derby, but closed as the 2/1 favorite for the Preakness. Animal Kingdom ran well off the pace in both of those races and has shown the ability to use his closing speed to win from behind.
Nehro has been opened as the second choice at 7/2. Trainer Steve Asmussen decided to hold this colt out of the Preakness after a solid run in the Kentucky Derby landed him in second place; 2 ¾ lengths back. The extra rest could end up being a major factor as all the other top contenders for this race have run in the first two. Prior to the derby, he finished second in the grade II Louisiana Derby at the end of March and second in the grade I Arkansas Derby in early April.
Preakness winner Shackleford is the third choice to win on Saturday at 5/1. This horse is known as a pace setter and could be impacted by the added distance of this race. He streaked to the lead in the grade I Florida Derby only to finish second to Dialed In. He once again set the early pace in the Derby, but faded down the stretch to finish fourth. Trainer Dale Romans had jockey Jesus Castanon hold Shackleford back a bit in the Preakness and will most likely employ the same strategy on Saturday to preserve some juice for the stretch run.
The fourth choice for the Belmont is Master of Hounds at 6/1. Trained by Aiden O’Brian and ridden by Garrett Gomez, this colt made his three-year old debut with a second-place finish in the UAE Derby in Dubai. He ran near the back of the pack in the Kentucky Derby before using a late kick to finish fifth. He too was held out of the Preakness and saw his stock rise with some impressive workouts over the past few weeks. The lack of experience in such a strong field could work against him in a race of this length.
Mucho Macho Man, another veteran of both Triple Crown races, is the fifth favorite at 15/2. He finished third in the Derby after running eighth for a good part of the race, but could not produce the same kick down the stretch in the Preakness and ended up sixth. Trained by Katherine Ritvo and ridden by Rajiv Maragh, it remains to be seen how much Mucho Macho Man has left for this race.
Everyone is expecting another showdown between Animal Kingdom and Shackleford in the race, but go with the well-rested Nehro to finally break his string of second-place finishes with a win on Saturday.
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