The oddsmakers are in total agreement that we are very likely to see just the second horse in the last 40 years, win the Triple Crown in 2018. Justify who easily won the Kentucky Derby and won the 143rd running of the Preakness by half a length is an even money favorite to win this year’s 150th Belmont Stakes on June 9th. The Belmont Stakes is the third race of the Triple Crown and will be held on Saturday, June 9th at 6:37 pm ET at Belmont Park in Elmont NY. The purse for the race will be 1.5 Million dollars. Other early top contenders include Audible at 4½ to 1 , Good Magic at 6-1, Hofburg at 7-1 and My Boy Jack at 9 to 1. There is quite a bit of speculation that Bravazo or Tenfold could be likely winners at 12-1 odds after a very close loss for Bravazo at the Preakness.
ODDS TO WIN 2018 BELMONT STAKES (updated as of 5-31 1:39 pm)
Justify (4-5)
Hofburg (4-1)
Bravazo (7-1)
Vino Rosso (8-1)
Tenfold (10-1)
Blended Citizen (14-1)
Gronkowski (25-1)
Restoring Hope (30-1)
Noble Indy (33-1)
Free Drop Billy (50-1)
Justify
The public as well as the oddsmakers believe Justify will win the Belmont Stakes to take home horse racing’s Triple Crown which could be Bob Baffert’s second in just 3 years, and that after the triple crown was denied a winner for almost 40 years from 1978 to 2015.
Justify is a three-year-old colt who did not race as a two year old, making him the first horse since 1882 to win the Kentucky Derby after not racing as a two-year-old. He won the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, easily by 2½ lengths for his fourth career victory. Justify is trained by Bob Baffert who is the best in the business, and he is also the trainer of the last Triple Crown winner, American Pharaoh in 2015.
But Baffert and other insiders are starting to express some concern over Justify‘s stamina after his margin of victory in last week’s 143rd Preakness was under a length, with other horses gaining on him at the finish line. The Belmont is the longest of the Triple Crown races at a mile and a half, and this could come into play if Justify is getting worn down with six races in a 5 month stretch.
In our Preakness race preview we said that Justify should jump out of the gate and stay in front with the lead for the entire race, which is exactly what he did. Since Justify didn’t race as a two-year-old, there’s not a lot of mileage on him as a racehorse, but with now five races under his belt since January, fatigue is a major concern. The Belmont comes just three weeks after the Preakness, which was just two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, and that’s a lot of racing for a horse with no previous race experience before January of this year. And that’s not counting the Kentucky Derby prep races which add up to six races in a 5 month stretch.
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More Stories and Information on the 2018 Belmont Stakes:
Other 2018 Triple Crown articles and information:
2018 Preakness Stakes: Horses to Watch, Predictions and Betting Odds
